5 picks to keep your boots scootin’
Acts cover range from this summer’s jams to ancient Egypt
A Wisconsin State Fair cream puff will cost you $4 and last a couple of minutes.
But there are dozens of bands at the fair that will entertain you for hours, many of them at no additional cost.
Here are five top acts to choose from. Cream puffs optional, but always recommended.
1. Jason Derulo: In the past two years alone, pop singer and dancer Jason Derulo’s had not one, not two, but five top 20 hits — including this summer’s “Want to Want Me.” There were five others before that. (8 p.m. Aug. 7, State Fair Main Stage. $29 to $39, includes general admission to the fair Aug. 7.)
2. Kenny Rogers: The fair this year features such country headliners as Chris Young, Lee Brice and Justin Moore — and all of them owe some debt to Country Music Hall of Famer Kenny Rogers, who has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. (6 p.m. Aug. 16, State Fair Main Stage. $25 to $35, includes general admission to the fair Aug. 16.)
3. Salt-N-Pepa: Oooh baby baby. The pioneering all-female hip-hop group will perform its late ’80s and early ’90s hits like “Push It,” “Shoop” and “Whatta Man.” (8:30 p.m. Aug. 15, Bank Mutual Amphitheater. Included with fair admission).
4. Here Come the Mummies: Either this band of entertaining, funk-playing mummies is a group of Grammy-winning Nashville-based musicians in disguise, or, as the bio suggests, actual mummies, discovered in 1922 “throwing down” at an ancient discotheque south of Tunis. We’d like to believe the latter. (8:30 p.m. Aug. 7 and 8, Bank Mutual Amphitheater. Included with fair admission.)
5. Chasin’ Mason: There are several talented Milwaukee acts worth seeing at the fair, including country singer-songwriter Nora Collins and tongue-incheek, longtime local favorite Pat McCurdy. Fortunately, they’re both playing several gigs at the fair, but there’s only one chance to see Chasin’ Mason, a country cover band with its own solid batch of songs, from 2013 album “Real Life Real Loud.” (8 p.m. Aug. 7, Budweiser Pavilion. Included with fair admission.)