Who Is Performing For The 2026 Minnesota State Fair Free Shows?

When it comes to entertainment at the Minnesota State Fair each year, it goes way beyond the shows at the Grandstand.

While the Grandstand entertainment gets the most attention each year for bringing in bigger acts like this year's roster, which includes Rod Stewart, AJR, Brad Paisley, Weird Al, and HARDY, there is a lot more entertainment each year at the fair.

Even better, that other entertainment is FREE with the price of admission into the fair!

Organizers of the Minnesota State Fair just dropped a huge list of more than 100 acts that will put on more than 900 shows around the fairgrounds over the 12 days of the 2026 Minnesota State Fair.

A vast majority of those free entertainment opportunities each year are made up of local music acts, comedians, dance groups, mentalists, a lumberjack show, and more. Some of each year's free shows, though, bring in more notable names you can still enjoy without spending anything extra aside from your ticket to get into the fair.

This year's extensive lineup includes some fun highlights! Here are a few of the bigger acts:

Vertical Horizon: Splashing onto the scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s with hits like "Everything You Want", "You're a God", and "Best I Ever Had", these alt-rockers will be doing two shows at the fair this year. They'll be playing at 8:30 pm on both August 27 and 28 at the Luther Auto Bandshell.

Margo Price: The Grammy-nominated Country/Americana singer-songwriter will be playing a pair of shows at the Luther Auto Bandshell, performing at 8:30 pm on both August 29 and 30.

Durry: The indie rock brother-sister duo from Burnsville, Minnesota, gained viral attention on TikTok in 2021, and their viral success quickly turned into lots of streams on streaming services and even a shoutout from Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst. They'll be playing two different shows at the Luther Auto Bandshell. One at 7:30 pm on September 6, and the other at 7 pm on September 7.

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The Sugarhill Gang + Melle Mel & Scorpio of the Furious Five: The group behind the 1980s hit Rapper's Delight, The Sugarhill Gang, will be teaming up with Melle Mel & Scorpio from the Furious Five for a pair of shows at 8:30 pm on August 31 and September 1 at the Luther Auto Bandshell.

Other shows include performances from Yacht Rock Revue, a tribute show to the Minneapolis Sound, and popular regional acts like The Fabulous Armadillos, The Cactus Blossoms, Nur-D, Maygen & The Birdwatcher, and many (many) more.

You can see the entire 100+ free entertainment acts and schedule for this year's Minnesota State Fair here.

If you're looking to enjoy a show at the Grandstand as well, here's the full lineup:

2026 Minnesota State Fair Grandstand Performers

Here is the schedule of all of the performing acts that will take the Grandstand stage at the Minnesota State Fair in 2026. As more acts are announced, we'll update this schedule.

Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper - TSM Duluth