Iowa State Fair Grandstand 2026: the full concert lineup and how to get tickets

The Iowa State Fair runs August 13 to 23, 2026, and the biggest names come through the Grandstand - the ticketed concert series at the east end of the grounds. This year's run is a genuinely wide net: classic rock royalty, the hottest names in country, a '90s R&B and hip-hop night that will sell itself, and a closing gospel show. Below is the full lineup with showtimes and face-value prices, which night is already gone, and how to buy without handing a scalper your money.

The full 2026 Grandstand lineup

Every show starts at 8:00 p.m. except closing night. Prices are the official face-value ranges - cheap seats to the pit.

• Thu, Aug 13 - HARDY with McCoy Moore. $54.40-$109.40.
• Fri, Aug 14 - Rod Stewart with Richard Marx. $69.40-$134.40.
• Sat, Aug 15 - The Red Clay Strays with The Bends. $54.40-$109.40.
• Sun, Aug 16 - Lainey Wilson with Tigirlily Gold. $69.40-$134.40. SOLD OUT.
• Mon, Aug 17 - Staind with Hoobastank. $54.40-$89.40.
• Tue, Aug 18 - TLC & Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue (IT'S ICONIC). $44.40-$104.40.
• Wed, Aug 19 - AJR with Em Beihold. $54.40-$94.40.
• Thu, Aug 20 - Riley Green with Mackenzie Carpenter. $54.40-$109.40.
• Fri, Aug 21 - Alabama with Exile. $31.40-$81.40.
• Sat, Aug 22 - BigXthaPlug with XOLEX. $29.40-$69.40.
• Sun, Aug 23 - Josiah Queen with Ben Fuller. $19.40-$59.40. Note: this one starts at 6:00 p.m.

Which night is your night

• Country fans: HARDY (8/13), the sold-out Lainey Wilson (8/16), and Riley Green (8/20) are the marquee country nights. Riley Green is the easiest ticket of the three.
• Classic and legacy: Rod Stewart with Richard Marx (8/14) is the splurge; Alabama with Exile (8/21) is the best value on the whole calendar if you grew up on '80s country radio.
• '90s throwback: TLC & Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue (8/18) is the singalong of the week. Buy this one before your group text does.
• Rock: Staind with Hoobastank (8/17) is a straight shot of early-2000s nostalgia.
• Pop and hip-hop: AJR (8/19) skews younger and family-friendly; BigXthaPlug (8/22) is the newest, buzziest name on the bill and the cheapest headliner.
• Roots and gospel: The Red Clay Strays (8/15) are having a moment in Americana; Josiah Queen closes the fair (8/23) with a Christian-music night that's also the most affordable ticket of the run.

How to buy tickets the right way

Only iowastatefair.org and Etix sell official Grandstand tickets. Anything you see on a resale site is marked up over the face-value prices listed above, and every year people overpay - or get burned - buying from third parties. Start at the official Grandstand page, not a search ad.

A few things worth knowing before you check out:

• Lainey Wilson (8/16) is sold out. If a site is still "selling" it, that's resale. Buy at your own risk and expect a premium.
• The other big-name nights - Rod Stewart, TLC/Salt-N-Pepa, Riley Green - are the next most likely to go. If one of those is your show, don't wait for fair week.
• Prices above are per ticket and do not include fair gate admission (see below).

Don't forget: you still need fair admission

A Grandstand ticket gets you into the concert, but you also need gate admission to get onto the fairgrounds. Buy it in advance and save real money:

• Advance admission (through 11:59 p.m. Aug 12): $11 adult (12+), $7 child (6-11). Kids 5 and under are free.
• At the gate: $16 adult, $10 child.
• Weeknight deal: Monday-Thursday from 5-10 p.m., admission drops to $12 adult / $8 child - which pairs nicely with the 8 p.m. shows on those nights.

That admission also covers the fair's free entertainment stages, so even the nights you're there for a Grandstand show, come early and make a day of it.

Make a day of it

The concert is the anchor; the food is the reason you'll remember it. Before your show, walk the grounds with our guide to what's new and what to eat at the 2026 fair - including the three Best New Food finalists you get to vote on.

And the fair is just the headline act of a busy month. See everything else worth leaving the house for on our Des Moines events calendar.