This concert was third largest in Western Idaho Fair history. Another? Smallest in years
Boise flooded the grandstands for country hits and baby-boomer nostalgia at last week’s Western Idaho Fair.
Singer Josh Turner and ’60s icons the Beach Boys drew massive crowds at the fair, which ended Sunday. Average concert attendance for the five shows was 9,860 — up from last year’s nightly average of 8,825.
Known for chart-toppers such as “Why Don’t We Just Dance” and “Your Man,” Turner was the big winner. He pulled in the third-largest attendance number ever at a fair concert: 16,200 fans on Friday.
The Beach Boys weren’t far behind Thursday with 13,400. That’s impressive — especially for octogenarians still out there harmonizing.
The other performers pulled in four-digit numbers: 7,400 for classic-rock act Kansas on Monday, 4,500 for country singer Nate Smith on Tuesday and 7,800 for rapper Yung Gravy on Wednesday.
Wait — country music drew the biggest crowd and the smallest one? Yep. Smith’s show was the least-attended since 2018, when Bret Michaels drummed up a somewhat “Poison-ous” number of 3,900. Of course, Smith only became well-known in recent years. He rose to fame after a breakout TikTok song, “Wildfire,” in 2020.
The biggest concert ever at the Western Idaho Fair? That was country singer Billy Currington’s record-setting draw of 17,800 fans in 2022. It’s a mind-blowing mark — one that might never be broken.
As usual, the grandstand shows were an excellent deal — free with paid fair admission (unless attendees chose to pay extra for reserved seats). To estimate concert attendances each year, fair employees use clicker counters as Idahoans come and go inside Expo Idaho. Typically, when fans exit a completely full performance, more are allowed to enter.
Ready for some history? Below are grandstand concert numbers from the past decade. Acts are listed in their order of performance. (And, remember, there were no concerts in 2020 during the pandemic.)
2023
Spin Doctors and Smash Mouth — 7,200
T.I. — 6,400
Bush — 7,900
Justin Moore — 13,800
2022
Chris Janson — 5,600
Ja Rule and Ashanti — 8,600
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo — 9,400
Stone Temple Pilots — 5,200
Billy Currington — 17,800
2021
Granger Smith — 6,200
Nelly — 14,800
Chicago — 11,400
Jon Pardi — 17,200
Seether — 13,900
2019
3 Doors Down — 8,600
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band — 6,400
Dustin Lynch — 10,200
REO Speedwagon — 14,400
2018
Bret Michaels — 3,900
Styx — 10,700
Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias — 12,800
Randy Houser — 9,200
2017
Scott McCreery — 6,100
Huey Lewis and the News — 12,200
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts — 6,700
Trace Adkins — 12,800
2016
Josh Turner — 13,103
Foreigner — 9,234
Sawyer Brown/LoCash — 6,157
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo — 11,582
2015
Jerrod Niemann — 2,900
Theory of a Deadman — 4,200
Gary Allan — 8,900
Queensryche — 4,500
2014
Seether — 6,500
Montgomery Gentry — 8,200
Doobie Brothers — 9,800
Thompson Square — 7,900
2013
Los Cuates de Sinaloa — 2,500
Kutless — 4,000
Foreigner — 9,000
The Guess Who — 3,500
Brantley Gilbert — 9,000
Clay Walker - 6,500
