Minnesota State Fair finally announces its last 2025 grandstand concert headliner

Last but probably not least, Nelly has been announced as the headliner for the final open night on the Minnesota State Fair’s 2025 grandstand concert calendar.

The “Hot in Herre” and “Ride Wit Me” rapper could not be confirmed sooner by fair organizers because he had another gig in town this past weekend. He performed Friday for the postgame concert at Target Field following the Twins vs. Pirates game.

Nelly will hit the grandstand on the second Saturday night of the fair, Aug. 30. He’ll be joined by fellow 2000s-era hip-hop/R&B hitmakers Ja Rule, Mýa and the Ying Yang Twins

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via eTix.com or by calling 1-800-514-3849. Prices range from $54 to $122. Presale options begin Thursday.

Is there really an appetite for hip-hop nostalgia concerts at the Great Minnesota Get-Together? That question was answered with an emphatic yes last year with the twofer throwback show by Ludacris and T-Pain, which became 2024’s hottest grandstand ticket, selling out with more than 14,000 attendees. Ludacris also just drew a capacity crowd to the Taste of Minnesota main stage in downtown Minneapolis on July 6.

Nelly and Co. aren’t the only old-school rap acts on the concert calendar this year at the State Fair. Atlanta’s poetic collegiate hip-hop troupe Arrested Development of “Tennessee” fame are scheduled to perform for free in the Bandshell Tonight series on Aug. 23 and 24. Minnesota’s own hip-hop pioneers Atmosphere also are booked to play the grandstand this year on Aug. 23, part of a 30th anniversary celebration for the group that used to host the Soundset festivals on the State Fairgrounds in the late 2010s.

Nelly rounds out the fair’s second weekend, sandwiched between the Avett Brothers’ Friday night set and the annual amateur contest finals on Sunday.

Here’s the full Minnesota State Fair grandstand schedule for 2025. Tickets for all of the shows are still available via eTix.com. The Def Leppard and Melissa Etheridge/Indigo Girls dates appear to be the hottest sellers with the fewest seats still available.