HERMISTON — Music almost is synonymous with the Umatilla County Fair and, after COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the event last year, music was back on the table as the fair roared back to life Wednesday, Aug. 11, and finished Aug. 14.

Starting at 9 p.m. the first day back, fans were welcomed with a free concert featuring Stone in Love, a Journey tribute band, then Everclear on Aug. 12 and Frankie Ballard on Aug. 14. The widest mix of the music events, however, was the county fair’s Latino Night on Aug. 13, which saw a slew of Spanish-speaking musicians and bands perform.

Running from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m., and headlined by Tierra Cali, attendees had the opportunity to listen, dance and sing along with Diana Reyes, Alfa 7 and Fortaleza De Tierra Caliente — a Hermiston band.

“We try to hit all the major genres,” said Andy Wagner, the fair’s music director, but mentioned the fair tries to get classic and upcoming country, rock and Latino music.

The organizers have their work cut out for them.

Latino music alone is a vast genre that spans continents and centuries, with sounds ranging from modern pop and reggaeton, which blends hip-hop and dancehall, to sounds such as banda, bachata and duranguense.

Miguel Velasco, the main Latino talent scout for the fair for more than a decade, looks at what groups people want to hear and groups that have a good following, said his son Mike. The Velascos, who own Velascos Used Cars in Hermiston and sponsor the event, formerly owned a nightclub in Hermiston where the Ixtapa Mexican Restaurant stands. Through their contracts and connections from the nightclub, they are able to find acts for Latino Night.

As long as it falls within their budget, Wagner is happy to let Velasco do his thing and pick acts he thinks are a good fit. After reaching out to promoters, Velasco “gets contracts, tells us what they need, how it’s gonna work and then we’re good to go,” Wagner said.

As for the genres they pick, “It just depends,” Mike Velasco said. “Every year is different.”

But, he mentioned they aim to get a variety of groups and something that everyone will like. This year’s headliner, Tierra Cali, which is comprised of five brothers from Michoacan, highlights the regional genre called Tierra Caliente — the band’s namesake.

The genre has origins in technobanda and heavily uses keyboards, drums and bass. Alfa 7 is similar to Tierra Cali, said Velasco, but it does a lot of romantic music as well.

“They’ve been around for a long time,” he said. “They have really good music.”

Diana Reyes, meanwhile, is a well-known singer throughout Mexico who performs duranguense — an upbeat genre with a type of dance that has people moving and spinning with partners.

Fortaleza de Tierra Caliente, the local band from Hermiston, plays a little bit of everything, from romantic to Tierra Caliente and more, said Velasco. He mentioned there is a reason popular Mexican songs stay in demand here.

“You really have to make a hit in Mexican music,” he said, “for it to stand the test of time.”