Kool & The Gang, Plain White T's Among Marin County Fair's 2016 Lineup

MARIN COUNTY, CA- What do The Wallflowers, Kool & the Gang and Foreigner all have in common? The Marin County Fair.

Those three, along with Plain White T's and Sheila E., are all slated to headline shows at this year's fair, county officials announced Monday.

The 2016 Marin County Fair will mark the 75th year of the local event, and runs from June 30 through July 4. Tickets– which include entrance to all of the shows– go on sale May 16. Prices range from $12 to $20.

The theme this year is '75 Years- What a Ride!'

"This year, the fair will reflect back on years of the beloved summer event while looking forward as a leader in the fair industry celebrating art, agriculture and community," an announcement from the county says. "For years, the Marin County Fair has reflected the county in all of its colorful traditions and innovations; its farm animals, family activities, popular concerts, thrilling rides, leading-edge exhibits, and spectacular fireworks displays each night have made the fair one of the Bay Area’s favorite and anticipated summer events."

Here's more on the just-announced entertainment lineup, as provided by the County of Marin:

• Thursday, June 30, 7:30 p.m. – The Wallflowers
  Fronted by co-founder Jakob Dylan, The Wallflowers are now in their 26th year. The Los Angeles-based rock band has taken home several Grammys, released six studio albums and sold more than seven million records worldwide. Don’t miss The Wallflowers perform new hits and classic favorites such as One Headlight, 6th Avenue Heartache, and The Difference. The Wallflowers have won two Grammy awards including Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song for their song One Headlight in 1998. One Headlight is also listed at No. 58 in Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Pop Songs.
• Friday, July 1, 7:30 p.m. – Kool & the Gang
  Kool & the Gang has sold over 70 million albums worldwide and influenced the music of three generations. Thanks to songs like Celebration, Cherish, Jungle Boogie, Summer Madness and Open Sesame, they’ve earned two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, 25 Top Ten R&B hits, nine Top Ten Pop hits and 31 gold and platinum albums. Kool & the Gang has performed continuously for the past 43 years, longer than any R&B group in history. Their bulletproof funk and jazzy arrangements have also made them the most sampled band of all time.
• Saturday, July 2, 7:30 p.m. – Sheila E.
  Grammy-nominated singer, drummer, and percussionist Sheila E. first picked up the drumsticks and started making music at the age of 3 after being taught by her legendary father, percussionist Pete Escovedo. Despite Sheila’s impoverished childhood in Oakland, music was played nightly by family members in the living room and was the heartbeat of her family, which includes her godfather Tito Puente. When she was 5, Sheila delivered her first solo performance to a live audience. By 19, she had fallen in love with Carlos Santana. By 21, she met Prince at one of her concerts. After working with Prince during the recording of his 1984 album, Purple Rain — on which she recorded vocals for the song “Erotic City” (the B-side to the single “Let’s Go Crazy”) — she joined the former’s backing band as Prince’s drummer and eventual bandleader before leaving the group in 1989. Her solo career spawned such hits as Hold Me, A Love Bizarre and The Glamorous Life.
  
• Sunday, July 3, 7:30 p.m. – Plain White T’s
  Plain White T’s kicked off their career in the Chicago suburbs, playing a mix of pop, punk, and melody-driven rock in basements and clubs across the metro area. A decade-and-a-half later, they’ve played several thousand shows and a recorded a string of platinum-selling singles, including the mega-hit Hey There Delilah (the 18th most downloaded song of all time). The guys haven't stopped heading back to the basement to dream up new sounds, and they’ve put the finishing touches on American Nights, the band’s first independent album since 2001.
• Monday, July 4, 7:30 p.m. – Foreigner
  With 10 multiplatinum albums and 16 Top 30 hits, Foreigner is universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world with a formidable arsenal that continues to propel sold-out tours and album sales, now exceeding 75 million. The band is responsible for some of rock’s most enduring anthems including Juke Box Hero, Feels Like The First Time, Urgent, Head Games, Hot Blooded, Cold As Ice, Dirty White Boy, Waiting For A Girl Like You, and the worldwide #1 hit, I Want To Know What Love Is. Foreigner continues to rock the charts 40 years into the game.

(Kool & the Gang image courtesy of the County of Marin)