Here are State Fair artists' paydays and odd requests, from summer soup to La Croix

Newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Pat Benatar and husband/collaborator Neil Giraldo led the pack of performers on the Hoosier Lottery Free Stage at the 2022 Indiana State Fair in both name recognition and artist fees, but legendary R&B and soul singer Chaka Khan wasn't far behind.

The Indiana State Fair spent about $895,000 on 18 performances in 2022, up from about $700,000 last year. The contracts associated with these shows are a matter of public record, as the Indiana State Fair Commission, which manages the fair and its fairgrounds, is a government entity.

More:Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo added to 2022 Indiana State Fair's free stage lineup

Most, but not all, of these contracts include hospitality riders, or addendums that specify the artists' needs ahead of a show. These requests range from the painfully specific to just simply something to eat and drink.

Classic rock band Kansas even requested a handwritten note in their dressing room to prove the venue had read the full rider.

Here is a complete list of what artists were paid and the highlights of their backstage requests.

Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo

When: Aug. 7

Payment: $125,000

Backstage requests that stood out: The duo's rider is extensive and thorough, mostly covering stage, gear and security requirements. Benatar required COVID-19 testing and mask use for all backstage staff.

But several pages of backstage food requirements stood out:

• To drink, Benatar required Harmless Harvest brand coconut water, Fiji water, a pound of organic coffee (French roast, House or Sumatra) and Califia almond milk. The rider includes three bottles of wine and a six-pack of glutten-free beer, but the Fair does not provide alcohol to the artists.

• Benatar also required a professional clothing steamer.

• Giraldo's drink requirements include an unopened 10-pound bag of ice, water, sparkling water, club soda (only in glass bottles, not cans), orange mango juice, pomegranate cranberry juice and an eight-ounce tin of of Harney & Son's loose green tea (only the Japanese Sencha variety is acceptable). Only 16-ounce SOLO cups were allowed, with the note "please, no clear cups."

• The duo's food requirements were basically a score of healthy snacks: nuts, vegetables, fruits.

• The band asked for an assortment of sodas, juices and waters, but their food requirements include the extremely specific: "One tureen of hot soup — homemade (underlined) chicken noodle, corn chowder, tomato, clam chowder, white bean & escarole, lentil & sausage, etc..." (Reminder: This show was in August.)

• It also includes an overall note on catering: "Artist requires ALL food to be organic, wild caught, free-range, grass-fed, cage-free and best quality/local where available. No processed or GMO food." One member of the touring party was a vegetarian, and two did not eat gluten.

Chaka Khan

When: Aug. 3

Payment: $107,000

Backstage requests that stood out: Khan's rider includes a section giving her full discretion for an encore, warning the venue not to usher people off until she's made her choice (one of several artists to include this).

Her catering requirements were much more general, though no pork or fast food was allowed. Her dressing room was to have a variety of fruits, teas, waters and juices.

The band required similar, but the male members asked for assorted cold cuts (again, no pork) and sandwich stuff, including Louisiana hot sauce.

More: What Beach Boys and other Indiana State Fair acts earned — and quirky backstage requests

Kansas

When: July 29

Payment: $75,000

Backstage requests that stood out: Kansas placed special emphasis on stage safety, noting the Fair was to ensure hand rails and lighting on stairwells. "Build the stage as if your 100-year-old grandmother could get up there and do cartwheels without getting hurt."

The rider includes some basic dressing room food and drink requests, including soda, coffee and tea. It also asked for a handwritten note to be placed inside reading: "I have read your rider!"

Catering requirements, however, are quite specific.

For lunch: Organic salad, grilled chicken sandwiches, cheeseburgers, chips, steamed or baked organic vegetables and something for dessert.

Dinner: Organic salad, lean meats — "preferable organic grass-fed beef and humanely raised, antibiotic-free and nitrate-free chicken (not fried)," "wild caught, not farm raised fish such as salmon," organic pasta with organic marinara and no cheese, soup, brown rice or quinoa and organic vegetables — "please note, macaroni & cheese is not a vegetable."

Trace Adkins

When: Aug. 10

Payment: $75,000

Backstage requests that stood out: The first country star on the list is a fan of A&W Root Beer, apparently, as well as Dentyne Ice gum.

The rider asks for catered breakfast, lunch and dinner with no glaring eccentricities. However, the dressing rooms are to have iced sodas but room-temperature water.

Unlike Kansas, Adkins classifies mac and cheese as an acceptable vegetable side.

KC & The Sunshine Band

When: Aug. 12

Payment: $73,000

Backstage requests that stood out: KC's rider requests enough dinner for 24 people, with meat and vegetarian options. It notes that fast food is not allowed, but local specialties are welcome (one wonders if they backed up a truck of tenderloins to the backstage).

The dressing room requests are fairly simple, though the rider specifies KC only eats plain yogurt — no fruit or flavorings. The men in the band also requested creamy peanut butter, strawberry or grape jelly and white bread.

More:Pickle pizza? Vegan nachos? We tried them.

Travis Tritt

When: Aug. 5

Payment: $72,500

Backstage requests that stood out: Tritt did not travel with any vegetarians on his tour, but one person had a nut allergy.

Catering is left pretty much wide open, though it notes the tour "does enjoy healthy food options" and "local specialties are a great option, as we tend to get sick of the same thing day after day." Again, make with the tenderloin.

Tritt's band required a variety of snacks, sodas, sandwich fixings, coffee and juice, but it does get into some specifics: Bubly flavored water, Keto Zone or ZonePerfect shakes and a box of Jimmy Dean frozen breakfast sandwiches.

