OC Fair has released its full 2026 summer concert lineup for the Pacific Amphitheatre and The Hangar. Trevor Noah is in the mix, giving fairgoers a first look at a schedule that runs from July 17 through Aug. 16 in Costa Mesa.
The lineup stretches across the fair’s core dates and then keeps going. Most Pacific Amphitheatre tickets include same-day OC Fair admission during the fair’s run, so the concert slate doubles as an entry point for people planning a day around one ticket.
Trevor Noah and seven decades
Trevor Noah joins a bill that also includes Willie Nelson, who will perform with his longtime backing band, plus Midland with Nikki Lane, Chris Young with Shaylen, Cole Swindell with John Morgan, Lauren Daigle with Franni Cash, Kolohe Kai with HIRIE, and ABBA LA and Elton – The Early Years. Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth and Tonic are set for a shared show, and Ozomatli will perform with Cypress Hill.
Willie Nelson’s slot stands out because the lineup notes 14 No. 1 country singles, two-time Grammy winner status, and seven decades in the business. That is the kind of booking that keeps the OC Fair from feeling like a one-size-fits-all summer bill; it is selling range, not just volume.
The Hangar brings the openers
The Elovaters will open the OC Fair’s summer concert series alongside The Hip Abduction and Afroman. The Happy Together Tour also returns with The Association, The Troggs, Jason Scheff, Gary Puckett, The Fortunes, Ron Dante, The Vogues and The Cowsills, which gives the fair multiple ensemble shows instead of a single headliner-heavy run.
The Toyota Summer Concert Series extends beyond the fair with post-fair performances by Diana Ross, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Steve Aoki and Tyga, and Boy George and Culture Club. Those shows deepen the calendar after Aug. 16, but the announcement still leaves the exact date-by-date split across the series unlisted here.
OC Fair after Aug. 16
For readers, the practical move is simple: treat the 2026 OC Fair concert list as two layers, the fair-run shows and the post-fair Toyota Summer Concert Series. The fair tickets that include same-day admission make the Pacific Amphitheatre the easiest place to bundle a concert and a fair visit, while the post-fair names point to a second wave of bookings once the fair ends.
The only real gap is the calendar detail. Which acts play on which exact dates in the 2026 OC Fair concert series will determine whether a fair visit starts with Trevor Noah, ends with Willie Nelson, or lands on one of the post-Aug. 16 Toyota Summer Concert Series shows.
