MINOT — Kid Rock with special guest Night Ranger, Cody Johnson, Elvie Shane, Will Banister, Old Dominion, Koe Wetzel & Nelly, and Sam Hunt will be at the 2022 North Dakota State Fair to be held July 22-30, 2022. The Demolition Derby and Mandan Hidatsa Arikara (MHA) Indian Horse Relay will be held in the grandstand as well and the Bull Riding Challenge and Ranch Bronc Riding will be held in the North Dakota State Fair Center again this year. Tickets go on sale March 24 at 8am, to purchase go to https://ndstatefair.com/ and click ‘Get Tickets’.
Friday, July 22 – Kid Rock with special guest Night Ranger
Kid Rock burst onto the music scene in 1998 with his Devil Without a Cause album and hasn't looked back. From hit singles like “Bawitdaba” and “Cowboy” to “Picture” and “All Summer Long,” the recording artist has blazed his own trail in the music world, having sold over 26 million albums to date and continuing to tour.
Night Ranger’s popularity is fueled by an impressive number of instantly recognizable hit singles and signature album tracks, including legendary titles such as “Sister Christian,” “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me,” “When You Close Your Eyes,” the anthemic “(You Can Still) Rock In America,” along with “Sentimental Street,” “Goodbye,” “Sing Me Away,” and “Four in the Morning.” They have sold over 17 million albums worldwide.
Saturday, July 23 – Cody Johnson
Cody Johnson’s passionate, rowdy concerts have drawn comparisons to Garth Brooks, and the music from his previous albums – inspired by ’90s country foundations, but built for the 21st century – has made him a familiar presence on Texas and Oklahoma red-dirt radio. In 2018, Johnson won Texas Regional Radio’s Male Vocalist again, while adding Album of the Year for Gotta Be Me and Single, for “Wild As You.” Johnson is also known for his hit songs, “On My Way To You,” “Nothin’ On You,” and his new hit, “Til’ You Can’t.”
Sunday, July 24 – Elvie Shane
He’s the man behind the most heartwarming country hit in recent memory – the lump-in-your-throat anthem to step-fatherhood, “My Boy.” The road ahead is rarely a straight shot, and with Backslider, his full-length album debut on Wheelhouse Records, he gives that truth a soundtrack. Like “My Boy,” Shane co-wrote each of the 15 tracks on Backslider, painting a sonic “bigger picture” of not just himself, but life in small-town America – just as gritty as it is graceful. “I Will Run” kicks the album off with an epic blast of classic rock optimism, working like a preamble. Unlike “My Boy,” with Shane stepping into the role by choice, his new song, “Miles,” traces a different route to coming of age – but that same country wisdom applies. Always forward, never straight.
Monday, July 25 – Demolition Derby
Racing into the grandstand on Monday is the demolition derby. Back for the first time in many years, come to the Fair on Monday and watch cars crash into each other. The last man standing wins and receives prize money!
Tuesday, July 26 – MHA Indian Horse Relay
Brand new to the North Dakota State Fair is the MHA Indian Horse Relay. A night full of entertainment featuring talented Native American athletes gathering their teams and racing their horses to the finish line on one of the shortest tracks in the Midwest! A team consists of four members – a rider, a mugger, two holders, and three horses. Riders mount their first horses bareback at the stall, while the holders retain the other two horses. After making a lap around the track, the rider hops off of the first horse and mounts the second horse in a dazzling display of athleticism. It is the mugger’s job to catch the first horse. After repeating the process once more, the third and final lap ends at the finish line in front of the grandstand. There will be 4 heats with a championship round concluding the relay. While they set up for each heat, the MHA Dancers will be on the main stage in the grandstand providing entertainment.
Wednesday, July 27 – Will Banister
On September 17, Clint Eastwood’s film, Cry Macho was released to theater as well as HBO Max, in which Will performed the opening song entitled “Find a New Home.” This song was written by Grammy Award Winner Mark Mancina. Will has performed all over the Southwest, in states such as New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, in addition to multiple tours in the U.K. and Europe. His latest album, Everything Burns, consists of 11 songs, 10 of which were either written or co-written by Banister, received a 5 star review, and was announced as album of the month in March of 2020 edition of the U.K. publication Country Music People Magazine.
Thursday, July 28 – Old Dominion
Since breaking onto the music scene in 2014, Old Dominion has notched eight number one singles in country radio, surpassed 1 billion on-demand streams, earned several platinum and gold single certifications and headlined arenas and amphitheaters around the globe. The band recently took home awards for Song of The Year for their hit single “One Man Band”, and Group of the Year at the 2020 ACM Awards.
Friday, July 29 – Koe Wetzel & Nelly
Koe Wetzel’s brewing a homegrown blend of grunge, country, Americana, and anything else he pleases. The Texas-born singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer has unapologetically bulldozed a path of his own since 2015 without permission. After moving 200,000-plus units of independent album releases such as Noise Complaint in 2017 and Harold Saul High in 2019, racking up over 485 million streams and views to date, selling out countless shows, and even launching his own live extravaganza, Koe Wetzel’s Incredible Music Festival, he made his major label debut in 2020 with his third album, Sellout. The record displays many sides of Koe from the masterful yet melancholic melody of “Drunk Driving” and double entendre of “Drug Problem” to the airy steel guitar and whistling of “Crying from the Bathroom Floor.”
Diamond-selling, multi-platinum, Grammy-award-winning rap superstar, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and actor, Nelly, has continually raised the bar for the entertainment industry since stepping on the scene in 2000 with his distinctive vocals and larger-than-life personality. His collaboration with Florida Georgia Line received diamond status and he is only one of seven rappers to reach this honor. Nelly entered the spotlight with the release of Country Grammar in 2000, spending seven weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and spawning the massive hits “Ride Wit Me,” “Country Grammar,” and “E.I.”
Saturday, July 30 – Sam Hunt
Multi-platinum-selling, award-winning hitmaker Sam Hunt’s sophomore album, Southside, debuted to critical acclaim and was one of the top country albums of 2020, landing at number 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Named one of the Best Albums of the Year by The New York Times and US Weekly, the platinum-selling project features 12 songs all written by Hunt, including his number 1 hits “Kinfolks,” “Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90s,” one of NPR’s Best Songs of 2020, “Hard To Forget,” and his three-week number 1, eight-time-platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated smash, “Body Like A Back Road.” Hunt’s latest song, “23,” is playing on country radio now. Since Montevallo’s 2014 release, Hunt has accumulated over 11 billion global streams.
In addition to the concerts, the Bull Riding Challenge and Ranch Bronc Riding will be held July 25 and 26 and the Ranch Rodeo will be held July 27 and 28.
All five country concerts plus two auto events are on the Grandstand Showpass for one price, $110.
Saturday, July 23 – Cody Johnson
Sunday, July 24 – Elvie Shane
Monday, July 25 – Demolition Derby
Tuesday, July 26 – MHA Indian Horse Relay
Wednesday, July 27 – Will Banister
Thursday, July 28 – Old Dominion
Saturday, July 30 – Sam Hunt
Single Ticket Shows –
Friday, July 22 – Kid Rock with special guest Night Ranger $65
Friday, July 29 – Koe Wetzel and Nelly $50
The North Dakota State Fair is the largest annual event in North Dakota. The nine-day event is host to around 300,000 people and is held the third week of July. This year’s dates are July 22-30, 2022.
