By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

Singer Jaron Bell, who will headline Marion County Fair’s entertainment July 26, is proud of his success as a country artist, but it is far from his only talent.

“I don’t know which one I get more excited by,” he said. “I love being on stage, but I get a thrill from being in a boardroom with a company interested in using my business.”

Bell brings a business savvy that includes owning a marketing company and working with the Salina Liberty arena football team.

“I’ve started to be more open about the fact I work with the Liberty as marketing director,” he said.

Originally a Texan, Bell has adjusted to Kansas in his time at Salina.

“I’ve been here almost four years, so it’s a second home for sure,” he said.

Fair organizers impressed Bell.

“When people talk about events like this you can tell whether they care about the town,” he said. “You can tell these people are trying to bring entertainment to the community, and I love that.”

Bell promotes his music and other interests with online videos.

“I’m lucky because I can do things the way I want to,” he said. “I love integrating that. On one video, you can see me play a Keith Whitley country song, and next is playing Fortnite with my friends.”

Bell isn’t an elite video gamer, but streaming and gaming adds another layer of social interaction.

“Most country artists probably aren’t streaming and playing video games,” he said. “But in 2019’s marketplace, people love relatability and authenticity.”

His commitment to promotion is paying off. He has had four singles with on the Top 50 for Texas Music Chart’s red dirt genre.

“The majority of my momentum and success, I guess you could say, has happened over the last 1½ years,” he said. “I like to make jokes that the time before that was market research. I love telling jokes and making people smile.

“I love country music, but not so much that I want to sit in my house and play it by myself. I’m trying to accomplish something and spread the word about what I’m doing.”

Bell occasionally takes a step back to enjoy other genres.

“What’s easy to forget is that I’m a fan of music like everyone else,” he said. “I’ll listen to Brooks and Dunn or Luke Combs, but if it’s Friday and we’re hanging out, you’re going to hear some T-Pain on my playlist. You’re going to hear Tupac. That’s the world we live in.”