After a hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, grandstand concerts are back at the Missouri State Fair in 2021 and the first four announcements came Monday afternoon.
According to a news release, Trace Adkins will open the 2021 grandstand concert series on Opening Day, Thursday, Aug. 12. Adkins has sold more than 11 million albums and charted more than 20 singles including “You’re Gonna Miss This,” which won Academy of Country Music’s (ACM) single of the year, “Every Light in the House,” and “No Thinkin’ Thing.” Opening for Adkins is comedian Dusty Slay, the youngest comedian ever to perform on the Grand Ole Opry Stage in Nashville.
The release states Nashville-based multi-platinum recording artist and 2019 ACM Award nominee for Song of the Year, Russell Dickerson, will take the grandstand stage on Friday, Aug. 13 performing his hits like “Yours” and “Blue Tacoma.” Cassadee Pope, a GRAMMY-nominated, platinum-certified singer-songwriter, will open for Dickerson. Pope was the season three winner of the television show “The Voice,” and has a platinum-selling single, “Wasting All These Tears,” from her No. 1 debut album “Frame by Frame.”
Next up will be R&B group Boyz II Men performing on the Fair’s first Saturday, Aug. 14, according to the release. The trio holds the distinction of being the best-selling R&B group of all time with hits like “End of the Road,” “I’ll Make Love to You,” and “One Sweet Day.” Opening for Boyz II Men is Kazual, a family band of three brothers and a cousin who mix the sounds of R&B, hip hop and pop together in their performances.
The final announcement in the news release was that on Tuesday, Aug. 17, Missouri-native Tyler Farr and Tenille Townes will take the State Fair Grandstand stage. Farr has three No. 1 songs — “Redneck Crazy,” “Whiskey in My Water,” and “A Guy Walks Into a Bar,” along with a growing string of hits. Townes' first official single, “Somebody’s Daughter,” impacted country radio, and Rolling Stone heralded her as “one of country’s most promising young songwriters.”
More information, including ticket pricing for each show, can be found at mostatefair.com. Tickets will go on sale to the public starting June 29.
The 119th Missouri State Fair, themed “Our Missouri Celebration,” will be hosted Aug. 12-22 in Sedalia.
