The Wisconsin State Fair returns to Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis for its 2018 run from August 2-12. Dreaming of cream puffs? Looking forward to that can't-miss concert? Interested in the visual arts events at the fair? The Shepherd Express Wisconsin State Fair Guide has you covered! This special section is brought to you by the State Fair.
2018’s Wisconsin State Fair features a diverse main stage musical lineup, ranging from long-established favorites like Alice Cooper and The Temptations to younger acts like Casting Crowns and Why Don’t We.
Thursday, Aug. 2
Montgomery Gentry w/ The Steel Woods Main Stage Presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino 7:30 p.m.
Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry’s nearly 20-year collaboration came to an abrupt, tragic end last fall, when Gentry died in a helicopter crash on the way to a concert. He was 50 years old. For the better part of two decades, Montgomery and Gentry had been one of the most successful duos on the country circuit, with an unruly attitude that borrowed from the spirit of both outlaw country and classic Southern rock. They scored hits including “My Town,” “Something to Be Proud Of” and “Lucky Man.”
And now, for the first time, Montgomery finds himself touring without his career-defining collaborator. “I know I’m supposed to be a big badass outlaw or whatever,” he told Rolling Stone of his first Montgomery Gentry shows without Gentry. “But when we hit the stage a couple weeks ago without him, I was so nervous. I was like ‘Oh my God’—I thought I was gonna get sick. But finally I felt him in there, and I started smiling.” To honor his late partner, Montgomery is touring behind the duo’s final album, this year’s Here’s To You, which they completed shortly before Gentry’s death. It’s a celebration of all the things the late singer loved most: family, America and beer. (Evan Rytlewski)
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Friday, Aug. 3
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper Main Stage Presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino 8 p.m.
Alice Cooper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but he’s probably just as proud of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On his classic early ’70s albums, Cooper married hard rock with an ear for pop melody to a sensibility rooted in Roger Corman and Hammer Film Productions horror. Back then, some critics used the term “shock rock” to describe his mock executions and ghoulish stage makeup as well as his penchant for draping himself with live boa constrictors. Anyone listening closely to Cooper realized it was all in fun.
Cooper also had a knack for penning teen anthems. His best, “I’m Eighteen,” caught the emotional confusion of being on the cusp of manhood; “School’s Out” was a rousing cheer for the last day of class before summer vacation. His “shocking” early ’70s persona influenced a gaggle of ’80s bands including Twisted Sister and White Zombie. Recent decades have seen Cooper touring unrelentingly and releasing a string of hard rock albums, making guest appearances with Guns N’ Roses and Insane Clown Posse along with roles in movies such as Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare and Dark Shadows. He notably collaborated with fantasy writer Neil Gaiman on a comic book series based on his album The Last Temptation. (David Luhrssen)
Saturday, Aug. 4
BoDeans w/ The Original Wailers Main Stage Presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino 8 p.m.
After years of building buzz in roots-rock circles and on alternative rock playlists in the late ’80s and early ’90s, The BoDeans scored the biggest hit of their career with “Closer to Free,” best remembered as the theme song to the Fox drama “Party of Five.” Even at the peak of their success, though, the Waukesha-born group always retained close ties to their home state. They’ve been staples of Wisconsin festivals for decades, so it was only fitting that when the headliners originally scheduled for this show, Huey Lewis and the News, had to cancel because of Lewis’ hearing loss, the State Fair turned to these reliable local favorites to fill in.
The band’s co-founder Sam Llanas split from the group is 2011, but frontman Kurt Neumann hasn’t let his absence or the resulting drama slow him down much. He’s since released four new BoDeans albums, all of which find a balance between power-pop and Americana. His most recent is 2017’s Thirteen, an unusually intimate album performed almost entirely by Neumann that features music he wrote for the Netflix program “The Ranch.” It features a song that should resonate particular for the band’s local fanbase: “My Hometown,” a heartfelt tribute to the city that’s always supported him.
Reggae legends The Original Wailers, of Bob Marley fame, will open this show. (Evan Rytlewski)
Sunday, Aug. 5
Happy Together Tour
Happy Together Tour w/ Turtles, The Association Main Stage Presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino 7 p.m.
