Carnival & Fair News

Prices are higher, but the range of concert acts coming to fairs this season has never been more diverse. With demographics changing as millennials continually make up a larger portion of the fair going public, fairs are adjusting to the new realities of talent buying.

Inflationary pressures are felt throughout the economy, although it's notable that entertainment costs have been rising upward for several seasons in a row now. The touring woes of the lockdown may be behind us, but that has opened more stages – casinos are booking acts such as tribute bands, once the sole territory of fairs and many festivals are now fully back online.

This season's talent buying picture is complicated and sometimes contradictory. To get a grasp on this rapidly changing marketplace, Carnival Warehouse spoke with the top promoters servicing fairs and their grandstands. Participants were:

Carnival Warehouse: Fairs said costs for talent and production were higher than ever before in 2024. What is the expectation in terms of the entertainment market in 2025? Are more price hikes in store? 

Clay Campbell:  We haven't seen any slowing in price increases unfortunately.

John Juliano: It's two-fold, on the very new acts who have only been out a few years, their prices are going up to the classic acts price. The classic acts will threaten to retire, but it takes a couple of years, and that drives their prices up. They told you they're on their last tour, that it could be the last time to see them, so their prices are going up no matter what. Percentage wise, for example, acts for $150,000 in 23 are probably $300,000 now. It's doubled in a lot of cases.

Todd Boltin: Production costs were higher in 2024 and continue to go up each year. Portable staging, sound, lights, video all require transportation and transportation costs were up, but supply was as well. There are only so many portable stages out there and the Stageline brand is the one in demand for fairs.  Stageline is certified in all 50 states, it's hydraulic and sets up in lesser time, and requires less labor on the fairs' part than the scaffolding stages of years ago.  After the Indianapolis stage collapse, everyone started to book the Stageline brand, which sent it into high demand. 

Sound, lighting and video expenses are also up. Technology is ever changing and to be competitive these vendors want to have the most current equipment to satisfy the entertainers' requests. Labor is up as well, as you need qualified technicians to run the equipment and set it up and be able to trouble shoot it when there is a problem.

CW: Are fairs passing along these increases to the attendees, or are they absorbing the costs so they will not have to charge attendees more? 

TB: Every fair is different in the way they approach the increased expenses. Some fairs cut their budget back and may go from five nights to three nights of concerts, some may just get out of the music business completely.  It's a lot of work for a fair to do one night and bring in a portable stage, take 5-7 hours to set up stage, sound, lights and then take it down that night after the show.

Some fairs base concert ticket prices on the artist costs and their production costs.  Other fairs might not increase ticket prices for a year but then in the 2nd year they may make a bump.  Some fairs will bump their gate fee up by $1 or $2 the night they have the concerts to offset the increase. 

JJ: I'd say the majority are not passing that cost on, so to speak In the fair business, there's  a lot of backend revenue, Prices are set according to the guarantee, or if it's a ticket show, with a $250,000 guarantee, the ticket pike will go up a little bit to cover the guarantee. It's all taken into consideration but not always rolled into the price.

Anne-Lise Pietruska: I don't see they have increased ticket prices is the short answer. If the stage and production have pretty much remained fairly flat, it's a minimal increase. Labor costs have increased, and there have been significant jumps in some things, like LED walls, and those drive-up prices.

CC:  Just as acts are having to pass along increased costs, so are fairs.  Some are doing it with increased gate admission, or increased ticket prices for concerts, or parking increases – or a combination of all of these.

CW: What are you recommending fairs do in terms of increased costs? 

TB: There is no one size fits all when it comes to this. Every fair has to weigh out the expenses and if it is worth it to do the concerts. They are faced with the dilemma they need to provide entertainment for their fair goers, and they want to bring in people to the fair to satisfy their ride company and food vendors. But at what cost ? And when do they say, enough is enough?

CW: Has touring fully comeback from the lockdown?

