We’ve got a new entry in the list of the biggest New York State Fair concert crowds of all time.
Jessie Murph drew an estimated 49,000 fans to her performance at Suburban Park on Friday night, according to fair officials. That’s the second largest audience in NYS Fair music history, behind only Lainey Wilson’s 53,200 at the same stage in 2023.
Country now owns the top three spots with Wilson, Murph and Megan Moroney, who packed Suburban Park with 47,000 people last year. Moroney thanked fans by changing the lyrics to her biggest hit, “Tennessee Orange,” to “I’m wearing Syracuse Orange for him.”
Murph, a singer-songwriter known for her mix of country and alternative pop music, has been rising in popularity this year. She currently averages 16 million monthly listeners on Spotify with songs like “Wild Ones” (with Jelly Roll), “Pray, ”Always Been You,“ “High Road” (with Koe Wetzel) and “Blue Strips.”
The rest of the top 10 largest concerts in NYS Fair history includes rappers Nelly (43,000 in 2022), Flo Rida (42,000 in 2024), A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (40,610 in 2018), Ludacris (39,400 in 2023), Rick Ross (39,000 in 2024) and City Girls (39,000 in 2022); and classic rock band Foreigner (38,000 in 2022). Nelly and Ludacris made the top 30 twice, along with REO Speedwagon (34,000 in 2023 and 30,511 in 2021).
Scroll down to see the full list.
How do they calculate attendance at NYS Fair concerts?
Attendance is estimated by the New York State Fair using a formula that largely centers on estimating crowd sizes in various sections of Chevy Court and Suburban Park, and then adding them up.
NYS Fair officials break up each venue into a grid system, tallying the number of people in the seating areas, grassy areas around the seats, the courtyard and paved areas by the Chevy Court Pavilion and the space that curves around the pond at Suburban Park. At least three staffers do the counting, accounting for circumstances such as traffic that may force some concert-goers to be late, and they compare figures during or after the second half of a performance.
Fair concerts are not ticketed, but they can still get a good estimate. Then-acting director Troy Waffner told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard in 2018 that estimating the crowd in each section as a percentage of the maximum capacity figure leads to a final number that’s likely accurate within five percent.
The crowd sizes can vary due to a number of factors, including popularity, the weather, the schedule (Friday nights tend to be bigger than, say, a Tuesday) and timing. Bruno Mars was booked for the 2011 NYS Fair shortly after releasing his first album, and by the time he took the Chevy Court stage in front of a then-record 35,000 fairgoers he had four top 10 hits.
All New York State Fair concerts are free with admission to the fair, which is $8 this year and free for children 12 and under and seniors 65 and older. That’s a deal for music fans, as the average concert ticket price for the top 100 tours in 2024 was $135.92, according to industry publication Pollstar.
This year is the first under the NYS Fair’s new five-year agreement with concert promoter Romeo Entertainment Group (REG). The Fair’s previous five-year contract with Triangle Talent, who replaced Live Nation, ended in 2024.
30 largest crowds in New York State Fair concert history:
No. 1: Lainey Wilson — 53,200 at Suburban Park in 2023
No. 2: Jessie Murph — 49,000 at Suburban Park in 2025
No. 3: Megan Moroney — 47,000 at Suburban Park in 2024
No. 4: Nelly — 43,000 at Chevy Park in 2022
No. 5: Flo Rida — 42,000 at Suburban Park in 2024
No. 6: A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie — 40,610 at Chevy Court in 2018
No. 7: Ludacris — 39,400 at Suburban Park in 2023
No. 8: Rick Ross (tie) — 39,000 at Suburban Park in 2024
No. 8: City Girls (tie) — 39,000 at Chevy Park in 2022
No. 10: Foreigner — 38,000 at Chevy Park in 2022
No. 11: Steve Miller Band — 36,900 at Chevy Court in 2015
No. 12: AJR — 36,397 people at Chevy Park in 2021
No. 13: Bruno Mars — 35,000 at Chevy Court in 2011
No. 14: REO Speedwagon — 34,000 at Suburban Park in 2023
No. 15: ZZ Top — 33,875 at Chevy Court in 2018
No. 16: Nelly — 33,713 at Chevy Park in 2021
No. 17: Migos — 31,900 at Chevy Court in 2017
No. 18: Ludacris (tie) — 31,500 at Chevy Court in 2018
No. 18: Florida Georgia Line (tie) — 31,500 at Chevy Court in 2013
No. 20: Chicago — 31,200 at Chevy Court in 2016
No. 21: Nas — 30,750 at Chevy Court in 2015
No. 22: REO Speedwagon — 30,511 at Chevy Park in 2021
No. 23: Dropkick Murphys — 30,200 at Chevy Court in 2019
No. 24: TLC (tie) — 30,000 at Chevy Park in 2022
No. 24: Sonny & Cher (tie) — 30,000 at Empire Court in 1972
No. 24: Lady A (tie) — 30,000 at Chevy Court in 2010
No. 24: Yung Gravy f/ bbno$ (tie) — 30,000 at Suburban Park in 2023
No. 28: Earth, Wind & Fire — 29,900 at Chevy Court in 2017
No. 29: Train — 28,563 at Chevy Park in 2021
No. 30: Lynyrd Skynyrd — 28,400 at Chevy Court in 2017
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