Bill Murray, Babyface concerts planned for Indiana State Fair

Bill Murray and his Blood Brothers will perform Aug. 8 at the Indiana State Fair. (Photo provided by the Indiana State Fair)

The Indiana State Fair on Wednesday announced four concerts and a Disney-themed dance party as part of the Hoosier Lottery Free Stage series.

Highlighting the initial roster of fair performances are Golden Globe-winning actor Bill Murray, who will sing with a blues-rock band, and Indianapolis native Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds.

Murray, known for his work on “Saturday Night Live” and hit movies such as “Ghostbusters,” “Lost in Translation” and “Stripes,” will perform Aug. 8 with a band billed as Bill Murray and his Blood Brothers. Recent dates featuring the Blood Brothers, a group founded by guitarists Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia, have included covers of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” and the Kinks’ “Tired of Waiting.”

Edmonds, a 13-time Grammy Award winner, will perform Aug. 6. After growing up in the Crooked Creek neighborhood near the intersection of Michigan Road and Fox Hill Drive, Edmonds rose to fame as the singer of hits such as “Never Keeping Secrets” and “For the Cool in You” and as the producer of chart-toppers for Boyz II Men and Whitney Houston. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017. Edmonds recently partnered with nonprofit Music Will to launch music programs at 20 Indianapolis schools.

Bill Murray and his Blood Brothers becomes the latest musical project of a Hollywood star to set a date at the Indiana State Fair.

Murray follows Keanu Reeves, who appeared as a member of rock band Dogstar last year, Keifer Sutherland, a 2017 solo artist, and Kevin Costner, who appeared with his Modern West backing band in 2013, as a Free Stage attraction.

This year’s Indiana State Fair is scheduled Aug. 1-17, with no activity on Mondays during that time at the Fairgrounds, 1202 E. 38th St.

The Free Stage shows:

• Aug. 1: Three Dog Night, a classic rock band known for hits such as “One,” “Joy to the World” and “Shambala.”
• Aug. 2: Disney Throwback DJ Night, an event that encourages audience members to wear costumes while revisiting favorite songs from “The Lion King,” “Frozen,” “The Little Mermaid” and more.
• Aug. 6: Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, returning to the fair’s Free Stage four summers after a 2021 performance.
• Aug. 8: Bill Murray and his Blood Brothers, a collaboration that debuted at a Las Vegas blues festival in 2024.
• Aug. 15: Melissa Etheridge, winner of two Grammy Awards and one Academy Award. Etheridge won her Oscar for “I Need to Wake Up,” a song that appeared in 2006 documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”

Additional Free Stage concerts will be announced.

Admission to the Free Stage near the northwest corner of the Fairgrounds is included with tickets purchased for the fair. Advance fair tickets are available for $14. Fair admission is free to attendees 5 and younger. For more information, visit indianastatefair.com.

A limited number of reserved viewing area tickets are available for purchase.

The fair’s 2025 theme, “Soundtrack of Summer,” is presented by Get Prepared Indiana—an awareness campaign launched by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. The campaign focuses on emergencies such as severe weather and fires.