TB: Touring has been back with a vengeance since Covid. There is more traffic in the touring world than ever. Unfortunately for fairs, many of the tours are geared towards the amphitheaters, arenas and stadium settings and not the fairs. There are more artists playing stadiums than ever. 

Most of the amphitheater and arena tours are owned by the larger promoters like Live Nation and  AEG so the fairs do not get a chance at those. Once in a while a fair might catch a one off from the tour, but it's not an everyday occurrence that happens. Let's face it, 30 years ago fairs were the top of the list.  Entertainers wanted to play fairs because there were no amphitheaters, structured tours, or major multiple day festivals to play at that time. 

As the years went by things, changes and fairs slipped down the list of venues artist wanted to play unfortunately. Before social media, artists had to play fairs to get into the rural parts of the country to develop their fan base. When an artist would play a county fair in the Midwest, the people who came to those shows became lifelong fans of that artist because they came and played the hometown fair.  Today with Tik Tok, Youtube, Spotify, and Instagram, an artist can reach all of those rural areas without leaving their homes and today those fans will drive hours and across state lines to see the artist live.

JJ: Everything has come back from the bad Covid days. If you take a look at Instagram, you see fairs, festivals, and springtime festivals all going strong. I'm sure taking in everything, the touring business is better than pre-pandemic. Fairs have more competition, a lot more acts out and they're picking up festivals, which were cancelled. New venues have opened up. Whoever shut down, popped up back up and that's a problem of overlap to the fair and radiuses come into effect.

CC: Since the Pandemic, it has basically been a seller's market in entertainment.  Too many promoters chasing too few acts.  Artist's cost of doing business is higher – can't get buses and trucks, can't get drivers even if they can get vehicles – and they are having to pass those along or tour differently.  We are seeing a lot more acts flying to dates and having the fairs provide backline, production, ground and transportation.  It allows the Artist to keep their brand visible but makes it more costly for the fair to stage a show.

CW: What can fairs and fairgoers expect for the 2025 grandstand concert entertainment? 

CC: I think that fair patrons will still see great shows but it is going to cost them more.  And fairs may do less shows than in the past – where they may have promoted 10 shows in the past, it may just be nine this year and fill the other date with motor sports, or a cheaper niche-oriented show.

TB: Country music and county fairs have always been the perfect marriage. So, you will see your share of country artists at most fairs. Classic rock will also still be at fairs, but unfortunately many of the Classic rock artist are retiring from touring so there will not be as many as there has been previously at fairs.  More and more fairs have opened the door to Hip Hop so you'll see artist like Nelly, Ludacris, Flo Rida playing a lot of fairs.  You'll continue to see Contemporary Christian artists playing fairs as a lot of fairs have developed a family faith night. Depending on their location, fairs are also bringing in Latino artist for the Latin community. That's probably the fastest growing genre in the fair business the last 3 years.

JJ: Just like every year, just as diverse as possible. Fairs have done a good job with diversity. Country has always been number one at nearly all fairs, but we've seen several new acts. There's a resurgence with 90s and early 2000s Hip  Hop. The Classic Rock acts are popular, especially 80s classic rock.

CW: What acts are you most excited about this year? 

Megan Moroney headlined the New York State Fair in 2024

TB: I'm always excited to see the new “break out” artist. In country that seems to be Zach Top.  Just a couple of years ago we were showcasing him at state fair conventions, now he is headlining.  I enjoy seeing the artist I've grown up with out there on the road the last 40 years and being a part of their careers for as long as they have been touring. 

CC: We have had GREAT success with Megan Moroney and Lainey Wilson for our fair clients.  Ella Langley has a good vibe in country space along with Nate Smith.  We are having great response with the Toto package and some AJR dates.   Forest Frank is popular vin the CCM space and we are trying a show with comedian Leanne Morgan, it would be great to get more comedy going.

AP: It's kind of weird to say, but we are booking acts for fairs that we have never booked before. We never had ZZ Top and they're having a comeback.  Zach Top is one to watch, he's a great up and coming act. A new act Jessi Murph is really taking off. We still find a lot of artists who play fairs, it's about seeing an artist grow and fairs give them a start.

