Crowd welcomes Nelly to Findlay Arena

Arms were waving. Hips were swaying. It was hot in the Findlay Arena on Monday night at the North Idaho State Fair when rapper Nelly hit the stage. 

As the three-time Grammy-winning rapper hit the stage, a roaring crowd met him in response. 

"We love Nelly," State Line resident Corinne Phillips, 18, said. "He's the best."

The love of Nelly was evident not only in the whoops and shimmies of attendees but ticket sales. For the first time in North Idaho State Fair history, the concert sold out floor and grandstand arena space. 

For some, seeing Nelly on Monday night was their first concert in years. That was the case for Post Falls resident Darcy Belcher, who hasn't been to a concert event since 1994, when she saw the Beach Boys perform.

"I haven't been to a concert since," Belcher, 43, said laughing while standing next to husband CJ. "Timing, work, family, it just gets hard. I tried to see Snoop Dogg when he was supposed to play in Washington, but work got in the way."

Belcher felt the answer was obvious when asked why she chose to make Nelly her first concert in almost 20 years. 

"I mean, it just gets Nelly," she said. 

Leading up to the Monday show, some Kootenai County residents had expressed their opposition to the rapper headlining the 10-day North Idaho State Fair arena events. Specifically, in an email chain titled "Whoa Nelly," individuals said they were "appalled by the actions of the fair board in selecting rapper entertainment for the fair." 

But attendees sang a different tune, notably the tune of Nelly's top hits like "Hot in Herre," "Ride with me" and "Dilemma," the songs TJ Asberry, 29, and Joey Martin, 29, were most excited to hear. 

"Nelly has never been here before," Asberry, born and raised in Kootenai County, said. "So heck yeah, we were going to come." 

Tickets to the show sold out quickly, with over 3,000 purchased by early June. Four of those tickets went to State Line residents Amanda Soto, Abbey Fleck, Corinne Phillips and her mom, Danielle. 

"We all got so excited when we found out he was coming here," Danielle Phillips, 49, said. 

"We got tickets right away," Soto, 25, said. 

Among the crowd of North Idaho locals, four women from Libby, Mont., were ready for the Nelly show — and had the matching custom T-shirts to prove it. 

"We drove three hours to be here," Jen Rebo, one of the Montana natives, said. "It's our third time seeing Nelly. The last time was two years ago."

On a scale of one to 10, Rebo said their excitement for the show was pretty high.

"Probably a 12," she said as the four women laughed. 

Despite all the rumblings of community concern for Nelly's concert, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said there hadn't been any issues Monday evening. 

"To be honest, I think it's just going to go off without a hitch," Norris said as he stood in front of the arena entrance.

KCSO partnered with the Coeur d'Alene Police Department for the Monday show, Norris said and had 15 officers patrolling the area. Local police officers were joined by two other security companies, Crowd Management and North Idaho Security. The multiple security teams were an effort by the Kootenai County Fairgrounds to ensure a "safe, family-friendly, fun event" for everyone, Fairgrounds General Manager Alexcia Jordan said. 

"Everyone has seemed pretty excited about the show," Jordan said Monday. "It's great to see."