The U.P. State Fair is pleased to announce the next two acts in its full line-up of Grandstand entertainment, presented by Island Resort and Casino. On Friday night, Aug. 16, fairgoers can enjoy two rock bands—Fuel and Dorothy. The rock concert will start at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7.
GRAMMY Award-nominated multi-platinum rock band Fuel is comprised of founder, guitarist, and songwriter Carl Bell and longtime drummer Kevin Miller, and have been joined by new blood—Aaron Scott [lead vocals, guitar], Mark Klotz [guitar, vocals], and Tommy Nat [bass, vocals]. Their first album together in 18 years, Ånomåly, was released in 2021.
Fuel’s sound is a melodic brand of hard rock rooted in eloquent songwriting and heavy guitars. The band’s 1998 album “Sunburn” not only went Platinum, but it also yielded enduring anthems such as “Shimmer” and “Bittersweet.” Its 2001 follow-up, “Something Like Human,” earned a double-platinum certification and elevated them to arenas.
The lead single “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)” would reach No. 1 for 13 weeks and would even become the No. 6 Alternative Rock song of the past 25 years, according to Billboard’s Alternative Chart 25th Anniversary: Top 100 Songs, making it “one of the Top Ten most-listened to alternative rock songs for the past 30 years.”
Their music appeared everywhere from Prison Break, Daredevil, and Scream 3 to WWE Pay-Per-View events. 2003’s “Natural Selection” bowed in the Top 15 of the Billboard Top 200 and garnered a GRAMMY Award nomination in the category of “Best Engineered Album—Non-Classical.” For more information on the band, visit: fuel-official.com.
Dorothy will also take the Grandstand stage Friday night. Comprised of lead singer Dorothy Martin, and members Sam “Bam” Koltun, Eliot Lorango, and Jake Hayden, the band’s musical palette seems to encompass each of the musician’s influences, as well as many of the essential sounds of rock music’s history—from soulful swampy blues to hard rock—in a way that makes the case for rock and roll itself.
Released in 2022, “Gifts From The Holy Ghost” is the album she’s always wanted, and has perhaps been destined to make. Born from a sense of divine urgency, it is Dorothy’s most bombastic and gloriously, victorious rock and roll work yet. Each song built on triumph—the unshackling of chains, the slaying of demons with a sword of light—the album is a healing and remedial experience, made to unify listeners and point them toward a life full of purpose.
“This album had to get made; I felt like I had a mission,” Dorothy said. While the band’s first, irreverently named album, “ROCKISDEAD,” was made on a combination of whiskey and heartbreak—inspiring Rolling Stone to name them one of rock’s most exciting new acts, and Jay-Z to sign them to his label Roc Nation—“Gifts” was built on recovery, health, and holiness, in a way that reverses the clichéd ‘good girl gone bad’ narrative.
With “Gifts From The Holy Ghost,” Dorothy identifies her purpose as an artist. She conquers darkness with light, numbness with feeling, disharmony with unity—all while delivering one of the most fun rock & roll records. For more information, visit: dorothyonfire.com. Gold Circle tickets for Fuel and Dorothy’s performances on Friday, Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. go on sale on Monday, April 29 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased from the presenting sponsor, Island Resort and Casino.
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