SEDALIA — The Missouri State Fair made two big concert announcements on Monday, March 13.
Friday, Aug. 11 will feature Lainey Wilson, CMA 2022 Female Vocalist of the Year, CMA 2022 New Artist of the Year and ACM’s 2022 New Female Artist of the Year, on the State Fair Grandstand stage, presented by CFM Insurance, at the 2023 Missouri State Fair. Opening for Wilson is fast-rising county singer/songwriter Jackson Dean.
Tickets for the show are $60 for track and $50 for grandstand.
A news release states that Louisiana native Lainey Wilson is one of Nashville’s hottest and most buzzed-about new artists. She’s been named to nearly every “Artist to Watch” list, crowned Billboard’s “Top New Country Artist of 2021,” and earned CMT’s 2022 “Breakout Artist of the Year” honor. She landed her first No. 1 with her Platinum Certified ACM Song of the Year, “Things A Man Oughta Know,” nearly 10 years after leaving her small farming community to chase her dreams. The release states Wilson’s music “blends traditional Country with a modern yet retro flare.”
According to the release, Wilson is “a fresh, fierce voice in Nashville,” delivering with her label debut, “Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’.” She has performed for sold-out crowds throughout the U.S., U.K., and Germany with notable names like Jon Pardi, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, HARDY, Jason Aldean, and Ashley McBryde. She has co-writer credits on songs by artists including Luke Combs and Flatland Calvary.
After topping the country radio charts for a second time with the two-week No. 1 hit, “Never Say Never” with Cole Swindell, her current single “Heart Like a Truck” is Top 5 and climbing, while her Hardy collaboration “Wait in the Truck” sits just behind in the Top 10. Her critically acclaimed album, “Bell Bottom Country,” reached No. 9 on Billboard’s Country Albums Chart, quickly rose to No. 1 on iTunes charts, and has amassed over 161 million streams.
Most recently, she made her acting debut in Season Five of the hit series “Yellowstone.”
According to the release, Jackson Dean is quickly earning a reputation for his old-school, gritty, lyric-driven, outlaw style of Country. The 22-year-old multi-instrumentalist is also a skilled artisan. The release states he brings a “sense of adventure and downhome vibe to his songwriting,” as shown on his debut album, “GREENBROKE.”
The Maryland native’s single, “Don’t Come Lookin,’” was the fastest debut to reach No. 1 in 2022 and cemented Dean as the youngest solo male Country artist to reach the top of the charts with a debut. Landing spots on the Billboard Hot 100, the soundtrack for Netflix’s “The Ice Road” and a John Dutton scene in “Yellowstone,” the song has 80 million streams.
Following an early career of local performances in his hometown, Dean has joined bills with acts like Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Brantley Gilbert, Kane Brown, Jake Owen, Brooks & Dunn, Lee Brice and Brothers Osborne.
Grammy-winning, multiplatinum hip-hop superstar Nelly will take the State Fair Grandstand stage on Friday, Aug. 18. Tickets are $50 for track and $40 for grandstand.
According to a news release, the standout member of the St. Louis rap collective the St. Lunatics inked a deal with Universal Motown Records, dropped a single called “Country Grammar,” and followed it up in the summer of 2000 with a debut album of the same name. The album spawned three hits, spent seven weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart, and sold 9 million copies worldwide. It also snagged four Grammy nominations, two for Best Rap Solo Performance (“Ride Wit Me,” “Country Grammar”), Best Rap/Song Collaboration (“Where The Party At,” with Jagged Edge), and Best Rap Album.
Nelly topped Billboard’s 2000 year-end chart as the Top Male Rap Artist, and he was nominated for two Source Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, two BET Awards, an American Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. He is ranked No. 3 on Billboard’s definitive list of the best-selling artists of the 2000s and is also tied with Elton John for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart by a male solo artist.
These two concerts join the lineup with two previously announced shows, Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line with Parmalee on Thursday, Aug. 10 and Cory Asbury and CAIN on Wednesday, Aug. 16.
Tickets to all State Fair Grandstand concerts will go on sale to the public starting at 9 a.m. June 27 through Etix. For more information, visit mostatefair.com.
The 121st Missouri State Fair, themed “Where Traditions Grow,” is Aug. 10-20 in Sedalia.
