Kentucky State Fair Announces 2021 Concert Lineup

It's starting to become a cliche but the pandemic took away a lot, including live music. Last year's Kentucky State Fair was scaled down and it excluded its famous concert series. Well, it's a new year and the FREE Texas Roadhouse Concert Series is back with a lot of country music to choose from.

Playing opening night, Thursday, August 19th will be Josh Turner. Did you know Turner is one of the youngest members of the Grand Ole Opry? He was inducted in 2003. Joining Turner will be American Idol season 19 country sensation and Kentucky's own Alex Miller.

Friday, August 21st, R&B sensation Ginuwine ("Pony") will be hitting the stage, and his special guests will be Color Me Badd. Saturday, August 22nd will see a familiar face to the Tri-State take the stage, Colt Ford. His special guest will be "My Boy" singer and Caneyville native Elvie Shane. Rounding out the first concert weekend on Sunday, August 23rd will be an act that has played the Kentucky State Fair a lot, The Oak Ridge Boys. Joining the Oak Ridge Boys will be special guest T. Graham Brown.

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Week two of the free concert series will kick off Monday, August 24th with Grammy-winning Christian singer/songwriter Zach Williams with special guest CAIN.

Tuesday, August 25th will see hitmakers from the '60s and '70s The Turtles, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, The Association, Classic IV, The Vogue, and The Cowsills with the Happy Together Tour.

Wednesday, August 26th will see the nu-metal band P.O.D. take the state fair stage with special guest LA rock band All Good Things. The rockin' will continue on Thursday, August 27th, and possibly a chainsaw will roar with Jackyl. Joining Jackyl will be Metcalfe County's own The Kentucky Headhunters who played one of the only live shows held last year in Beaver Dam. More rock will be on tap for Friday, August 28th with Louisville band White Reaper who will be joined by another local band, The Tommys.

The second concert weekend will kick off on Saturday, August 29th with country newcomer Jameson Rodgers who will be joined by two Kentucky bands, hitmakers Exile and JD Shelburne.

Wrapping up the Texas Roadhouse Concert Series on Sunday, August 30th will be Christian musician and worship leader Cory Asbury.

Contemporary Christian band, We the Kingdom and Harlan native, and The Voice season 9 winner Jordan Smith will be joining Asbury.

All concerts are FREE with paid admission to the fair. Gates will open each night at 6:30 and shows will start at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, August 29th, gates will open at 2:30 with the show starting at 4:00 pm. All times eastern. Have fun!

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Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.