Third Eye Blind at the Great New York State Fair
08.29.26 - Syracuse, NY
Photo by Arika Suits - @suits.jpg
Drawing approximately 49,000 fans, Third Eye Blind was one of the top three largest concerts in New York State Fair history. Only a few weeks after being announced, fans filled out Suburban Park in anticipation of a free set that would bring them back to 1997—even fans that weren’t born yet were ready to experience an hour and a half of Third Eye Blind’s hits, with half of the setlist being from their debut album, Third Eye Blind.
Before the band’s encore set, fans were able to enjoy the Great New York State fair. With seemingly endless different foods and rides to try, you couldn’t be bored before heading over to the Suburban Park stage to catch the show. Being part of the fair’s Chevrolet Concert Series, attendance was completely free to fair-goers. Thousands of fans from all over New York State took advantage of this show. After all, how often can one come across a free concert these days, especially for a band as popular as Third Eye Blind?
Photo by Arika Suits - @suits.jpg
During crowd favorites like “Semi-Charmed Life” and “Never Let You Go” fans echoed the lyrics back to the band. Throughout the set, Third Eye Blind played a mix of songs spanning decades of work, having no true “agenda” as they haven’t had a new album since 2021. The free show was perfect for fans that might have been obsessed with Third Eye Blind in the late 90s to early 2000s, but may not have heard much past their 2009 album, Ursa Major.
After closing off the set singing along to “How’s It Going to Be”, fans were able to rejoin the fair for more rides and games before closing time at 11pm. While many fans were screaming for one more song, Third Eye Blind promised to come back and play another show in the area once their next album–which was supposed to be done two years ago–was finished. Content with knowing they would be able to see another show soon, the almost record-breaking crowd slowly dispersed back to the fair or their cars.
