State Fair Grandstand Lineup

ZZ Top, Maroon 5 Added to State Fair Grandstand Lineup

The Kansas State Fair announces more of the lineup for this year's Spring Grandstand acts. The Fair announced Thursday it has added Maroon 5, Rodney Atkins, Blake Shelton with James Otto, and rock group ZZ Top with Mick Fleetwood Blues Band to this year's lineup.

The fair says there are two more events, but those won't be announced for a few more weeks.

Full Schedule:

• Sept 11 - Foreigner
• Sept 12 - Rodney Atkins
• Sept 13 - Terry Fator
• Sept 16 - Maroon 5
• Sept 17 - Blake Shelton/James Otto
• Sept 19 - ZZ Top w/ Mick Fleetwood Blues Band

Ticket prices for all Sprint Grandstand Acts include free gate admission to the Kansas State Fair when purchased through August 31, 2010, unless otherwise noted. The 2010 Kansas State Fair will run Sept. 10-19. Sprint Grandstand concert tickets go on sale May 8 at 8 a.m. and may be purchased at the Kansas State Fair ticket office, by calling 1-800-362-3247 or at www.kansasstatefair.com

More from the Kansas State Fair:

Rodney Atkins - Sunday, Sept. 12, 7:30 p.m. - $25

Rodney Atkins is a country music sensation who originated from a humble beginning. Living his first months as a frail, sickly infant from the Holston Methodist Home for Children in Greenville, Tenn., he was adopted by loving parents Allan and Margaret Atkins. From a young age, he sang in church and in his high school years began to play the guitar and compose songs. While in college, Atkins made regular trips to Nashville and soon signed with Curb Records. Atkins' 2003 debut album, Honesty, garnered him a Top 5 hit with "Honesty (Write Me a List)."

Four songs from Rodney Atkins' platinum-selling 2006 album, If You're Going Through Hell, became No. 1 hits - a feat that no one had accomplished since 2002. In fact, two of those songs became the most-played of 2006 ("If You're Going Through Hell [Before the Devil Even Knows]") and 2007 ("Watching You").

A wonderful father, Atkins places family as his first priority. He raises his 7-year-old son and two teenage stepdaughters in middle Tennessee alongside his wife of 10 years, Tammy Jo. In addition to donating to the Holston Methodist Home for Children, Atkins is also a supporter of the National Council for Adoption.

Atkins' success has earned him the Academy of Country Music's Top New Male Vocalist award, plus five other ACM nominations and two Country Music Association nominations. In addition to performing for a half-million people at the National Memorial Day concert in Washington, D.C., he's performed for former President George W. Bush twice and toured with Brad Paisley and Brooks & Dunn.

To learn more about Rodney Atkins, visit his website www.rodneyatkins.com

Maroon 5 - Thursday, Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m. - $39

Maroon 5 is an American rock band that won a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best New Artist. Their first album, Songs About Jane, contained four hit singles: "Harder to Breathe", "This Love", "She Will Be Loved" and "Sunday Morning". Their second album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long, was released in 2007 and includes such singles as "Makes Me Wonder", "Won't Go Home Without You", and "Wake Up Call". Their third album is scheduled to be release in summer 2010.

For more information on Maroon 5, please visit www.maroon5.com

Blake Shelton with James Otto - Friday, Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m. - $28

As a teenager in Ada, Okla., Blake Shelton's family recognized both his talent and his love for music. His mother sent a tape to a local live country music show when he was 12, and by the age of 16, he was singing at weddings and parties. Soon after, he had beaten 3,500 contestants in a statewide talent contest.

At 17, Shelton was performing at an awards ceremony when he met legendary songwriter Mae Axton ("Heartbreak Hotel"), who encouraged him to move to Nashville. Two weeks out of high school, he took her advice and packed his bags. After three years of odd jobs and struggling, he was signed to Giant Records, which folded one week after the release of his first single. Shelton was quickly picked up by Warner Bros., and his single "Austin" became a five-week No. 1 single.
Each of his first three albums went gold and produced chart-topping singles - "The Baby" from The Dreamer and "Some Beach" from Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill. His fourth album, Pure BS, also went gold and produced a back-to-back No. 1 single, "Home," at a time when Shelton's presence on television was increasing. Starting Fires produced "She Wouldn't Be Gone," yet another multiple-week No. 1 single, and solidified Shelton's reputation as a vocalist.

