Shaboozey to Headline at Illinois State Fair

The Illinois State Fair has announced that rising star and crossover artist Shaboozey will headline the Illinois State Fair Grandstand on Sunday, August 18.

The multi-faceted artist Shaboozey is carving his lane in the alternative country and hip-hop space. Born to parents of Nigerian descent and raised in the small town of Woodbridge, VA, Shaboozey grew up on an eclectic mix of music encompassing everything from classic hip-hop and R&B, to country and blues icons like Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, Garth Brooks, and Lead Belly, to master lyricists, such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. 

A true crossover artist, he began his epic 2024 run in March with two standout features on Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER—the only artist with multiple appearances on the album. His latest body of work, the critically acclaimed masterpiece Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, debuted in the top five of the Billboard 200 and was praised in The New York Times for "bring[ing] hip-hop grit to country.” 

The album’s smash single "A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which is two-time RIAA-certified platinum and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, launched him to mainstream stardom and has become the song of the summer. With the meteoric rise of "A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey and Beyoncé became the first Black artists to score back-to-back leaders in the Billboard Hot Country Songs’ 66-year history.

Tickets for this event, featuring Shaboozey, are on via Ticketmaster.