KEARNEY — Sporting her trademark eye shade, Raven-Symoné danced and sang her way into the hearts of more than 2,000 Kearney-area fans Tuesday night in concert at the FirsTier Event Center.

The event was part of the Buffalo County Fair.

The performer apologized for missing the original concert date. Bad weather in Chicago caused the cancellation of flights to Omaha. Raven spent 17 hours in the VIP lounge instead of flying to Nebraska. By the time she took the stage Tuesday, the crowd was chanting her name. She sang and danced through a set of music from her CD, “Raven-Symoné,” and from other Disney projects.

In the middle of the show, Raven stopped to ask if anyone in the audience was having a birthday. She invited everyone to sing along with her on a version “Happy Birthday.”

“Let’s sing ‘Happy Birthday, ya’ll’, since I’m from Atlanta,” she said.

Raven also had another suggestion for her audience.

“If someone bought a ticket for you or drove you to the concert,” she said, “why don’t you take a moment and say ‘thank you’ to them.”

The next sound was that of more than a thousand young voices saying thank you.

Opening the concert was a set of music from Kearney resident Ashton Jackson. She sang songs from her collection of country music, including “My Day,” a song written by Jeremy Stover, Casey Koesel and Brian Maher.

Kids speak about concert

“I thought the show was really cool. I liked ‘Double Dutch Bus’ the best. I know all the words to it.”
- Kaitlyn Brown, 11, Hastings

“Iliked the songs she sang.”
- Tori Anderson, 7, Overton

“It was awesome. I think the boys were the best dancers. My favorite song was ‘Double Dutch Bus.’”
- Alize Valderaz, 9, Grand Island

“Iliked the show. I always wanted to meet Raven. She was really good at singing and dancing.”
- Coriaina Utley, 10, Grand Island

“She did some good dancing tricks. That’s what I liked best.”
- Desi Anderson, 7, Overton