Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012 – Day Three
It’s all about tonight as Blake Shelton brings his hits to the Grandstand for a special Saturday night performance at 7:30 p.m. (tickets are $41 or $31 and available at the Grandstand ticket booth near the east end of the Grandstand). The world has finally learned what country fans have known since the beginning – Blake Shelton is superstar material. Opening this year’s Country Music Association award show with Kenny Loggins singing the hit song “Footloose,” Shelton was also named this year’s Country Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year. Shelton is the breakout star of NBC’s The Voice, a show that gave the handsome Oklahoman the spotlight his fans have long hoped he’d get.
Shelton’s latest single, “Over,” now marks his seventh consecutive number one and his 12th number-one hit to date. Blake has not had a single peak outside the Top Ten since 2007. “Over” is the fourth single off Blake’s Grammy-nominated album of the year, “Red River Blue.” When asked about “Over” Blake said, “Long before The Voice, the only place you could hear my voice was on country radio. I owe a lot of my success to the support of my fans and radio.” Shelton has also been putting the final touches on “Cheers it’s Christmas,” which will be available for pre-order at store.blakeshelton.com Sept. 4. 
Opening for Shelton Saturday night is East Texas native Sunny Sweeney. Sweeney has been touring extensively in 2012 and will also perform at Ramble Jam in Farmington Saturday, Sept. 15.
Before heading in to the Grandstand for Shelton and Sweeney, be sure and stop by the Leinie Lodge Bandshell when Elizabeth Cook performs for FREE at 1 and 2:30 p.m. Cook mixes Americana, Old-school Country, Bluegrass and Folk all into her own style. She has been on the road all summer long playing old favorites and new tunes from “Gospel Plow.”
Also to watch for Saturday:
• Greene and Hurst will be rocking country-style in the Gardens from 7 to 11 p.m. G&H hit the country music scene in October 2011 and is a little bit of rock n roll and a whole lot of country. 
• Tim Sigler will do a solo acoustic pre-party for Blake Shelton at the Northwoods stage (NE corner of the grounds near the lumberjack exhibit) from 6 to 7 p.m.
• The county fair talent contest at the Family Fair Stage in Baldwin Park at 7 p.m.
• The Minnesota State Fair Fiddle Contest will take place at the Heritage Square Stage from 2 to 5 p.m.
Also, don’t forget to stop by your favorite country radio station booths at the fair – K102 is located on Nelson Street (O26 on your official Minnesota State Fair map), and BUZ’N Country is located on Judson Avenue (V30 on your official Minnesota State Fair map). Both radio stations will be doing prize giveaways, contests, and broadcasting live from the fair! Stop by and see your favorite radio personalities and try to win some cool country gear!
STATE FAIR TRIVIA: Each day in this update, we will be doing state fair country trivia! The person who gets the most correct answers over the course of the fair will receive a prize from Minnesotacountry.com. Submit your answer via e-mail to info@minnesotacountry.com and we’ll announce the winner after the fair!
TODAY’S QUESTION: Jim Nabors performed at the Minnesota State Fair in 1974. What character did Nabors portray on The Andy Griffith Show?
YESTERDAY’S ANSWER: Willie Nelson has performed at the Minnesota State Fair 11 times. His first performance at the fair was in 1979.
If you have some additional tips on keeping it country at the fair, e-mail them to info@minnesotacountry.com and we will be happy to pass them along to our fans.
Ryan Gueningsman is at ryan.gueningsman@minnesotacountry.com or can be found on Facebook.