POP BEAT\All's fair at Starfest.

Byline: Fred Shuster

Country Music Television's Starfest '96, the annual four-day country music festival at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, has announced a lineup that includes everyone from Tammy Wynette to Wylie & the Wild West Show.

The event, which kicks off on May 9, is sanctioned by the Academy of Country Music and the California Country Music Association, and makes it possible for fans to meet stars, hear them perform and get their autographs.

Opening-day acts include Billy Ray Cyrus, Joe Diffie, Wynette, Earl Thomas Conley, Chubby Checker, Doug Kershaw, Stonewall Jackson and others.

May 10 has Tracy Lawrence, Ricky Skaggs, Bryan White, Steve Maynard, B.B. Watson, the Wild West Show and more. May 11 sees Jeff Foxworthy, Martina McBride, Toby Keith, Rick Trevino, daytime soap star Jon Lindstrom and more.

On May 12, the closing day of Starfest '96 brings together Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Jeff Carson, Johnny Paycheck, the Moffats, Kenneth & West and Asleep at the Wheel. There also will be a special Mother's Day show with Pat Boone, the Diamonds, the Chordettes, Cliffie Stone & the Riders of the Purple Sage, Pat Paulsen and more.

Advance tickets at $20 per day or $60 for a four-day pass are available at Wherehouse locations. Information: [phone].

Together again

If you were intrigued by the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan-Eddie Vedder collaboration on the "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack, you may want to investigate Khan's latest album with Canadian experimental guitarist Michael Brook.

The disc, "Night Song" (Real World), contains a sort of ethnic trance music that pairs Khan's soaring Pakistani Qawwali singing with Brook's ambient soundscapes.

This isn't the first time Khan and Brook have made unusual music together. In 1990, the pair collaborated on "Mustt Mustt" (Real World).

Etc.

Need a good reason to drive to Alta Loma?

Here's one: Don Preston.

Preston, a former member of both the Freddie King and Leon Russell bands, played the dazzling solos on Dave Mason's landmark "Alone Together" album.

At 3 p.m. Sundays, the Telecaster master jams with European blues singer Alexander and a rhythm section at Pepper's, 9740 19th St., Alta Loma. Information: [phone].