Scene Makers Q&A: How Nate Dungan books all the free music at the Minnesota State Fair

Nate Dungan spent more than $500,000 on 102 acts so we can enjoy free music at the Minnesota State Fair. And he probably won’t hear more than a song or two here and there over the 12 days.

He’s too busy putting out fires, making sure the bands know where to park and the drummer didn’t forget his gate admission ticket. Yes, everyone who enters the fairgrounds — even employees and entertainers — needs a ticket.

In his 25th year at the Great Minnesota Get-Together, Dungan, the entertainment supervisor, books the bands on almost all the free stages except the family, dance and DNR attractions. Most of the performers hail from Minnesota but Dungan presents some regional and nationally known entertainers, as well.

Nashville-based the War and Treaty, an award-winning Americana act known for mixing gospel, soul and country, will receive the biggest check from Dungan — $60,000 for two nights at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell. Of course, stars like Blake Shelton and Mötley Crüe will command more handsome paychecks at the grandstand.

Dungan discussed, among other things, how his day job prevents his night job — he’s the frontman of Twin Cities honky-tonk heroes Trailer Trash — from performing at the fair. Here are excerpts.

Q: When do you start the booking?

A: When this fair is over, we start looking in October.

Q: Of the acts you booked this year, what percentage have you seen live before?

A: I’ve seen a lot of the locals. Probably this year, over time, 25%. I try to get out and see bands. Seeing is believing. The live experience is what we’re all about at the State Fair.

Q: How often do you go out to see bands?

A: I’m out and about probably every other weekend. I show up unannounced. I don’t want a band to be nervous. I don’t ever want to audition a band.

Q: How do you scout the national acts?

A: Honestly, when I started, you had to rely on word of mouth by talking to your friends in clubs and on tours. But nowadays there is so much of a reliance on social media. I don’t look for the number of likes and the number of views. I try to focus on footage of their live show to get an idea of what their performance is like. The only thing that matters to us is what kind of excitement that artist can generate with the crowd.

Q: Do you still attend a convention for fair talent buyers?

A: We go to IEBA [International Entertainment Buyers Association] in Nashville in early October. We see probably close to 100 acts but a lot of those are club acts or arena acts or performing arts center acts that are not quite right for a free stage at a fair. So I drop down to Lower Broadway [in Nashville] to see what’s happening in the honky-tonks. I’ve hired several bands straight out of Robert’s Western World, like Sarah Gayle Meech and Johnny Hiland and Chris Scruggs. At IEBA, Lucas Hoge was a guy I was impressed with. Charisma, songwriting, pure raw talent. He’s coming to the Bandshell on Aug. 30-31.

Q: What’s your philosophy of booking? What do you look for?

A: This is going to sound cliché but I’m looking for real entertainers. People who can play a county fair, the Grand Ole Opry and everything in between. They’ve never met a stage they didn’t like and they can engage with an audience. I’m looking for a band that can talk to an audience. It sounds trite.

Q: How about in terms of having different genres?

A: I try and give everybody a reason to come to the State Fair. I’m trying to book all kinds of music from Americana to zydeco. The whole gamut. Family-friendly is the first criteria. They have to be professional. They have to show up on time, park in the right parking space and maybe play their show in broad daylight. They have to be dependable and they have to have some kind of good track record, with momentum in their career.

Q: What kind of budget do you have each year?

A: The budget for the entire entertainment is just over a half million for free entertainment. That’s not just the music but also the parade, the talent show, Fairchild and Fairborne [the mascots], the North Woods, which is lumberjacks and sled dogs.

Q: Who is on your wish list that you’ve never booked?

A: I’m always punching above my weight. I’m always looking for Emmylou [Harris], Lucinda [Williams]. I would have loved to have had the late great John Prine and Gordon Lightfoot on the Bandshell Tonight. We’ve been fortunate to get bands like Los Lobos, George Clinton, Keith Urban, Trombone Shorty, Tommy Emmanuel, Brandi Carlile. I’m after bands that are already established. The rising stars are the hardest to find because their careers are so hot. I would have loved to have had Molly Tuttle. Billy Strings I could have had. Once upon a time I could have booked Zac Brown for 3,000 bucks a day, but I couldn’t afford it on the stage I was booking.

Q: Tell me about a typical day for you at the State Fair.

A: A good day would be arriving at 7 a.m. and leaving at 11 p.m. and being everywhere at once. Paying bands, putting out fires, solving problems, finding a minute or two to shake a hand or talk to a fair guest. What we do is so dependent on the weather. You’re reacting to the moment but you’re also trying to prepare and predict what’s coming.

Q: What kind of fires have you had to put out in the past?

A: The biggest example was in 2021 when we were coming back from COVID and we had a dozen cancellations on the free stages, most of which were on the Bandshell. I was getting phone calls that they couldn’t make it, I’d say “That’s too bad” and then I’d pick up the phone and hire a replacement. When we do that, you have to get all the departments involved — marketing, sign shop, stage crews, runners; it’s a big operation with a lot of details.

There are minor details like parking places and the band shows up and the drummer forgot his tickets. It is difficult work for a musician to get up at the crack of dawn and be at the fair by 10; some have to be here by 8:30. That’s quite early for some bands.

Q: How much music do you get to enjoy the fair at all?

A: If I’m enjoying something too much, I know I’m missing a detail somewhere. I’ll take a moment to enjoy half a corn dog and see a little bit of a show. What’s enjoyable for me at the fair is seeing the crowds enjoying it.

Q: When was the last time you saw a grandstand show?

A: I have not seen a grandstand show in 25 years. I got to see a grandstand show when I worked as a concessionaire selling baked potatoes. I got to see a little bit of a Roger Miller show in ‘89. I’m too busy with the free stages to get over to the grandstand.

Q: Your own band, Trailer Trash, will never play at the fair as long as you’re working at the fair. Correct?

A: That’s what they told me. I have to say it’s been a fair tradeoff because I really enjoy putting this music on. It’s satisfying to be part of something that’s been so good for so long for so many people.