McHenry County Fair sees 'unprecedented' early ticket sales for Ted Nugent concert

The McHenry County Fair saw a surge in ticket sales after its announcement that Ted Nugent would headline the Aug. 3 concert, entertainment booker Jeff Kleinschmidt said.

The McHenry County Fair Association hired Kleinschmidt to book the talent for the fair. The announcement that Nugent would be headlining led to some criticism from vocal opponents of Nugent, who is an outspoken and controversial conservative activist and a member of the National Rifle Association.

The association’s social media post announcing the booking received 1,500 comments from people both for and against the decision.

“This was the biggest one-day sale they have seen in the history of the event,” Kleinschmidt said. “It’s absolutely amazing.”

The concert area has three seating sections: the covered grandstand, which the association started rebuilding at the start of the year; a VIP section; and standing room. The total capacity is about 7,000, and about 2,500 tickets had been sold by Friday afternoon, Kleinschmidt said.

“Ticket sales have been steady,” he said. “There was a huge surge at first, and they will continue to trickle in. We are over 100 days out [from the event]. To have this many presales this early is unprecedented.”

Nugent responded April 6 to critics of the upcoming performance on his Facebook page: "Only liars and America-hating scumbags have a problem with me," he posted. "My spirit irritates their demons!"

The McHenry County Fair will be from July 30 to Aug. 4 at the fairgrounds, 11900 Country Club Road, Woodstock. Tickets for the Nugent concert start at $15 and are available at mchenrycountyfair.com. Femmes of Rock and Freebird USA also will perform.