CW: Are fairs booking earlier or later than the previous season? Is there a trend either way and if so why? 

CC: Have to book earlier and earlier.

TB: Fair are booking earlier, and that has been the trend for a few years.  A fair may put an offer in early, but they may not get an answer for months.  If a fair is targeting a new hot up and coming artist, that artist's management does not know what may happen in the next 2-3 months.  There could be a major tour offer coming to them, if their popularity continues to grow, their price will also grow to reflect that popularity. Established artists are more likely to confirm earlier than a new artist in country.

But when it comes to Rock and pop, there is no such thing as booking early. Simply because they do not know what they are going to be doing a year from now.  It could be a package tour with 2-3 other artist that will play the larger venues, or their tour window may only be a select time frame of 4-6 weeks.  There are always a lot of moving parts with Rock and Pop.


AP: Earlier and earlier. We're looking for acts for 2026, well ahead what once was the norm. You tentatively pencil in dates with some acts to get on their radar, we are starting earlier and earlier.

CW: Will country still be king for fairs in 2025? What strengths or weaknesses are emerging the  different genres -- country, rock. hip-hop, tribute bands, EDM? 

TB: Country will always be king for fairs. It's been the perfect marriage for a long, long time.  It's the most affordable.  Country artist, agents and managers understand the fair world.

CC: Country is strong, but Triangle Talent clients have always worked with a diverse line up.  KIDZ BOP as an example helps introduce a new audience to the fair every year.

JJ: It really depends on the client. We have a lot of clients approach hip-hop cautiously, because the issue is being family friendly. In some fairs, country used to be king, but now we do quite a few big hip-hop nights, especially legacy hip-hop. We've tried EDM for a few years, but the fans of EDM like the immersive club experience and  ultimately you can't mimic that at fairs. We're seeing two different kinds of tribute bands, where you have local bands who are tributes to Journey and Foreigner and then you are seeing some of the bands with huge recognition but are not touring with any original members, like Foreigner, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and a couple of others. Casinos are booking tribute bands more than ever, because that's what is bringing people.  Tribute acts, more so, than the original artists,

CW: How will comedy do in 2025? Are there enough big names to headline at grandstands? 

TB: Comedy is always strong. Unfortunately there is a lack of headliners in country that can do fairs or that want to do fairs.  Jeff Dunham has always been strong on fairs and his show material changes each year.  He and his characters pay no attention to the “woke” agenda.  Gabriel Iglesias “Fluffy” has always done well for fairs.  New artist like LeAnne Morgan and Joe Gatto, would be great for fairs.  Then you have the ones like Nate Bargatze who blow up and are selling out arenas and skipped over the fairs.


CC: It is always a challenge finding a depth of comedy artists to play fairs.

JJ: Fluffy is still making the rounds. A lot of comedians play the seated indoors venues, but not the grandstands. It's harder to make sure a comedy show is family friendly for fairs, it's a little more challenging than with music. Music artists have learned how to make their acts family friendly. Comedy is challenging, a legacy name like Jay Leno will  do well, but they know their audience and don't want to  have empty seats,. Don't put me in a 6,000 seat place if I only sell 3,500 seats. But fairs do like comedy because of its added value and low production costs.

CW: Is Latin music a staple for fairs or is there more room for growth?

TB: Today's Latin is a new world. For years we were educated that fairs, in order to do a Latin night, it had to be on Sunday night, because the Latin community worked 6 days a week, and Sunday was family day.  We are seeing now that you can do shows any night of the week and the crowd will come out for them.  It's a big step for the fair to make in this direction and many fairs are still reluctant to make that step. Even major fairs. But once they do and IF they do it the right way, it is a huge success.  One of our clients The Coastal Carolina Fair in Ladson, SC is now doing two nights of Latin music as it has been so successful.

