Bluegrass music bookings at the Minnesota State Fair have gone down in recent years after the revamp of the West End Stage and unplugging of the Ramberg Senior Center, so it’s a fine time for a couple of popular bands of that ilk to step up and play the grandstand in 2025.
Poppy, banjo-laced hitmakers the Avett Brothers will headline the fair’s big stage on Aug. 29 with another bluegrassy crossover band, the Milk Carton Kids, for openers.
Tickets for the grandstand’s second Friday night concert go on sale this Friday via etix.com or by calling 800-514-3849, priced $54-86 for a seat or $108-$122 for the party deck. Presale options begin Tuesday.
This will be the Avetts’ second time headlining the grandstand series following a well-received appearance in 2015. After issuing their first album in five years last year (self-titled), the North Carolina-reared group — whose previous radio hits include “I and Love and You” and “Kick Drum Heart” — hit town to co-headline Xcel Energy Center in October with their kindred Minnesota cohorts Trampled by Turtles.
Here’s where the Avetts/Kids gig falls in with the rest of the dates so far announced for the Minnesota State Fair grandstand in 2025:
- Thursday, Aug. 21: Old Dominion
- Saturday, Aug. 23: Atmosphere & Friends
- Sunday, Aug. 24: Melissa Etheridge and Indigo Girls
- Monday, Aug. 25: The Turtles’ Happy Together Tour with Jay and the Americans, Little Anthony, Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, the Vogues and the Cowsills
- Tuesday, Aug. 26: Def Leppard
- Thursday, Aug. 28: Steve Miller and the Rascals
- Friday, Aug. 29: Avett Brothers and Milk Carton Kids