To learn more about Blake Shelton, visit his website www.blakeshelton.com

James Otto

Country music sensation James Otto is widely recognizable for his single "Since You Brought It Up," from his 2008 Warner Bros. Records Nashville release.

Otto, who grew up in a military family, started singing when he was 4 years old and learned both violin and saxophone before getting his first guitar at the age of 13. After graduating from high school, Otto did joined the U.S. Navy for two years and, following his release from active service, he moved to Nashville in 1998. While in Nashville, Otto was introduced to the MuzikMafia, a feisty group of writers and musicians that included Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson. Due to the TV exposure of MuzikMafia, Otto soon landed a record deal with Mercury Nashville where he released an album, 2002's Days of Our Lives.

Otto later signed with Raybaw Records, a Warner Bros. Records imprint. Otto's debut Warner Bros. release, Sunset Man, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, scored three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and remained in the Top 5 Country Albums chart for six weeks after its release in April 2008. The album's first single, "Just Got Started Lovin' You," was the Most Played Single of 2008 at Country radio and Billboard's No. 1 Hot Country Song of 2008. The track was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. Otto was also an Academy of Country Music Award winner in the New Artist of the Year category at CMA Awards. Sunset Man has sold almost 400,000 copies

For more information about James Otto, please visit www.jamesotto.net

ZZ Top with Mick Fleetwood Blues Band - Sunday, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m. - $39

ZZ Top is a blues-rock trio from Texas that became MTV superstars in the 1980s. ZZ Top originated with guitarist Billy Gibbons, whose career started with the band Moving Sidewalks and its hit "99th Floor." After the end of Moving Sidewalks, Gibbons recruited Frank Beard and Dusty Hill from the Dallas band American Blues to create ZZ Top.

From the group's release of First Album in 1970, ZZ Top has been a hit. ZZ Top's albums repeatedly made the Top 40 and the release of Eliminator helped push the group to colossal fame. The album produced sales of over 10 millions copies and remained on the charts for three and a half years. The trend continued with Afterburner, which sold over 3 million copies. After signing with RCA, the band's first album for the new label, the platinum Antenna was named in tribute to rock radio.

Amidst their success, ZZ Top launched a fundraising drive to create a Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Miss. The band also performed at President George W. Bush's inaugural ceremonies in January 2001.

In 2003, ZZ Top released Mescalero followed by a four-disc, comprehensive box set, Chrome, Smoke & BBQ. In 2004, Keith Richards inducted ZZ Top into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and 2008 marked a milestone year for ZZ Top with the release of its first live DVD, Live from Texas.

To learn more about ZZ Top, visit their website www.zztop.com

Mick Fleetwood Blues Band

Bringing together four remarkable blues and rock musicians, Mick Fleetwood presents a tribute band to the 1967 Fleetwood Mac that is as current as it is nostalgic. Veteran bluesman and former Fleetwood Mac vocalist and lead guitarist Rick Vito adds his own creative flair while remaining true to the styling of early Fleetwood Mac member, Peter Green. Group rhythm hails from Lenny Castellanos on bass guitar. Mark Johnstone helps infuse a lively energy to the group on the keys and through backup vocals. The band is led by the legendary Mick Fleetwood, providing a backbone with his unmistakable powerhouse percussion and persona.

In 2008, "Blue Again" was recorded live at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, Mo. Mick Fleetwood and former Fleetwood Mac member Rick Vito produced the album, in addition to accompanying bassist, Lenny Castellanos and keyboardist, Mark Johnstone for recording.
To learn more about Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, visit its website www.mickfleetwoodofficial.com