MUSIC AT THE FAIR | DAY 2 – RACHEL PLATTEN – ST. PAUL, MN – AUGUST 22, 2025

The Fair’s theme for the first Friday of the 12-day run was “Governor’s Fire Prevention Day”. While it didn’t have any influence on the live music line-up, it’s importance is more and more evident considering all the poor air quality days we experienced this summer from the Canadian wildfires.

The Bandshell headliner was Rachel Platten best known for her hit anthem “Fight Song”. I was anticipating that this would be one of my favorite performances at the Bandshell and it definitely was.  What an incredible singer and she came across as authentic and genuine in her performance.

I spent a little extra time on this day enjoying music on the Summit Stage at the International Bazaar. The headliner was Joe Cruz and his Sounds of Santana tribute show. In what was a part of a number of tribute shows at the Fair this year, I would classify this one as top tier. Cruz did a fantastic job covering the not-so-easy guitar stylings of Santana and the show had a very musical feel, was fun, and drew a great crowd.

Considering the sizeable Hmong population in Minnesota, it was great to see TigerByteFace representing their community on this stage. I especially like the fact that where some might have been expecting traditional ethnic music, they actually are a Rock cover band and are obviously very committed to the genre.