This huge concert set a new attendance record at Western Idaho Fair, tripling other shows

Michael Deeds

With musical acts ranging from hip-hop to rock, this year’s Western Idaho Fair had a concert for just about anyone.

But the ICCU Grandstand creaked a little extra under Friday’s weight.

More than tripling crowd sizes at two of the other shows, country singer Billy Currington packed in a whopping 17,800 fans. That number set a new attendance record for a Western Idaho Fair performance.

To quote one of Currington’s many No. 1 hits? That dude “Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right.”

Or, to reference another? “People are Crazy” in Boise.

Whatever the case, Currington’s audience size topped the previous record of 17,200, set last year by Jon Pardi. (On a Thursday night, no less.)

Billy Currington’s first hit, “Walk a Little Straighter,” shot to the top of the country charts in 2003. He went on to have 10 more No. 1s over the next decade and a half. Handout
Billy Currington’s first hit, “Walk a Little Straighter,” shot to the top of the country charts in 2003. He went on to have 10 more No. 1s over the next decade and a half. Handout

To estimate attendances, fair employees use clicker counters as people come and go at Expo Idaho. Typically, when a handful of fans leave a full performance, more are allowed to enter. As usual, all the performances last week were free with paid fair admission.

With one exception, concert stampedes grew steadily larger at the fair, which ran Aug. 19-28.

Country singer Chris Janson kicked things off Monday by drawing 5,600 fans. The next night, it seemed probable that hip-hop and pop singers Ja Rule and Ashanti would draw a major audience. And the duo did: 8,600.

But it wasn’t enough to top the week’s second-place winner: singer Pat Benatar and her husband, guitarist Neil Giraldo. They pulled in 9,400 fans on Wednesday.

Alternative-rock band Stone Temple Pilots attracted a crowd of 5,200 on Thursday — the smallest show. That wasn’t really a surprise, since the band’s original vocalist, Scott Weiland, died in 2015.

Or maybe Idaho was just saving up its energy for that Currington blowout at the end.

Overall, the five nights of music on the ICCU Grandstand Stage lured 46,600 people. The overall attendance number for the entire 10 days at the fair was 251,497.

For historical purposes — and because I’m the only concert nerd who documents this stuff religiously — below are grandstand show attendance numbers from the prior five years at the fair.

See you next year, when “Weird Al” Yankovic makes his triumphant return and blows away the Currington record. (No, Yankovic has not been booked. But one can dream, right?)

Jon Pardi performs for a record-breaking crowd at the Western Idaho Fair in 2021. Billy Currington set a new attendance mark in 2022. Tyler Leaman
Jon Pardi performs for a record-breaking crowd at the Western Idaho Fair in 2021. Billy Currington set a new attendance mark in 2022. Tyler Leaman

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

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