About the Ohio State Fair
The Ohio State Fair isn't just an annual event celebrating delicious concessions, a livestock competition, creative arts and crafts and a butter cow. The fair — happening in Columbus, Ohio, at the Ohio Expo Center, located just south of downtown near MAPFRE Stadium — also boasts a series of concerts featuring well-received national acts. These gigs take place over the course of the fair in the WCOL Celeste Center, a 10,200-capacity arena and event center that received a multimillion-dollar facelift in recent years.
Ohio State Fair History
The first Ohio State Fair took place in 1850 at Camp Washington near downtown Cincinnati. Over the next few decades, the event traveled around to various Ohio cities (including Cleveland, Dayton and Sandusky) before settling into its current home at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus in 1886.
Over the years, the fair has been a hub for popular music acts. In 1928, for example, the John Philip Sousa Band performed twice a day. As rock 'n' roll, soul and country became mainstream in the 1960s, the fair's booking reflected this trend: acts such as the Bee Gees, James Brown, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, Tanya Tucker and Sly & The Family Stone performed. As the decades progressed, mainstream country, rock and pop acts became staples, as the Beach Boys, Oak Ridge Boys, Diamond Rio, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Kool & The Gang and Mel Tillis all made appearances.
In recent years, the Ohio State Fair has continued to book an eclectic concert lineup. Genres include alternative rock groups (Weezer, Devo), classic rock bands (REO Speedwagon, Styx, Cheap Trick, Deep Purple), country artists (Dolly Parton, Toby Keith, Jake Owen, Reba McEntire), pop acts (Meghan Trainor, Charlie Puth), soul and R&B superstars (Patti LaBelle, Blackstreet, Keith Sweat), Christian artists (Lecrae, Matthew West) and comedians (Gabriel Iglesias, Jeff Dunham).
