Here's what Rod Stewart's cancellation cost the Iowa State Fair

Catch up quick: About 11,300 tickets had been sold before it was canceled about three days before the concert because of what organizers called "a medical issue."

State of play: The fair paid no deposit, cancellation fee or other compensation to Stewart because he called off the show, fair CEO Jeremy Parsons tells Axios.

Zoom out: Even without Stewart — and with only about 2,000 people attending the free John Waite concert that took his place — the Grandstand still set a new attendance record.

• This year's total reached 132,014, edging the previous record of 131,755 in 2025.

Stunning stat: The Iowa State Fair's overall attendance this year was 1,218,834, just over 36,000 more than the previous record set in 2024.

• The Stewart cancellation "kept us from crushing the previous Grandstand attendance record," Parsons said.

🤘 The bottom line: Stewart's cancellation didn't stop the records — it just kept them from rocking harder.