MINNEAPOLIS — In a year when the word “free” will automatically add buzz, the Minnesota State Fair will deliver a lot of bang for no bucks with the newly announced 2026 lineup for its free stages.

Hip-hop legends the Sugarhill Gang, alt-country hero Margo Price and early ’00s rockers Vertical Horizon are the leading names scheduled to play two-night rotations on the Bandshell Tonight stage.

Other names listed among the fair’s other free stages — “free” with the fair’s $17-$20 admission price, that is — include homegrown stars the Cactus Blossoms, Nur-D, the Honeydogs and Anishinaabe Nation songwriting hero Keith Secola at the West End amphitheater, and the Fabulous Armadillos, Salsa del Soul and the Rebel Queens at the Bazaar.

Known for landing the first Top 40 rap song, “Rapper’s Delight,” the Sugarhill Gang will take over the band shell on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 with two members of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five in tow, rappers Melle Mel and Scorpio.

Illinois-reared, Loretta Lynn-like “Pay Gap” twanger Price — who proudly declared herself a “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter” with the title of her 2016 breakout record — will play the band shell on Aug. 29 and 30 coming off a series of very well-received Twin Cities gigs, including last year’s Farm Aid 40 concert with her pal Willie Nelson and a sold-out First Avenue headlining set this past March.

After years of being billed as the Leinie Lodge Bandshell, courtesy of beermaker Leinenkugel’s, the fair’s biggest free stage has found a new sponsor in Luther Automotive Group.

As has become a tradition, the final two nights on the Bandshell Tonight stage will be headlined by a nationally recognized local act, in this case “Who’s Laughing Now” sibling duo Durry on Sept. 6 and 7. The other acts listed on the Bandshell Tonight lineup besides “Everything You Want” hitmakers Vertical Horizon (Aug. 27 and 28) are both revues: the Atlanta-reared touring tribute band Yacht Rock Revue will be there Sept. 2 and 3, followed by the all-star Twin Cities unit Urban Classic’s show “Revelation: A Retrospective of the Minneapolis Sound,” led by Prince’s NPG band members Michael Bland and Tommy Barbarella on Sept. 4 and 5.

Urban Classics’ two-nighter won’t be the first night an all-star group is celebrating the Minneapolis Sound at this year’s fair. Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis also announced a special tribute to their hometown music scene with loads of guests as one of this year’s ticketed grandstand concerts on Aug. 29.

All of this year’s major grandstand concerts already have been announced, also including opening day headliner Bonnie Raitt (Aug. 27) and two other Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Rod Stewart (Sept. 1) and Salt-N-Pepa (Sept. 5 with TLC and En Vogue), plus country stars Brad Paisley (Sept. 3) and Hardy (Sept. 4).

Tickets to the grandstand shows range in price this year from $33 (cheap seats to Tommy James & the Shondells on Aug. 31) to $185 (party deck price for Rod the Mod).

Here’s a rundown of what you can see for free at night with fair admission in 2026. See the full free stages lineup, including daytime players, at mnstatefair.org.

Bandshell Tonight! at Luther Auto Bandshell

—Vertical Horizon (Aug. 27 and 28 at 8:30 p.m.)

—Margo Price (Aug. 29 and 30 at 8:30 p.m.)

—The Sugarhill Gang with Melle Mel and Scorpio of the Furious Five (Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at 8:30 p.m.)

—Yacht Rock Revue (Sept. 2 and 3 at 8:30 p.m.)

—Urban Classic Presents “Revelation: A Retrospective of the Minneapolis Sound” (Sept. 4 and 5 at 8:30 p.m.)

—Durry (Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 7 at 7 p.m.)

©2026 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC