New York Ag Connection - Fair's Experience Stage Features National Acts, Festivals, More

New York Ag News Headlines

Fair's Experience Stage Features National Acts, Festivals, More
New York Ag Connection - 08/09/2018

The 2018 Great New York State Fair's second music stage is taking a big step up, offering even more great music and special performances to fairgoers attending this year's Fair. The Experience Stage, located in the New York Experience festival grounds on the western end of the Fairgrounds, will feature more than 50 musical performances over the 13 days of the Fair.

"Just as we've invested a record amount in our Chevy Court stage, we're also making a similar investment in our Experience Stage. We've been the biggest music festival in Upstate New York but we're not resting on our reputation. We also want to find a way to introduce more fairgoers to the beautiful New York Experience area," said Acting Fair Director Troy Waffner.

The Fair has previously announced performances by four national recording artists on the Experience Stage: Eddie Money, All Time Low, John Kay & Steppenwolf and Foghat. The rest of the lineup breaks into these areas:

- Special festivals: The stage will present a dozen performances during the three-day Latino Village Weekend, highlighted by the Friday, August 24 performance by Puerto Rican recording artists Grupo Karis and the Aug. 25 interview of three Latino reality stars. The following Saturday, the Syracuse JAMS FunkFest returns, with five performances capped by an appearance by funk recording artists The Zapp Band.

- Tribute bands: Several top regional and touring tribute bands will perform, including Ramblin' Gamblin' Band (Bob Seger tribute), Hard Promises: The Music of Tom Petty, Big Eyed Phish (Dave Matthews Band tribute), Thunderstruck (AC/DC tribute), Dark Hollow (Grateful Dead tribute) and Badfish (Sublime tribute).

- Top regional bands: Bands from around Upstate New York will perform, including Utica's Gridley Paige, Herkimer's Max Scialdone, Schenectady's Blase DeBris, Albany duo Sirsy, Rochester's MoChester and others.

- Special events: The stage will be home to several special performances, such as the lineup of woman-led bands on Women's Day at the Fair (My So-Called Band, Bad Mana's Blues Band, the Jess Novak Band and Root Shock), the Armed Force Day concert from the 198th Army Reserve Band and the Rock The Redhouse Youth Rock Band Showcase on Aug. 28.

The Experience Stage and Chevy Court stage are sponsored by Chevrolet.

The New York Experience festival ground on the western end of the Fairgrounds will also be the home of several special events, such as the two, Family Fishing Days in the pond and the Timber Sports and Forestry Experience Day, featuring demonstrations from collegiate timber sports teams. Each night at 9:30 p.m., events in the area end with a Drone Light Show, featuring 25 drones flying in patterns choreographed to music. Adirondack chairs offer fairgoers a quiet place to have a drink and take a break.

The New York State Fair, operated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, runs from Aug. 22 to Sept. 3. The Fair's mission, reflected in its theme, "FIND YOUR GREAT," is to showcase the best of New York agriculture while providing top-quality entertainment.

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