The man himself prefers Doublemint chewing gum, Jack's beef jerky and Ocean Spray diet cranberry juice, among other snacks.

Happy Together Tour featuring The Turtles and several other groups

When: Aug. 17

Payment: $67,500

Backstage requests that stood out: This tour included six bands, and a request for eight dressing rooms was not feasible. The contract specifies that one green room/dressing room is available with "additional dressing room trailers."

The catering and dressing room requirements were outlined over nine pages. Highlights include:

• Two copies of the local newspaper (that's us) and USA Today (also kind of us). You love to see it.

• Four dozen terry cloth bath towels and two dozen terry cloth hand towels. Every act asks for towels, but that's a lot.

• Snapple

• Lunch suggestions are grouped by day and extensive. Since the groups played on a Wednesday, that'd be sloppy Joe sandwiches, chicken noodle soup and tuna, egg and garden salads.

• Dinner is also set by day, noting that 30 people and three vegetarians need to eat. Wednesday requires a lasagna, a vegetarian lasagna and chicken, as well as vegetable sides with no butter.

• The Turtles were the first band on this list to request popcorn, a smart choice in Indiana.

• The Vogues asked for hot wings in a warming tray.

• The production crew requested six pizzas and 48 chicken wings as a suitable post-show dinner.

Carly Pearce

When: Aug. 19

Payment: $65,000

Backstage requests that stood out: The Marion-born country artist asked for health, fresh, organic meals, if possible, while specifying "please, no fried foods or barbecue."

The catering requests suggest various health meal options, including grilled tofu, kale salad, chicken wraps or a pasta bar with coffee, juice and various sodas to drink. La Croix, however, is among the specific requirements (lemon, grapefruit or mango).

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In her dressing room, Pearce required Orbit Sweet Mint gum and spelled out that no flavor substitutions were to be made. She also asked for Lime Bubly Seltzer Water and a variety of fruits, vegetables and drinks.

The band asked only for ice, cups and La Croix (this time lemon and coconut flavors).

Gospel Music Day featuring Fred Hammond

When: Aug. 21

Payment: $58,250

Backstage requests that stood out: Hammond's rider asks that dressing rooms be filled with assorted snacks, drinks and two sandwich trays, but brand specifics aren't given. It also asks fair staff to please knock before entering.

The catering demands were more specific, noting the band would require two full meals with two meat and three side dish options each. Well-done roast beef, fried chicken, roast chicken or roast turkey were suggested options, with basic side dishes and beverages required.

Zach Williams

When: Aug. 14

Payment: $50,500

Backstage requests that stood out: For dinner, the rider specifies that chicken, beef or pork would be fine, as long as it is not fried. "Ordering from a local restaurant like Chili's would be fine."

It asks only for some sort of dressing room snack, listing nuts, fruits and vegetables, beef jerky and tortilla chips and salsa as options.

We the Kingdom

When: July 31

Payment: $40,000

Backstage requests that stood out: The rider only offers suggestions, noting that "we recognize that multi-artist events represent a variety of catering arrangements and challenges."

It notes the band is 13 people, but "we all work hard and need to eat as such." There are suggested daily menus of standard fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It asks for "two decadent dessert choices" at dinner, as well as "high-quality hot soup."

Jessie McCartney

When: July 30

Payment: $25,000

Backstage requests that stood out: McCartney's contract did not have a rider attached to it. The standard Fair contract includes requires the artist be given "a clean and comfortable dressing room or exclusive trailer area" but does not get into specifics.

Autograph and Vixen

When: Aug. 20

Payment: $6,000 for Autograph, $17,000 for Vixen

Backstage requests that stood out: Not much hair metal era decadence here.

Autograph requested water, a deli tray and a fruit platter for their dressing room, as well as six hot lunches and six hot dinners with no further specifics attached.

Vixen required four standard hot meals and two gluten-free, vegan meals, which specify no bread and no noodles. But brown rice is OK.

Vixen's vodka and other alcohol requests were denied, as all fair acts' were, but the martini olive order was not. Apparently, the band just had a jar of martini olives but no liquor.

Standard snack and drink options were included in the dressing room portion, with some specifics: Clif Bars, trail mix with M&Ms, sourdough bread, Siggi's plain Greek yogurt and avocados.

Latino-Fest

When: Aug. 13

Payment: $20,000 to Continental Broadcast Group, for organizing and producing several acts

Backstage requests that stood out: There was no rider, but the fair contract specifies water, drinks and snacks will be provided in one dressing room and two trailers for the bands. Continental also received 200 fair passes for promotion of the event.

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band

When: Aug. 6.

Payment: $10,000

Backstage requests that stood out: The band prefers Honeycrisp apples but will take Pink Lady or Granny Smith as a substitute. It also required a half-gallon of cold brew.

Beef jerky is on the list, though "not teriyaki or anything sweet." Deli meat is also not to be sweet. Honey ham, for example, is outlawed. There is a clear reason: One band member is insulin resistant, so added sugar is a no go.

Though not required, the rider specifies, the band loves to fish, so lures and tips for local fishing spots are welcome.

More:Gin distillery and tasting room to open at Indiana State Fairgrounds

Tribute bands

When: Aug. 4, Aug. 11 and Aug. 18

Payment: $4,500 for Gone 2 Paradise (Jimmy Buffett), $4,000 for Small Town (John Mellencamp) and $3,500 for Too Fighters (Foo Fighters)

Backstage requests that stood out: These brief contracts specify only "pop, water and hot meals for the band."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 2022 Indiana State Fair acts: What Pat Benetar, Chaka Khan were paid