Mid-State Fair is bringing back its grandstand concert series. What will that look like?
The California Mid-State Fair is bringing back its popular grandstand concert series this summer after a sizable hiatus, fair spokesman Tom Keffury confirmed Friday.
According to Keffury, the Paso Robles fair’s board of directors voted Wednesday to move forward with plans to hold the Bud Light Concert Series, which typically features big-name music and acts performing on the fair’s largest stage, the Grandstand Arena.
“We’ve always been known for our entertainment,” Keffury said Friday. “When people come to the fair, we want them to hear music. We want them to see shows.”
That’s welcome news for fair fans, who were crushed when the Mid-State Fair canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fair is working to line up bands
So what the Bud Light Concert Series look like this year?
That depends on a variety of factors, including public health guidelines and the availability of the entertainment industry’s most in-demand performers, Keffury said.
Keffury said many big-name acts simply won’t be touring in California in July, when the Mid-State Fair starts.
Due to the California’s tighter COVID-19 restrictions, ”They’ve all booked their tours in other states,” he said. “Everybody’s coming to California in October and November.”
In addition, the fair is dealing with financial constraints tied to its lengthy COVID-19-related closure.
“Budget is a very big concern,” Keffury said. “It’s even been magnified by the time we are in.”
Other key factors affecting this summer’s grandstand concerts are state and local regulations regarding crowd capacity.
San Luis Obispo County is currently in the orange tier of coronavirus restrictions under California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, with hopes to moves into the less restrictive yellow tier soon.
Under the orange tier, the Grandstand Arena, which normally has a capacity of 15,000 people, could accommodate about 4,600 eventgoers, Keffury said. The number would rise to about 9,000 ticketholders under the yellow tier.
The tiers and their restrictions, however, likely will be moot in a matter of weeks.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in April that California will fully reopen its economy June 15 as long as it has a sufficient supply of vaccines and hospitalizations are low.
On Friday, state officials unveiled the full details of the reopening plan, which includes dropping the color-coded tier system. That means businesses could operate without capacity requirements or social distancing restrictions.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s secretary of health and human services, said the state will require organizers of indoor events with more than 5,000 people to verify that attendees are either vaccinated or have recently tested negative.
The state will recommend the same for outdoor events with more than 10,000 attendees, but not require it, he said.
With that in mind, “Our capacity is 9,999,” Keffury wrote via text.
“We do not want to be the vaccine police,” he wrote. “But also ... we have to be fiscally responsible and not book an act that would require 15,000 capacity.”
“We are doing this safely, following all the local and state mandates, but still trying to be the Mid-State Fair,” Keffury added.
Fair still wants a mix of music acts
That said, this summer’s fair entertainment lineup may look a little different than previous years.
“This year, the expectation needs to be that we’re going to do the best we can and get the biggest names that we can,” Keffury said. “This is probably not the year that Garth Brooks and Eric Church and Blake Shelton come to the fair.”
Fairgoers can also expect fewer Grandstand Arena events than usual.
In a normal year, Keffury said the fair features 10 nights of concerts, plus a rodeo and a “dirt show” such as a motocross showcase.
“This year we might have six or seven shows,” he said.
The Mid-State Fair may also have to change up its usual mix of musical genres.
“We always know that booking three or or four country shows is a good idea,” as well as “two or three rock shows,” Keffury said. “(Then) we like to sprinkle in a pop act or two.”
“Right now we have to find out who’s available,” he added, and go from there.
Rather than rely completely on touring acts, the Mid-State Fair is focusing more on local talent.
In fact, the fair is currently accepting applications for singers and bands who want to take the stage this summer.
“We’re going to book local bands on our free stages,” Keffury said, while also noting that “some local bands could open for big acts.”
Keffury said he wants folks to know that “the fair will probably be more normal than abnormal” this year.
“You’re going to be able to have a beer and eat some corndogs and see some animals and go on the rides … and maybe see a concert,” he said.
The California Mid-State Fair runs July 21 through Aug. 1 at the Paso Robles Event Center, with admission tickets going on sale in early June.
For more information, call 805-239-0655 or visit midstatefair.com.
This story was originally published May 21, 2021 at 2:23 PM.
