Arts & Entertainment

Ronnie Dove 'Heartbroken' to Bow Out of Heritage Fair

For many fans, this year's Heritage Fair just won't be the same without Ronnie Dove.

The venerable crooner with a large, loyal and enthusiastic fan base has been a mainstay of Dundalk's annual Independence Day celebration for as long as many people can remember.

After performing at the annual festival for 16 years without a pay raise, fair organizers asked him to take a $1,000 pay cut this year and he  couldn't do that, he told Patch Thursday.

Dove was also asked to take the same pay cut last year and when he balked, fair organizers offered the same pay to return, he said.

"They told me they needed the money to bring in the big stars, and that broke my heart," Dove said in a phone interview. "It upset me; it hurt my feelings."

Heritage Fair runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. at Heritage Park in downtown Dundalk. This year's main acts include Three Dog Night and Jefferson Starship.

Dove also said it appears fair organizers aren't being truthful as to why the singer has bowed out.

Another news outlet published a story on Thursday saying Dove will not appear due to health issues, attributing the information to the Dundalk Heritage Fair Association.

"That just isn't true," Dove said. "And that upsets me, too."

Asked why Dove wasn't appearing at this year's event, Heritage Fair chairman Joe Falbo told Patch on Thursday, "He's playing down in Edgemere—that's just the way it is sometimes."

Dove said he never asked fair organizers for a raise because he loves his Dundalk fans. He said he gave his band members raises five times during the years he played the Heritage Fair.

When he first started performing at the fair, Dove said he paid his band members $150 each. 

"Now I pay them $450 each, and I make the same $3,000 I've always made," he said. "I make less and less every year."

To accommodate his many local fans, Dove will perform at the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Maryland Grand Lodge in Dundalk on Saturday, the same night he usually appeared at the fair.

"I've probably had 150 calls from people asking me why I'm not at the fair this year," Dove said. "So we're doing this show at the Grand Lodge so my fans can come see me the night they would have seen me at the fair."

Dove is being paid $5,000 for the lodge appearance, which is the amount he usually gets for doing local shows.

"That's what I get everywhere, really," he said. "Except when I go out of state, and then I make $10,000 a night. I was giving the fair a break all these years, and then they asked me to take a pay cut so they could pay to bring in the big stars."

Dove said he believes he has the credentials to be treated as well as any other performer. He said a lot of fans buy fair tickets just to hear him perform.

"In 1965, I won just about every award there was," he said. "I've appeared on the Ed Sulliivan Show and the Merv Griffin Show, did the Dick Clark tours."

Dove was named the top singles artist, top easy listening artist and top easy listening selling artist in the 1965 Billboard Awards and won four Cashbox Awards the same year, including best singles male vocalist, best LP male vocalist and best R&B male vocalist, according to the bio on his website.

"It's sad, and it breaks my heart to be treated like this after all these years," Dove said. "I just really am heartbroken over it all and I hope all of my Dundalk fans come to the Grand Lodge to see me—I love my Dundalk fans."

Event Details:

What: Ronnie Dove concert

When: Saturday, June 29, 8 p.m. to midnight

Where: Maryland Grand Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 7721 Old Battle Grove Road in Dundalk

Tickets: $35; available at the door

Other Details: BYOB

Info: 443-478-0998 or 410-360-1098

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