Legendary Iron Range Musician To Perform At 2025 Minnesota State Fair

This could arguably be one of the most entertaining musical performances at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair.

If you've ever met Steve Solkela or seen him perform, you know this guy is a wildly engaging and entertaining one-man band. If you don't know who he is, you're in for a real treat!

Also known as the "Finnish bard of the Iron Range", Solkela and his "'Overpopulated' One-Man Band" is a high-energy, quirky, and oh-so-Minnesota show is a spectacle that is guaranteed to make you smile.

Most often seen with an accordion (at least), Steve's full one-man band show includes more than 20 instruments and his rich, Minnesota-accented vocals singing originals and covers.

READ MORE: Pro tips for visiting the Minnesota State Fair for the first time

Here's a taste of what the Steve Solkela experience is like:

Or there's the spooky medley he did called "Ranger Things". See what he did there?

If you want to see Steve and his one-man band experience, he will be doing several performances over the course of two days at the 2025 Great Minnesota Get-Together.

Solkela will be providing a total of 6 shows, with three of them on Saturday, August 23, and another three on Sunday, August 24.

The shows on both days will be as follows:

• Show 1: 12:30 pm - 1:00 pm
• Show 2: 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm
• Show 3: 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Steve will be performing at the Schilling Amphitheater in the West End Market. It's conveniently near the far west terminal for the Skyride and next to the Midway, so you could Skyride your way to see Steve and enjoy some time at the Midway, too! You can see a map of the location here.

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His shows will be part of the price of admission to get into the fair, so you don't need to pay anything extra to see Steve play.

If music at the fair is on the menu for you this year, here's a look at all of the 2025 Grandstand performers: