Summer is upon us and you know what that means! The Big Sky Country State Fair–previously known as the Gallatin County Fair–will return to the Gallatin County Fairgrounds, Monday, July 18th through Sunday, July 24th for another round of food, fun, music, and so much more!
XL Country is proud to present this year’s night show entertainers and meet & greet events. Maddie & Tae are set to perform Thursday, July 21st at 7pm in the Anderson Arena. This awesome concert is FREE with fair admission. Maddie Marlow and Tae Dye never intended to strike a nerve when they wrote “Girl In A Country Song.” Merely expressing their honest reaction to the reductive tilt of today’s “bro country,” the pair along with co-writer Aaron Scherz, shamelessly skewered its Xeroxed stereotypes. “Girl In A Country Song,” proved they weren’t alone in their feelings of the current state of country music. After the song’s release last summer, the response from critics and fans was so intense that there was no denying its power. NPR’s “All Things Considered” praised Maddie & Tae for “turning heads in different ways with their very first single” and Rolling Stone cited them as one of “10 New Artists You Need to Know.” David Letterman couldn’t get the plucky duo to New York fast enough for their late night debut. Even The Atlantic marveled, “Cheekily appropriating much of the sound of modern Country, the two young women directly quote well-known Bro-Country lyrics and titles…”
Old Dominion will follow with their show on Friday, July 22nd at 7pm in the Anderson Arena. This concert will also be FREE with fair admission and is presented by Ressler Motors. Tipped by Billboard, Rolling Stone, and Huffington Post as a 2015 band to watch, Old Dominion brings their spirited take on modern country to their RCA Nashville debut, Meat and Candy. The debut single/Top 10 hit, “Break up With Him,” held at #1 on Billboard for three straight weeks. While undeniably country, the songs sparkle with clever lyrics, innovative instrumentation, genre-busting arrangements, and finger-popping melodies. Even the album’s title alludes to the set’s versatility. “When we first sat down to pick songs for the album, we had a lot of sing-a-long, fun, ‘candy’ songs,” says lead singer Matthew Ramsey. “We decided we needed to show our more serious side a little too. We needed ‘meat’ songs. We needed meat AND candy.”
Admission to the Big Sky Country State Fair is $8 for adults 13 and up, $5 for youth 6-12, free for those 5 and under, and $6 for seniors 62+. Visit 406statefair.com/ for additional information on this year’s festivities. •
