Jason Isbell named first Grandstand performer for 2024 Illinois State Fair
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The Illinois State Fair has announced the first Grandstand performer for the 2024 iteration – a four-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter renowned for his Southern-spun storytelling.
Jason Isbell and his backing band, the 400 Unit, will perform on Aug. 11 at 8 p.m. Tickets will go on sale via Ticketmaster at 10 a.m. Friday for Main Gate Insider members and at 10 a.m. Saturday for the general public.
Prices are $48 for track and tier 1 seats, $43 for tier 2, and $38 for tier 3. A pre-show party pass is also available for $30 and Blue Ribbon Zone passes will be available for $103.
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Tickets will also be sold at the Grandstand Box Office when it opens in June either over the phone at (217) 782-1979, in person at the fairgrounds, or via mail order.
Long-inspired by the works of Neil Young and his roots along the Alabama-Tennessee border, Isbell first earned acclaim for his work with Drive-By Truckers, performing on three of the band's albums before leaving in 2007 and starting a solo career.
He has released three albums that have peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and topped the folk, country and rock charts – Something More than Free in 2015, The Nashville Sound in 2017, and Reunions in 2020 – with the latter two also topping the indie music charts.
His most recent work, Weathervanes in 2023, was written while he was filming his role in the Academy-Award-nominated Killers of the Flower Moon. and earned praise from both critics and audiences, becoming his third album to top the indie charts.
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His backing group, the 400 Unit, is made up of musicians from Muscle Shoals, Ala., and has been credited on six of Isbell's albums. They headlined the American Music Show at Taste of Downtown in Springfield on July 10, 2010.
Isbell's special guest performer will be Grammy, CMA and ACM award winner Ashley McBryde, a Grand Ole Opry member with a pair of top-10 country albums – her 2018 debut, Girl Going Nowhere and her 2020 follow-up, Never Will.
Rebecca Clark, the state fair's director, said Isbell will bring a unique style to the Grandstand lineup.
"We are excited to book an Americana icon and look forward to a powerful performance from the band."
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Jason Isbell, guest Ashley McBryde to perform at Illinois State Fair
