Rodney Atkins to headline SCFF concerts
The grandstand slate is full for the 2025 Steele County Free Fair.
Rodney Atkins will perform Aug. 15; the concert featuring the American Country Music Award-winning artist will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Atkins is described in his biography as “an artist with multi-generational impact, whose voice has been a mainstay on country radio, challenging all of us to be better no matter our age – parents who are now grandparents, and adults who first heard Rodney while eating a happy meal in their booster seat.”
He has charted radio singles across three decades, including six No. 1 songs. Atkins has performed on the Today Show; Fox & Friends; GMA’s Strahan and Sarah; and more.
His song, “Watching You,” was named No. 1 Song of the Decade by Country Aircheck in Nashville, Tenn., and earned Atkins a BMI “Million-Air” award. He recently released “True South,” one of several new songs he is planning.
“Rodney’s been on our radar for a few years,” said SCFF Manager Scott Kozelka, “and it just hasn’t worked out – but we got him for 2025, Friday night. We’re excited; it should be a great time.”
Atkins’s special guest act will be announced in January.
“They’re all tough to get,” Kozelka said of the national acts that come to Owatonna every August.
In addition to making it work within a budget, the artists all have a “routing schedule” that prevents them from booking shows too close in time and area to previous or future performances.
General admission tickets are $45, all fees included. VIP tickets, which include refreshments, food, infield parking, early admission, a VIP area in front of the stage, air-conditioned bathrooms and more, are $110, with fees. They are available online now.
“We did our homework on ticket pricing,” Kozelka said, “where these other acts are performing.”
Atkins, he said, also plays at the Grand Ol’ Opry, at military fundraisers, Red Cross blood drives – “so it’s going to be a great fit for the Steele County Free Fair.”
Announcing the bands now instead of in the spring, which they traditionally did, “gives people a chance to figure out a budget,” Kozelka said, especially if they want to attend more than one of shows planned for 2025.
Ticket sales for the Christian concert scheduled for Wednesday night have been “amazing,” he said.
“One of our posts was shared on Big Daddy Weave’s Facebook, and he has over 760,000 followers,” Kozelka said. “We hope to fill the stands all three nights – people are paying a great rate to see national acts three nights in a row.”
Big Daddy Weave will play Wednesday night, with special guest Cochren & Co. The performance begins at 7 p.m.
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Next year’s fair line-up
Wednesday: Big Daddy Weave, Cochren & Co., 7 p.m.
Thursday: Snake Oil, 7:30 p.m.
Friday: Rodney Atkins and special guest, TBA, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: Bulls ‘n Barrels, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: Demolition Derby, 2 p.m.
Tickets are available now for all performances. Prices reflect all additional fees.
To buy tickets online, head to scff.org/grandstand-1