Toby Keith to headline 2013 Illinois State Fair Grandstand entertainment

[December 29, 2012]  SPRINGFIELD -- Country music's "Artist of the Decade" will perform at the 2013 Illinois State Fair. Singer and songwriter Toby Keith, presented by Ford F-Series, will take the Grandstand stage for a concert Aug. 14.

"Opportunities to book artists of Toby Keith's stature don't happen very often," said Amy Bliefnick, state fair manager. "I'm ecstatic he has agreed to play the fair and look forward to a great show next August."

From his first No. 1 single, "Should've Been a Cowboy," to his latest release, "Hope on the Rocks," Keith has recorded a string of chart-topping songs, making him one of country music's most consistent hit-makers. His tunes include such classics as "How Do You Like Me Now?!," "Beer for My Horses," "As Good as I Once Was," "Made in America" and "Red Solo Cup."

Keith's albums have sold more than 37 million copies, ranking him among the top-selling all-genre artists on Billboard's Top 200 Artists of the Decade, and his tours have drawn more than a million fans each year for the last decade. In December of 2011, the American Country Awards named Keith its "Artist of the Decade."

His appearance at the fair will be his second. He performed in 2002 as well, a month after his signature song, the patriotic anthem "Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue," reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

Ticket information, including prices and sales dates, will be announced on the fair's website, www.illinoisstatefair.info, after the new year begins.

[Text from Illinois State Fair file received from the Illinois Office of Communication and Information]