JJ: We do have Latin acts, but we have had more successes with the bigger markets. There's a divide between Puerto Rican vs Mexican audiences, there aren't many crossover or mainstream acts. Outside of Texas, you have to be leery of booking some Latin acts.

CW: What new ethnic communities are large enough to warrant a fair stage and are their music acts touring fairs? Will we be seeing, for instance K-Pop acts at fairs? 

AP: It's a good question if we'll be seeing K-Pop one day as a headliner.  We haven't seen too much K-Pop. The money is up there. There's crossover appeal, they attract a younger audience, but into lager markets, it's untested.

TB: In regions like the West Coast fairs you will more than likely see K-Pop acts at those fairs, as opposed to the Midwest. The west coast fairs are more diverse because of the population compared to a fair in Rushville, IL, a local farming community.

 West Coast fairs also tend to have larger budgets than the Midwest Fairs.  K-Pop is huge there's no doubt. But also there's a lack of K-Pop artists who tour for fairs that we have seen so far.  Acts like BTS, Blackpink, Stray Kids, and Seventeen are playing stadiums and large arenas and are priced out of the majority of county fairs' budgets.

CW: What role is TikTok playing in the 2025 fair entertainment season?  

CC: So many of the fair's potential patrons are getting their music and discovering new artists on Tik Tok and other on line streaming services.  YouTube and Spotify are very important and will continue to be

TB: I think it depends on the staff at the fair and the demographic of that staff. If the staff grew up with Tik Tok and lives in that world, the fair will be using it to its fullest extent for marketing purposes, not only for concerts, but all around marketing of the fair and fairs events. Especially to target a younger demographic.

CW: So many traditional fair acts are getting near retirement age. How much of a challenge has it been to find younger acts that can both attract young adults and fill a grandstand ?  

TB: It is leaving a big void in the entertainment options.  So many acts have built careers playing fairs in the summer time and now those acts are coming off the road or passing away. A lot of the younger acts are being swept up by larger tours that are taking them to larger amphitheaters, where they can gain exposure to 15,000—30,000 people a night.  They cannot get that exposure at a county or state fair. They look at it as a career move. There are particular acts that just don't want to play fairs.  As their agents tell us….. “It's not the look the act prefers.”.  

Many years ago the new, young acts were standing in line to play a summer of fairs.  Alabama in 1980  — 75 county fairs, Garth Brooks in1990 — 60 county fairs, but as more venues popped up, major 3 day festivals started popping up across the country, and bona-fide tours started touring in the summer, more and more acts lost interest in playing fairs.
 
JJ: I think grandstand entertainment is still a driving force for fairs. If you don't have the facility for truly selling acts, fairs may do some other things.
CC: It is a challenge to find new acts but as long as the fairs pay attention to popular culture, they should be ok.  Actually, it is more of a challenge to make up and coming artist understand the advantages the a fair makes to showcase their talents.

CW: What advertising vehicles are working best for grandstand entertainment?

CC: I think it depends on the artist.  For classic rock and heritage country, radio is great.  For younger acts, streaming.  There is no one size fits all now.  Promoters have to understand their audience and how best to communicate to them.

JJ: Through our company, Mellowship Marketing, we started to look at budget, primarily grandstand entertainment, year after year, we target the fans and it's almost all digital. With traditional print you don't get many metrics to keep up with. We're using radio, print, etc., just for general awareness, with digital, we're dedicating most of the budget for social media – Meta, TikTok and we do ads in Google display, which allows us the best targeting. Streaming is not as effective but we still find a lot of success in our markets with digital

TB:  Talk about an ever changing world, welcome to marketing for fairs.  I think if you ask the fairs that have paid staffing and a marketing person, they will tell you they budget 50-60 percent of their marketing budget on digital/social media. Very little if any on print. Maybe enough just to keep a relationship with the local newspaper.  More email blasts, direct retargeting marketing, geo-fencing, dark posts on FB, and still a fair amount of organic, especially in rural areas with grass roots posters, brochures.