Planning of the 2026 North Dakota State Fair with Zach Top
Grandstand Headliner Announced as America 250 Celebration Plans Begin
Minot, ND — August 15, 2025 — It’s been just two weeks since the gates closed on the 2025 North Dakota State Fair, and your NDSF team is already hard at work planning for 2026. While the Fair typically holds off on artist announcements until closer to the big event, this year’s excitement proved too much to contain. On the last day of the 2025 Fair, we surprised fans with the news that Zach Top will be taking the Grandstand stage in 2026.
Hailed as “the future of country music” (Billboard), Zach Top will release his highly anticipated new album, Ain’t In It For My Health, on August 29 (Leo33). The project features his recent hits “South of Sanity” and “Good Times & Tan Lines”—the latter named by the Los Angeles Times as one of the “Best Songs of 2025 so far,” calling it “as crisp as country music gets.”
It’s already been a banner year for Top, who earned his first #1 at country radio with “I Never Lie”, was named New Male Artist of the Year at the 2025 ACM Awards, and was featured in Variety’s 2025 Young Hollywood Impact Report. These accolades follow his 2024 breakthrough debut album, Cold Beer & Country Music, which racked up over 3.5 million streams in its first week and landed on multiple “Best of” lists from Rolling Stone, Billboard, and The New York Times, who praised: “the music is airtight and fluent—a demonstration of vivid coloring within hard lines.”
Known for his energetic live performances, Top recently extended his Cold Beer & Country Music tour and is currently on the road with Dierks Bentley. He has shared stages with country greats like Dwight Yoakam, Billy Strings, Alan Jackson, and Lainey Wilson. Raised in Sunnyside, WA, Top grew up surrounded by classic country on the family farm and started a bluegrass band with his siblings at just seven years old—a passion that has shaped his career ever since.
A Fair for the History Books
The 2026 North Dakota State Fair will be more than just the state’s biggest event—it will be part of America’s biggest celebration. As the nation marks 250 years since its founding, the Fair will proudly participate in the nationwide America 250 initiative.
State fairs have always been the heart of their communities, where rural traditions, innovation, and the American spirit come together. In 2026, the North Dakota State Fair will serve as a patriotic epicenter, bringing people together in a shared celebration of history, heritage, and the promise of the future.
From July to October 2025, fairs across the country will begin hosting America 250-themed activities. In July 2026, the North Dakota State Fair will present special exhibits, performances, and experiences that honor the past while inspiring the next generation. Visitors can expect unique America 250 events, an all-new fair theme, and programming that will make this year’s Fair one for the history books.
Stay tuned for more artist announcements, the official reveal of the 2026 North Dakota State Fair theme, and details on our America 250 celebrations.
The 2026 North Dakota State Fair will run July 17–25, 2026, in Minot, ND.
For more information and updates, visit www.ndstatefair.com or follow us on social media.
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Media Contact
Craig Rudland
o: (701) 857-7620
craig@ndstatefair.com