For many State Fair regulars, the event just wouldn’t be the same without this annual oldies tour, which unites survivors of some of the most popular pop and rock bands of the 1960s. Once again the tour is headlined by The Turtles, the California sunshine-pop band whose biggest hit, 1967’s “Happy Together,” lends the tour its name. After all these years, the band is still fronted by founding members Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman.
The Turtles are joined on the bill by some familiar faces, including Chuck Negron (formerly of Three Dog Night), Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, former Paul Revere & The Raiders singer Mark Lindsay, The Association and The Cowsills (the band that helped inspire “The Partridge Family”). That means audiences are likely to hear a variety of hits including “Never My Love,” “Hair,” “Kicks,” “Young Girl” and “Good Thing,” as well as plenty of lighthearted quips from the performers about growing old. (Evan Rytlewski)
Monday, Aug. 6
Casting Crowns
Casting Crowns w/ Matthew West Main Stage Presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino 7:30 p.m.
Successful Christian bands often find themselves at a crossroads: They can either quietly downplay their faith in an effort to appeal to non-Christian markets, or embrace it and own the Christian contemporary label. For Daytona Beach, Florida’s Casting Crowns, it was an easy decision. Founded by youth pastor Mark Hall in the late ’90s, the group has sung about their devotion on a run of studio albums featuring more than a dozen Top 10 Christian hits, including number ones like “Voice of Truth,” “Lifesong,” “Praise You in This Storm” and “Who Am I,” all of which extol the virtues of faith.
In 2016 the group released its most recent full-length, The Very Next Thing, the band’s first since Hall was successfully treated for kidney cancer. “I didn’t want to write the post-cancer record, but I did want to talk about it,” Hall told Billboard shortly after its release. The band followed it up the next year with a celebratory holiday EP called It’s Finally Christmas.
Casting Crowns will be joined on this bill by fellow Christian artist Matthew West. (Evan Rytlewski)
Tuesday, Aug. 7
Why Don't We
Why Don’t We w/ MAX Main Stage Presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino 7 p.m.
Who needs radio when you have the internet? Like many of today’s teen stars, the guys in the Los Angeles Boy Band all cut their teeth performing for online audiences, growing their fanbases through social media and YouTube. Jonah Marais, Corbyn Matthew Besson, Daniel James Seavey, Jack Robert Avery and Zachary Dean Herron all had some success on their own before they met through DigiTour and other social-media themed events and decided to team up.
So far it’s worked out well for all of them. The group released its debut EP Only the Beginning in 2016 and has been building buzz ever since. This year they’ve already released a pair of buzzy, bubblegum singles, “Trust Fund Baby” (written by Ed Sheeran) and “Hooked.” Young One Direction fans still mourning that band’s breakup should find that Why Don’t We scratch more or less the same itch. Aspiring teen pop star MAX will open this show. (Evan Rytlewski)
Wednesday, Aug. 8
Cole Swindell
Cole Swindell w/ Michael Ray Main Stage Presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino 7:30 p.m.
Even before he recorded his first album, Cole Swindell has some big hits to his name. Before he was a solo artist Swindell was an industry songwriter who penned singles for country radio staples like Craig Campbell, Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett and Scott McCreery. He also helped write Florida Georgia Line’s hit “This Is How We Roll.” Florida Georgia Line would later repay that favor, co-writing one of the singles from Swindell’s 2014 self-titled debut album, “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight.”
Swindell’s most recent album, 2016’s You Should Be Here, attests to his talents as both a star and a songwriter, with a mix of tender ballads (the sentimental single “Middle of a Memory”) and rowdy rockers (the opening track “Flatliner,” featuring fellow star Dierks Bentley). It also features quite a few songs about partying; the man loves a cold drink. Fans won’t have to wait too much longer for a follow-up. Swindell is scheduled to release his third album, All of It, on Aug. 17. He preceded it with a heart-tugging single “Break Up in the End.”
Country singer Michael Ray, known for his singles “Kiss You in the Morning” and “Think a Little Less,” will warm the stage for Swindell. (Evan Rytlewski)
Thursday, Aug. 9
Courtesy Wisconsin State Fair
The Temptations and the Four Tops Main Stage Presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino 7:30 p.m.
