You will laugh, clap your hands and tap your toes to the Park County Fair’s headline musical act on July 26. There’s also a good chance you will cry. He will.

Tyler Rich will be playing many of his previous hits as well as a couple songs from his yet-to-be-released second album, “Leaving California.” One song in particular, “Dogs Don’t Die”— about the loss of Abby, his rescued husky and best friend — makes Rich emotional, he said in an exclusive interview with the Tribune.

“I still cry every night we play it,” he said. “It's crazy. It’s 14 months later and I still cry when I talk about it.”

If things had been different, Rich may have worked in the pet industry. But he didn’t have the heart for it.

“I was going to be a vet. But when I had to put my first dog to sleep, I was like, I could never do that,” he said.

Instead, he became a road dog, touring from town to town with Abby sharing his music and message with millions. A decade later, his songs have been streamed more than a half-billion times.

Rich’s new husky/malinois mix, Yukon, and Abby were both were rescues from shelters. His lifelong passion for animals led him to establish Rich Rescues, a traveling initiative to inspire fans to help shelter pets in their own communities.

Rich started the charity in early 2020 and did about 10 memorable shelter visits with epic response; fans adopted dogs immediately. COVID shut down the effort, but the artist created relationships with shelters, did Instagram Live fundraising and continued working to get animals fostered.

Back on the road again, Rich is happy to be playing live music and visiting shelters.

“Fans send Instagram messages like, ‘You should go to my favorite bar!’ I thought, why not force-feed them all these adorable animals in the middle of that content and they won’t even see it coming,” he said.

It worked. It also created a deeper connection with fans. He often receives pictures and updates of dogs that fans have adopted.

“It’s the most rewarding thing in the world,” Rich said. “Knowing you’re instrumental in changing an animal’s life for the better is hard to take in. You’re not just changing that animal’s life; that animal will change yours.”

Yukon, like Abby, is always on the tour when traveling by bus and is part of the family pack. Yet, while the song is emotional and honest, all of Rich’s songwriting is an exercise in honesty.

“I’ve always really tried to dive into lyrics as deep as I can; to be as specific and honest with what I'm actually trying to talk and to paint a picture for listeners,” Rich said. “I pride myself on lyrics that paint a little bit of a different picture than some of the other stuff that I listened to,” he said.

After high school, Rich joined a couple different bands. They toured the country for a few years. And then he went back to school for a degree in economics.

“I do think my econ degree comes into play sometimes. But then, when it goes bad, I just, you know, blame other people,” he said jokingly.

After receiving his degree he was right back on the road and recording tracks.

“I’ve been touring my whole life for the most part. I'm a road dog through and through,” he said.

In 2015 he got his first big break after recording and releasing the hit song, “Radio” independently.

“That was the one that garnered some attention from Nashville that got me some meetings and led to me moving here nine years ago,” he said.

His debut album, “Two Thousand Miles,” included the Gold-certified single “The Difference,” plus subsequent releases “Better Than You’re Used To,” “A Little Bit of You” and “Trucks Don’t Lie.”

Now, as he works to finish “Leaving California,” Rich is only doing a fraction of his usual number of concert dates. He has only done seven concerts so far this year. His trip to Powell will be part of his summer series. He’s also playing in Bozeman July 19 and Casper the night before his Powell stop.

Rich may also be occupied at home where he and his wife, actress Sabina Gadecki, are working on starting a family.

Gadecki has had major recurring roles in TV shows such as “L.A.s Finest” starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, and also appeared in “Narcos,” “The Affair” and “House of Lies.” On the film side, she played the role of Melanie, in “Entourage” opposite Jeremy Piven and Adrian Grenier. Other films include, “Dark Was The Night,” “False Positive” and “Freaky Deaky,” among many others.

Gadecki has also worked as a model for global brands including Saks Fifth Avenue, Oil of Olay, Banana Republic and Jimmy Choo.

Gadecki currently resides in Los Angeles, which inspired Rich’s album title, “Leaving California.”

“My wife is an actress, and so our home is in Nashville, but she has an apartment in L.A. still because of her job. And so we've just been this forever, back and forth, long distance relationship since we met eight years ago,” he said. “[The album] is about the fact that I left California almost a decade ago, but I still have to leave California — and her — just on repeat all the time.”

But he’s not complaining. He is gaining fans every day and hopes to do so in Powell as well. If he can work it out, he might stop at the Moyer Animal Shelter. But no promises have been made at this point.

“It's usually something I kind of figure out a week before, give or take, once I have a final run of things,” he said.

For Rich, the concert series, his wife, Yukon and family and friends are enough. Everything else is just gravy, he said.

“If you can make enough money to tour and survive, that's my definition that you've already made it,” Rich said. “Because that's hard enough as it is.”