Christian music artist Josiah Queen will headline the final Grandstand concert of the 2026 Iowa State Fair on Sunday, August 23, with special guest Ben Fuller.
The concert is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand in Des Moines, giving fans a family friendly way to close out the 11 day fair. The Iowa State Fair officially lists tickets from $19.40 to $59.40, including facility fees.
A Family Friendly Closing Night
The Iowa State Fair selected Queen for its closing night as part of a move to feature its Christian music performance at the end of the fair.
Fair officials announced the concert as a family friendly finale when the lineup was revealed in January. Ben Fuller will join Queen as the special guest.
The August 23 performance also falls on Sunday Funday, one of the Iowa State Fair’s designated special days.
Josiah Queen Brings a Fast Growing Fan Base
Queen has quickly established himself as one of the rising names in Christian music.
According to the Iowa State Fair, Queen has accumulated more than 744 million global streams, including 570 million in the United States, based on Luminate data cited by the fair.
His breakout song “The Prodigal” has surpassed 82 million streams, while his newer track “Dusty Bibles” has also gained significant attention across streaming platforms and social media.
Those numbers give the Grandstand finale a stronger national entertainment angle than a typical local fair concert.
Ben Fuller Joins the Grandstand Show
Ben Fuller will appear alongside Queen for the closing night performance.
Fuller’s appearance adds another Christian music name to a concert specifically designed around the genre. The pairing also gives the event an opportunity to attract fans from across Iowa and the surrounding Midwest.
The Iowa State Fair has positioned the concert as a celebration for families and Christian music fans rather than simply another stop on the Grandstand schedule.
The Final Grandstand Concert of the 2026 Fair
The Josiah Queen concert will mark the final Grandstand performance of this year’s Iowa State Fair.
The 2026 fair runs from August 13 through August 23, with concerts and other entertainment taking place throughout the grounds.
The Grandstand lineup has included major acts across country, rock, hip hop and pop, but Queen’s closing night performance provides a distinctly different finish to the concert series.
Why the Concert Could Stand Out
The show offers a strong entertainment story because Queen represents a younger generation of Christian music artists who have built substantial audiences through streaming and social media.
His performance also gives the Iowa State Fair a chance to end its Grandstand series with an artist whose audience extends beyond traditional fairgoers.
For DailyReuters.com, the event has an additional advantage. Compared with heavily covered performances by major mainstream acts, the Josiah Queen concert offers a more focused and potentially lower competition entertainment story.
What Fans Should Know
The concert begins at 6 p.m. on Sunday, August 23 at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand in Des Moines.
Grandstand tickets are separate from general Iowa State Fair admission. The official fair website lists ticket prices between $19.40 and $59.40, with pricing varying based on online and phone service fees.
The Iowa State Fair also warns visitors to purchase Grandstand tickets only through its official ticketing channels or Etix because tickets from third party sellers are not guaranteed to be legitimate.
A Different Kind of Fair Finale
With Josiah Queen and Ben Fuller taking the stage at 6 p.m., the Iowa State Fair is preparing to close its 2026 Grandstand schedule with a concert aimed squarely at Christian music fans and families.
For Queen, the performance represents another major opportunity to connect with a growing U.S. audience.
For the Iowa State Fair, it will provide a music filled ending to one of the biggest annual events on the Iowa calendar.