Country singer Wade Hayes was supposed to be former Alabama rocker Randy Owen’s lead guitarist. But when Owen’s fiddler Megan Mullins got delayed flying in to Cleveland, Hayes was ready and able to keep the waiting crowd at the Lorain County Fair entertained Monday evening.

Hayes’ debut single, “Old Enough to Know Better” was No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1995. He also had a hit with the title track from his “On a Good Night” album in 1996. He performed both songs to cheers tonight at the fair.

He let fairgoers know that while he’s been on a hiatus, he’s really been working on his latest album — “for the past three years.”

He even debuted a song that’s as yet available nowhere but his personal Web site.

“I think it’s perfect for tonight, because I feel like going a little crazy,” he told the waiting crowd as he launched in to “Good Day to Go Crazy.”

Read Tuesday’s Chronicle for a full report on the concert from the CT’s John Benson.

Click here to see more photos, and click here for more about the performance by lead act Randy Owen.

Contact Rona Proudfoot at 371-0792 or rproudfoot@chroniclet.com.

Wade Hayes performs Monday night at the Lorain County Fair. (Photo by Rona Proudfoot, The Chronicle-Telegram.)