Big Time Rush to Perform at the Wisconsin State Fair

In the 1960s, the Monkees created a new direction for marketing music via television. Sure, performers had long peddled their talents on variety and talk shows, but this was different. Now, the TV shows could actually create the band.

That’s the mold that the vocal quartet Big Time Rush has followed. Composed of four actors (Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Carlos Pena Jr. and Logan Henderson), Big Time Rush is the centerpiece of a Nickelodeon show of the same name.

The premise of the show, which debuted last year, follows four Minnesota hockey players as they pursue dreams of becoming a top-billed boy band, all while struggling with classic teen challenges of love, friendship and, of course, homework.

While there are no ice rinks in the singers’ real lives, the boy band stardom has come true. Their show is one of the cable network’s highest-rated programs, and last year’s debut album, “B.T.R,” was a bestseller.

7 p.m. Saturday, Potawatomi Bingo Casino Main Stage, State Fair Park, 640 S. 84th St., West Allis. $20 upper grandstand seats at wistatefair.com and the ticket office, in the northeast corner of the Expo Center. Concert ticket includes fair admission. Only upper grandstand seats are still available for the show, which is likely to sell out.
YouTube pop sensation Greyson Chance, 13, opens.