Idolator

Today's New York Times takes a look at the ailing state-fair industry, which has been hit hard by such modern-day forms of entertainment as, you know, everything. But what about the infamously cheesy state-fair concerts? For years, they've been the last refuge of has-been acts from the '70s and '80s, with the gigs ranking somewhere between Indian casinos and corporate retreats in terms of prestige. We were surprised, then, to find how many big-name artists are putting funnel cakes on their backstage riders this year.

Check out these sample line-ups:

Minnesota State Fair: Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, the Magic Numbers, Rascal Flatts

Indiana State Fair: Kanye West, Kid Rock, the American Idol tour, Raven Symone

California State Fair: Ciara, Loverboy, Boyz II Men, REO Speedwagon, Sinbad, Village People, Ted Nugent

Admittedly, that last one's kind of a stretch when it comes to Top 40 relevance, but as must-see line-ups go, that Boyz II Men-Sinbad-Nuge combo trumps this anything at this year's Coachella festival. What's most interesting about the state-of-the-state-fair, though, is that the music acts tend to be either pricey headliners for the kids (Kanye), reliable country stars (Kenny Rogers) and road-warrior classic-rockers (Poison). The truly middle-of-the-road artists that used to fill the tents have been shunted aside, which is bad news for the likes of Slaughter, Cinderella and Gallagher II. And maybe, just maybe, bad news for America.

"State Fairs, Sagging, Arrive at County Crossroads" [NYT]