As in past years, The Current is planning to host an array of special guests and record a series of sessions at this year's Minnesota State Fair. MPR's booth, which will be once again located on the corner of Judson and Nelson, will be home to mini concerts with national acts Dawes and JD McPherson, plus local artists like P.O.S., Brother Ali, and Lucy Michelle.

I'm a sucker for the State Fair and have loved catching these sessions in the past. Notably, MPR's State Fair booth was the site of the last performance by electro duo Lookbook, and is also the place many local artists have debuted new and unreleased material.

Today, the station has released the full schedule of the artists they have booked for the fair -- which is in addition to the already-announced Minnesota Music-on-a-Stick showcase happening in the Grandstand on August 31 with Semisonic, The Jayhawks, Jeremy Messersmith, and Dessa.

Each of the acts below will perform at 4 p.m. at MPR's broadcast booth: 

Thursday 8/23
Dawes with Mary Lucia

Friday 8/24
Chastity Brown with Mary Lucia

Saturday 8/25
Caroline Smith with Steve Seel and Jill Riley

Monday 8/27
P.O.S. with Mary Lucia

Tuesday 8/28
JD McPherson with Mary Lucia

Wednesday 8/29
Brother Ali with Mary Lucia

Thursday 8/30
Cactus Blossoms with Mary Lucia 

Saturday 9/1
Koo Koo Kanga Roo with Steve Seel and Jill Riley

Mon 9/3
Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles with Mark Wheat

The Current will also be broadcasting live from the fair every day. On weekdays, Mary Lucia will broadcast from 3-6 p.m. and Mark Wheet from 6-9 p.m. On weekends, the schedule is as follows:

Saturday 8/25: 3-6 p.m. Steve Seel and Jill Riley; 6-9 p.m. Radio Free Current with Jade.  
Sunday 8/26: 3-6 p.m. Barb Abney
Saturday 9/1: Steve and Jill 3-6; 6-9 p.m. Radio Free Current with Dave Campbell
Sunday 9/2: 3-6 p.m. Bill DeVille
Monday 9/3 (Labor Day): 3-6 p.m. Mark Wheat