It would take a lot of ink to list all of The Temptations’ top 10 hits, since they scored an incredible 37 of them, including soul classics like “My Girl,” “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” “Just My Imagination (Runnin’ Away With Me)” and “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me.” One of the most influential R&B acts of all time, the legendary Detroit band was one of the cornerstones of Motown during the label’s prime, and the first of many Motown acts to claim a Grammy.
They’ve also proven remarkably resilient. Even as their lineup has turned over as members have aged out of the group or passed on (singer Dennis Edwards died this year at age 74), the band is still led by its last original member, Otis Williams. This year they released their first album in eight years, a covers-heavy set called All The Time that features the band’s spin on staples by contemporary artists like Sam Smith, Bruno Mars, Maxwell and The Weeknd, as well as three new originals.
The Temptations share this show with another one of Detroit’s formative R&B groups, The Four Tops, the band behind oldies staples like “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There.” (Evan Rytlewski)
Friday, Aug. 10
TLC
TLC w/ En Vogue Main Stage Presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino 8 p.m.
Throughout their career, TLC reached highs most acts could only dream of. The group’s accomplishments include four number one singles, five Grammys and 85 million records sold worldwide. Over this same time period, TLC also went through a bankruptcy, a messy breakup with manager Perri “Pebbles” Reid and the untimely death of member Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes.
Last year’s self-titled album, their first in 15 years and the first without Left Eye, explores both sides of this storied run. The album leads off with “No Introduction,” a clubby track that references past hits “No Scrubs” and “Waterfalls” and includes the refrain “I been down / I been up.” But above all, TLC is a celebration of everything the group has accomplished, and this is what fans should expect when the group takes to the State Fair Main Stage. While the crowd will surely be patiently waiting for the group’s ’90s classics, new tracks such as the Snoop Dogg-assisted, summer barbecue-ready “Way Back” and the Earth, Wind & Fire sampling “It’s Sunny” should keep the crowds dancing in between the old hits. Opening for TLC is En Vogue, themselves one of the top 10 highest-selling American female groups ever. (Rob Hullum)
Saturday, Aug. 11
Foreigner
Foreigner w/ Living Colour Main Stage Presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino 8 p.m.
Like many acts from their era of rock ’n’ roll, Foreigner haven’t let the loss of their original lead singer slow them down. Founding singer Lou Gramm left the band in 2003, but since 2005 the group has been fronted by Kelly Hansen, a singer who sounds almost uncannily like them. Along with the band’s lone original member Mick Jones (not to be confused with the guitarist of the same name from The Clash), Hansen captured the spirit of the band’s heyday records on their 2009 album Can’t Slow Down, their first album since 1994’s Mr. Moonlight. Recorded by British super-producer Mark Ronson (of Adele, Amy Winehouse and “Uptown Funk” fame), it was released as a three-disc package that included a live DVD and a disc of re-recorded greatest hits like “Juke Box Hero” and “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
After all these years, the band is still finding new ways to package old hits. This year they topped by the Billboard Classical Albums and Classical Crossover Albums charts with The Hits Orchestral, an album they recorded with a 58-piece orchestra and a 60-piece choir. If you thought “Cold As Ice” sounded epic before, you didn’t know the half of it.
For this show, Foreigner will be joined by the Grammy-winning funk-rock band Living Colour. (Evan Rytlewski)
Sunday, Aug. 12
Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire Main Stage Presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino 6 p.m.
Few country singers have enjoyed a career quite as long and varied as Reba McEntire, who over her more than 40 years in the music industry has dabbled in a little bit of everything, from honky tonk to pop to traditional roots music. Along the way she’s charted a historic 35 number one singles and 56 Top 10 hits—more than any female country artist—and collaborated with musicians as wide ranging as Vince Gill, Linda Davis, Martina McBride, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Justin Timberlake and her daughter-in-law, Kelly Clarkson. She’s also an accomplished actress. From 2001-2007 she starred in her own WB sitcom, “Reba,” playing a resilient single mom.
For her 29th and most recent studio album, Sing It Now: Songs of Faith & Hope, McEntire returns to one of her great muses: her faith. The record is split across two discs, the first a collection of traditional hymns including standards like “Amazing Grace” and “I’ll Fly Away,” and the second made up of original songs, including one devotional co-written by McEntire herself, “I Got the Lord on My Side.” The album took home Best Roots Gospel Album honors at this year’s Grammy Awards. (Evan Rytlewski)
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