Toby Keith to Headline 2013 Illinois State Fair

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Published on December 12 2012 11:19 am
Last Updated on July 14 2013 12:07 pm
Written by Greg Sapp

Country music’s “Artist of the Decade” will perform at the 2013 Illinois State Fair.

Singer and songwriter Toby Keith, presented by Ford F-Series, will take the Grandstand stage for a concert Wednesday, Aug. 14, the fair announced today.

“Opportunities to book artists of Toby Keith’s stature don’t happen very often,” State Fair Manager Amy Bliefnick said. “I’m ecstatic he has agreed to play the fair and look forward to a great show next August.”

From his first Number One single, “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” to his latest release, “Hope On The Rocks,” Keith has recorded a string of chart-topping songs, making him one of country music’s most consistent hit-makers. His tunes include such classics as “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Beer For My Horses,” “As Good As I Once Was,” “Made In America” and “Red Solo Cup.”

Keith’s albums have sold more than 37 million copies, ranking him among the top-selling, all-genre artists on Billboard’s Top 200 Artists of the Decade, and his tours have drawn more than one million fans each year for the last decade. In December of 2011, the American Country Awards named Keith its “Artist of the Decade.”

His appearance at the fair will be his second. He performed in 2002 as well, a month after his signature song, the patriotic anthem “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue,” reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

Ticket information, including prices and sales dates, will be announced after the New Year on the fair’s website, www.illinoisstatefair.info.