State Fair Season Is Back: Babyface, Big League Ball & Bluegrass in the 916
The California State Fair kicks off at Cal Expo while the A's host the Nationals and Grammy-winner Molly Tuttle hits Ace of Spades
State Fair season has officially arrived in the 916. From July 17 through 19, Sactown stacks the calendar with the California State Fair’s opening weekend at Cal Expo, a full three-game Athletics series against the Nationals, Grammy-winning bluegrass at Ace of Spades, and a candlelit Queen-vs-ABBA showdown inside the Railroad Museum. Summer in the capital doesn’t get bigger than this — here’s the move.
🎡 California State Fair Opening Weekend
Friday, Jul 17 – Sunday, Jul 19 (fair runs through Aug 2)
The biggest event of Sacramento’s summer is back — the 2026 California State Fair kicks off its 17-day run at Cal Expo on Friday, July 17. Opening weekend alone stacks the Toyota Concert Series on the Sky River Casino Stage with 13-time Grammy winner Babyface on Friday, Fugees legend Wyclef Jean on Saturday, and Oakland funk institution Tower of Power on Sunday — and every one of those shows is FREE with fair admission. Add carnival rides, livestock shows, deep-fried everything, and the best people-watching in the capital, and you’ve got the quintessential Sactown summer weekend. Gates open at 10 AM Friday through Sunday, with concerts at 8 PM nightly.
The Move: Fuel up before you brave the midway — Hotboys Sacramento at 1115 21st St. in Midtown is a quick hop down Business 80 from Cal Expo, and a hot chicken sandwich beats fair-food prices every time.
📍 Get tickets on castatefair.com
🪕 Molly Tuttle
Saturday, Jul 18 @ 7:00 PM
Grammy-winning bluegrass virtuoso Molly Tuttle brings her 2026 tour to Ace of Spades on R Street, touring behind her latest record So Long Little Miss Sunshine alongside cuts from Crooked Tree and City of Gold. A NorCal native and one of the most jaw-dropping flatpickers alive, Tuttle won the Best Bluegrass Album Grammy in 2023 and has been collecting Guitar Player of the Year honors ever since. General admission standing-room tickets run about $48 — for a player this good in a room this intimate, that’s a steal. Doors at 7 PM.
The Move: Ace of Spades sits at 1417 R Street, barely a five-minute walk from Hotboys Sacramento at 1115 21st St. — grab a pre-show sandwich in Midtown and stroll straight to the venue.
📍 Get tickets on ticketmaster.com
⚾ Athletics vs. Washington Nationals
Friday, Jul 17 – Sunday, Jul 19
Big-league baseball in the 916 — the Athletics host the Washington Nationals for a full three-game weekend series at Sutter Health Park, their riverside home in West Sacramento. Catch a warm summer night game Friday at 6:40 PM or Saturday at 7:05 PM, or make Sunday a classic 1:05 PM day-at-the-ballpark. Sutter Health Park is one of the most intimate settings in the majors, so seats put you closer to the action than almost any other MLB park in the country.
The Move: Sutter Health Park is just across the Tower Bridge from downtown — hit Hotboys Sacramento at 1115 21st St. in Midtown before the game and roll into West Sac fed and ready for first pitch.
📍 Get tickets on ticketmaster.com
🕯️ Candlelight: Queen vs. ABBA
Saturday, Jul 18 @ 6:30 PM
Fever’s Candlelight series transforms the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento into a glowing concert hall, with a live string ensemble battling out the catalogs of Queen and ABBA under hundreds of flickering candles. Hearing “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Dancing Queen” echo off vintage locomotives is a genuinely surreal date-night move. The 60-minute show starts at 6:30 PM with tickets from around $34, and it’s open to ages 8 and up — doors open 45 minutes early so you can wander the candlelit museum floor.
The Move: Make it a full evening — grab dinner at Hotboys Sacramento, 1115 21st St. in Midtown, then head down J Street to Old Sacramento for the candlelit show at the Railroad Museum.
📍 Get tickets on feverup.com
The Hotboys Connection
Babyface, Wyclef, and Tower of Power lighting up opening weekend at Cal Expo, big-league ball across the river at Sutter Health Park, Molly Tuttle picking circles around everyone at Ace of Spades, and candlelit Queen vs. ABBA among the locomotives in Old Sac — the 916 is running full throttle July 17 through 19. And Hotboys Sacramento sits right in the middle of it all.
- Sacramento: 1115 21st St, Sacramento, CA 95811 — open 9am–10pm Mon–Wed. Whether you’re heading up Business 80 for the midway, crossing Tower Bridge for first pitch, walking R Street for the bluegrass, or making a candlelit date night in Old Sac, we’re right here in Midtown and ready for you.
State Fair season is here, Sactown — come hungry and leave it all on the midway. 🔥