Attendance records were shattered at Western Idaho Fair concerts — one ‘by a mile’

When it comes to attendance numbers, Western Idaho Fair concerts turned the volume up to 11.

Tens of thousands of fans flooded the ICCU Grandstand at Expo Idaho in Garden City to see live music. The result was a record-smashing series.

After taking a year off during 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fair returned Aug. 20-29. There were five consecutive nights of concerts instead of the usual four. The outdoor shows averaged 12,700 people per night.

All the performances were free with paid fair admission. Fair employees used clicker counters to estimate attendances as people came and went. Typically, when a handful of fans leave a full performance, more are allowed to enter.

Country singer Granger Smith kicked things off Monday with an audience of 6,200. That’s nearly as many people as you could fit into a sold-out concert at Idaho Central Arena in downtown Boise — one with the stage in the middle of the floor.

It was the smallest audience of the week. By far.

Known for his 2002 anthem “Hot in Herre,” hip-hop star Nelly stoked the crowd on Tuesday. He pulled in a titanic 14,800 fans. Nelly’s show broke the prior grandstand concert attendance record of 14,400. That was set by REO Speedwagon in 2019. (Sorry, REO, time to roll with the changes.)

But Nelly’s hot streak did not last.

Classic rock band Chicago lured 11,400 concertgoers on Wednesday — an impressive number. But the grandstand wasn’t creaking just yet.

That came Thursday. Country star Jon Pardi strolled onto the stage and packed the place. Delivering singalongs such as “Dirt on My Boots,” Pardi drew a mind-blowing 17,200 fans. That obliterated Nelly’s record set two nights earlier — “by a mile,” as fair spokesperson Bob Batista noted.

Rock band Seether capped things off Friday with 13,900, a number that would seem colossal if some guy in a cowboy hat hadn’t topped it by thousands one day earlier.

Combined, the five grandstand shows lured a total of 63,500 people. That’s a record for the fair’s concert series.

It wasn’t just the popularity of the acts that made these stratospheric numbers possible. The fair expanded its audience area this year, particularly the grassy pit space. Large digital screens also made it possible for fans to watch from outer areas.

Overall fair attendance numbers should be released in the next week or so. Until then, here’s some grandstand concert history from the prior four years at the fair.

2019

3 Doors Down — 8,600

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band — 6,400

Dustin Lynch — 10,200

REO Speedwagon — 14,400

2018

Bret Michaels — 3,900

Styx — 10,700

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias — 12,800

Randy Houser — 9,200

2017

Scott McCreery — 6,100

Huey Lewis and the News — 12,200

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts — 6,700

Trace Adkins — 12,800

2016

Josh Turner — 13,103

Foreigner — 9,234

Sawyer Brown/LoCash — 6,157

Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo — 11,582

This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 12:50 PM.