When Justin Baxter starts his opening set at the Park County Fair on Thursday night, the experience will be a bit different from his other gigs.

“It had always been a dream of mine to play on that stage,” said Baxter, who grew up in Powell.

Baxter said fairgoers can expect “a nod to the ‘90s country that we all grew up on,” with his three bandmates and himself delivering a mix of original songs and covers.

“It’s a high-energy country show like nobody’s ever seen before,” he said. “We like to keep things light, we like to joke around and have a good time, but then we get after it …”

“We don’t really have any slow songs,” Baxter added. “We usually like to bring it when we come.”

The current Casper resident has spent the past few years building up to events like Thursday’s grandstand performance, where he’ll open for Tris Munsick and the Innocents. 

“The only reason that I’ve been able to get to where I am in any of this is because God gave me a gift,” Baxter said. He put in the work, too, playing “a whole bunch” of acoustic shows and “opening for some of my heroes in the game.”

One of those heroes is the country musician Craig Campbell, who’s had eight singles reach the country chart and who’s been a mentor to Baxter. The Nashville singer has served as a sounding board and provided tips for reaching the next level, Baxter said. “That coupled with … I do not have a quit button, and I’ve always been told that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”

His persistence helped land Thursday’s performance and a slew of other summer gigs, including roughly 15 this month. In recent weeks, Baxter performed at Cheyenne’s Outlaw Saloon, headlined at the Beacon Club and sang in Boise. And following Thursday’s performance, he’ll immediately head to Buffalo on Friday and Gillette on Saturday.

Baxter’s vocals (and occasional rhythm guitar) are backed by three bandmates from Casper: Robert Brackel on the electric guitar, Ryan Bell on drums and Scott Harris on bass. 

“I feel like I have the best band in the entire state,” Baxter said, “and I’d put these guys up against anybody.”

They’ll be making the most of their time in Park County, with plans to shoot a music video in support of an album that’s being released in September. Baxter won’t be gone long, either. He’s due back at Washington Park Aug. 2 for the K-Bar Saloon’s concert series.

Next summer’s schedule is already filling up, too.

“We’ve just been hitting the phones a lot, trying to get everything booked,” Baxter said. “[We’re] gonna make a run at this thing.”

Thursday’s concert begins at 7 p.m., with the gate open at 6 p.m.