REVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY NADINE SWIGER
The All-American Rejects kicked off the New York State Fair in a big way, drawing roughly 36,000 fans to the Suburban Park Stage on opening day.
The crowd packed the concert area to see the longtime pop-rock favorites perform a set filled with some of the biggest songs of their career. The All-American Rejects delivered fan favorites including “Dirty Little Secret,” “Move Along,” “Swing, Swing,” and “Gives You Hell,” giving the audience plenty of chances to sing along.
One of the more unexpected moments of the night came when the band performed a special cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” The song added something different to the set and gave fans a memorable break from the band’s familiar hits.
Formed in the early 2000s, The All-American Rejects became a major part of the pop-rock and alternative music scene, building a catalog of songs that longtime fans still know by heart while also reaching younger listeners who have discovered the band in the years since.
Their New York State Fair appearance comes as the band tours in support of Sandbox, their fifth studio album. Released independently on May 15, 2026, the album is the band’s first full-length studio release in years and adds new material to a career already filled with recognizable hits..
The large opening-day turnout at Suburban Park showed that more than two decades after their breakthrough, The All-American Rejects can still bring in a crowd. Thousands of fans sang along to songs like “Move Along” and “Gives You Hell,” creating some of the loudest moments of the night.
For longtime fans, the show was a chance to hear songs that helped define the early 2000s pop-rock era performed live once again. For newer fans, it was an opportunity to see a band whose music has remained part of the rock and pop-punk landscape for more than 20 years.
With 36,000 fans filling Suburban Park on opening day, The All-American Rejects gave the New York State Fair a strong start to its concert lineup, with many more acts still to come throughout the fair.
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