This band smashed the Western Idaho Fair’s all-time concert attendance record
When it came to luring bodies to last week’s Western Idaho Fair concerts, one band would not be denied.
All hail the All-American Rejects!
Setting a new attendance record at the ICCU Grandstand at Expo Idaho, the rock band attracted a jaw-dropping 19,700 fans to its Thursday show. That’s borderline insane.
It’s not like the Rejects inched past the previous mark, either. Unleashing hits such as “Dirty Little Secret” and “Gives You Hell,” they obliterated it — by nearly 2,000 concertgoers. Until that jam-packed night, country singer Billy Currington had pulled in the most fans in Western Idaho Fair concert history: 17,800 in 2022.
“Move Along,” Billy boy. Rejected!
Did anyone see this coming? I mean, sure, there was a promotion Thursday offering $7 fair admission. But the discount was only from noon to 4 p.m. All the concerts started at 8 p.m.
Give the All-American Rejects credit. They’re hard workers. They also did a meet-and-greet and album signing earlier that day at The Record Exchange in downtown Boise.
Boosted by the massive Rejects number, the average attendance at fair concerts was 10,660. That’s up from last year’s average of 9,860 and 8,825 the year before.
Concerts at the Western Idaho Fair are free with paid admission (unless you choose to upgrade to reserved or VIP status). To estimate attendance at the shows, employees use a clicker counter. When a handful of fans leave a full performance, a few more are allowed to enter.
The party started Monday with Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Cranking up old-school classic rock, the Canadian band took care of business. Well, sorta. BTO lured the fewest grandstand fans at 5,900.
Rock band Daughtry had the bestselling album of 2007. Apparently, Idahoans remembered that. Led by big-voiced frontman Chris Daughtry, the group attracted 9,600 fans Tuesday — second-most of the grandstand series.
Country acts tend to be mega-popular at the fair, so it was no shocker that Jake Owen had a strong Wednesday evening. He pulled in 9,200 concertgoers.
Capping the performances, Wynonna Judd sang for 8,900 fans. That’s a major crowd. But as the second-smallest attendance number among the five acts, it’s a little surprising. Judd is one of the most successful female country singers of all time with 19 No. 1 singles. (Including ones released as a member of The Judds.) And it was a Friday night.
Nope. Judd’s audience was less than half the size of the crowd of Rejects the night before.
Will the All-American Rejects’ ridiculous record ever be broken? Could some act bust through the 20,000-fans wall someday?
(Yo, get Nickelback to the fair!)
As long as the Boise valley keeps growing, anything seems possible.
This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 11:37 AM.