It was only last year that Activated Events debuted a new formula for its music festivals in Fresno:
A pair of day-long curated events, each with its own vibe, headliners and audience draw.
- Day one, Boots in the Park, a tried-and-tested county-music outing with national-touring acts.
- Day two, Party in the Park, a rap-heavy get-down with big-name performers, and more than a bit of dance-club nostalgia.
Both festivals will return to Woodward Park in September.
Boots in the Park takes the Saturday slot, Sept. 19, with a lineup that includes Zach Top, Max McNown, Jo Dee Messina, Tyler Braden and Wyatt McCubbin.
While he doesn’t have the name draw of Blake Shelton (who headlined last year’s event), Top is at the forefront of the country scene and was the Academy of Country Music Awards New Male Artist of the Year in 2025.
This is actually the second Boots in the Park to hit Fresno this year. Jon Pardi headlined the event in April.
Party in the Park happens the following day, Sept. 20, with rapper (and MGK collaborator) Wiz Khalifa headlining alongside Fetty Wap, Quavo, Bow Wow, Soulja Boy, Pete Pablo and DJ Luwiss Lux (that’s Fresno restaurateur Lewis Everk, who opened up last year’s festival).
Khalifa, a celebrity rapper known for his weed-positive lifestyle (he has his own cannabis brand), played Fresno back in 2017 at Selland Arena with G-Funk pioneer Warren G.
Tier 1 tickets for Boots in the Park are sold out, which means general admission is now $104 (with VIP tickets at $249).
Party in the Park tickets are $99, $179 for VIP.
Other Fresno concert + entertainment announcements
Taco Truck Throwdown announced on Thursday the entertainment lineup for this year’s event, happening Nov. 7 at Chukchansi Park. It follows the event’s tradition of pairing rappers with Latin and Regional Mexican artists.
For year 15, the taco-truck celebration (which includes awards and trophies) features:
- Wake Flocka Flame, who helped popularize trap music in the 2010s.
- Too $hort, a Bay Area hip-hop pioneer (and longtime Fresno favorite).
- La Sonora Dinamita, a decades-old cumbia group from Mexico (by way of Colombia).
- Malo, the Chicano Latin rock band, known for the ’70s hit “Suavecito.” The band now features Fresno-area musicians among its roster including John Perea, Jay Rossette, Patrick Olvera, Aaron Wall and Pete Rodriguez.
Tickets for the throwdown start at $35, with VIP packages at $109.
The Big Fresno Fair announced the (almost) final addition to its 2026 lineup.
It includes classic rock bands Kansas and Starship (or Starship ft. Mickey Thomas), which kick off the fair’s concert series Oct. 7, and R&B singer Ashanti, who plays the opening weekend, Oct. 9, with vocal quartet Soul for Real. Tickets for both shows are on sale.
The fair has announced performances from Diplo (Oct. 17). Gabriel Iglesias (Oct. 8), Tower of Power and War (Oct. 12), Iration (Oct. 14), BigXthePlug (Oct. 10), Matt Maher (Oct. 13), Bush (Oct. 15), Russel Dickerson (Oct. 16) and Los Tigres del Norte (Oct. 18).
This leaves just one more open date for the fair to fill.
Both Table Mountain Casino and Chukchansi Gold Resort announced a series of summer concerts.
Table Mountain has country singer Miranda Lambert on Friday, followed by Whiskey Myers (Aug. 21), Styx (Sept. 5) and Foreigner (Oct. 29). For non-music entertainment, Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo is at the casino Aug. 29. Tickets for all shows are available online.
Chukchansi’s Sounds of Summer Concert Series kicked off in June and continues this month with The Dolly Show (a Dolly Parton tribute) July 25. After that is funksters Zapp ft. Tuxedo (Aug. 8), comedian Felipe Esparza (Aug. 22) and country singer Gretchen Wilson (Sept. 5). Tickets for all shows are available now.
The Tower Theatre has gone heavy-in on comedy for its calendar in September. It kicks off with Morgan Jay’s Goofy Guy tour, which has a two-day run Sept. 2 and 3.
That is followed by a five-night run of comedy that includes:
- An added show from Michael Blaustein, now playing Sept. 9 and Sept. 10.
- Whitney Cummings’ Big Baby Tour, Sept. 11
- Ali Siddiq’ The Custom Fit Tour, Sept. 12
- Max Amini, Sept. 13
All tickets available at the theater box office or online at fresnotowertheater.com.
This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 4:39 PM.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.fresnobee.com ’
