18 Comments - PrairieStateDem - Thursday, Apr 21, 05 @ 3:19 pm: Well with that lineup my hopes are crushed for hearing a rousing rendition of “Rock you like a hurricane” At least they are hosting a good Illinois band in REO Speedwagon - Anonymous - Thursday, Apr 21, 05 @ 3:22 pm: I wish REO were from Iowa and not Illinois. - Anonymous - Thursday, Apr 21, 05 @ 3:50 pm: Wish they could get Cheap Trick-another good Illinois band. - John Herath - Thursday, Apr 21, 05 @ 3:56 pm: A decidedly mixed bag? C’mon Rich. It pains me to give credit to anything associated with this administration, but Velvet Revolver is one of the most solid bookings for the fair in years! And I should know. Sure, Skynyrd and REO are pretty stale, but they come cheap and they still sell tickets. But Velvet Revolver, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts and Simple Plan for a State Fair? I think most any fair would take that lineup in a heartbeat. - Anonymous - Thursday, Apr 21, 05 @ 4:09 pm: Ive not been to a show at the state fair in my life, but i will go to see velvet revolver. - BMc - Thursday, Apr 21, 05 @ 5:31 pm: Don’t forget they need to make up for last year! (ticket sales didn’t exactly go as planned) In the end, they were advertising free tickets. - Anonymous - Thursday, Apr 21, 05 @ 5:32 pm: Getting Velvet Revolver and Simple Plan is tremendous. Those bands will bring in the young people. REO and Skynrd are a bit so-so, but alot of people that go to the state fair like that kind of music. Paisley is hot right now and he will draw the country crowd. Overall - a great lineup. Once again, so much negativity on the board. This is great! - Tom DeLay's Mom - Thursday, Apr 21, 05 @ 8:18 pm: This is the best line-up the Fair has had in years…however, based on past, miserable years - that ain’t saying much! The improvement is duly noted. - Tessa - Thursday, Apr 21, 05 @ 8:33 pm: For the money, I’d still go see Skynard. Saw them a few years back with ZZ Top. I might actually have to go to the fair. An interesting lineup indeed for a state fair. - blue state - Thursday, Apr 21, 05 @ 10:04 pm: I just saw John Cougar Mellencamp in Moline at The Mark. May I suggest to the State Fair staff that that’s the perfect Heartland rocker to snag for next year. My most vivid rock experience from any state fair experience was from 1986 watching Stevie Ray Vaughn electrify the audience (almost literally) under a dark sky full of lightning. Rich probably remembers that concert. - Rich O. - Thursday, Apr 21, 05 @ 11:10 pm: So will they be selling the week of acts as “Velvet Revolver and 5 other nights of music that sucks out loud”? (I’ll let the Symphony slide by) But I guess when your music bill is Velvet Revolver (good) and the other 5 nights (not so much) you do pretty much nail the concept of a “mixed bag” - Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 22, 05 @ 7:32 am: My sentiments exactly, rich o. - Anonymous - Friday, Apr 22, 05 @ 8:48 am: Um, Cheap Trick IS on the bill, same night as REO. For an old band, they still sound great, they sound the way you remember them. I used to love hearing the Beach Boys every summer at the fair, but they finally got too worn out and diluted, it became like watching your loved one get Alzheimers and lose everything that made them unique. Some of my favorite ISF concerts included B-52’s, Robert Palmer and Ray Charles. They also did some nice bookings for the smaller “rodeo” multipurpose arena, particularly some excellent blues acts, at very reasonable prices. I wish they could get Keb Mo this year. Anyway, keep your eyes open for the press release about that other venue, often times in previous years I would completely ignore the grandstand just to go enjoy the smaller venue with cooler acts. - Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 22, 05 @ 8:54 am: This all goes to prove what my good friend Keith always says. “Rich,” he says, “Music is like food. We all have our own tastes.” I should have known better than to make that wisecrack in the post. Everyone is entitled to their own tastes and opinions. I just wish there was something on the buffet table for me besides Velvet Revolver (and the symphony). - Anonymous - Friday, Apr 22, 05 @ 1:03 pm: A little seen item in the line up is the addition of Cross Canadian Ragweed opening for Skynyrd. For those of you not familiar with CCR they are a kind of alt-country / roots rock group in the mold of a Wilco or Son Volt, but with a little more Texas sensibility. In short, they are awesome and it will be worth fighting your way through the mulletts and tube tops that normally populate the fair. - Tessa - Friday, Apr 22, 05 @ 4:25 pm: Ooh, Keb Mo. There’d be a good reason to come to the fair. Too bad. Or a good blues band would bring me there. Skynard isn’t enough. None of these are. Maybe I’ll make the trip next year. - Drew Hibbard - Sunday, Apr 24, 05 @ 11:16 pm: I’d go see Velvet Revolver just because I know Scott Weiland is an awesome performer from his Stone Temple Pilots days. I haven’t ever gotten to see them, but I constantly hear good things about how awesome it is to see Weiland perform. - ontario student loan interest only loan - Tuesday, May 30, 06 @ 11:47 am: administrate wines forthright,crawling Virginian?mews slurs … Thanks!!! Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.