Nelly at the New York State Fair

Nelly just crushed the record for largest crowd in New York State Fair concert history.

The “Hot in Herre” rapper returned to the New York State Fair on Wednesday night, drawing a whopping 43,000 fans to Chevy Park. That’s more than the 33,700 fans Nelly drew to the same stage last year, and even bigger than the previous NYS Fair record of 40,610 for A Boogie wit Da Hoodie at Chevy Court in 2018.

The 43,000 figure comes from fair officials, who have not provided attendance estimates for most concerts this year. Other shows that had big crowds include TLC on Friday night (one security guard estimated 30,000) and Foreigner on Sunday.

It’s wild to think that such a huge crowd would come to see the same artist a year later, knowing much of his set would be similar, but the weather was good (a cool 70 degrees after a brief rain in the early evening) and Nelly’s music appeals to a wide range of fans. The sea of people that stretched from the stage to the back of the Midway included teens, young adults and older hip-hop fans.

Nelly performs in Chevy Park at the New York State Fair, Syracuse, N.Y., Wednesday Aug. 31, 2022. Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com

Plus, Nelly is a fantastic performer with hits for days.

He came on stage just after 8 p.m., quickly pumping up the crowd with hits like “E.I.,” “Where the Party At” (his 2001 collaboration with Jagged Edge) and “Shake Ya Tailfeather.” Backed only by a DJ and assisted by St. Lunatics member City Spud in hyping up the crowd, Nelly relentlessly blazed through more 2000s radio favorites like “Country Grammar,” “Ride Wit Me” and “Air Force Ones.”

Some artists would avoid playing such big songs early in their set, but you don’t need to hold anything back when you’ve got more than a dozen top 10 singles like Nelly. Such success would go to most performers’ heads, but the St. Louis rapper remained humble — as humble as you can be with huge chains around your neck, diamond earrings and a blinged-out watch — and appreciative of his fans.

“It’s truly an honor and a pleasure to be here,” Nelly said. “Thank you for allowing me to be musically free.”

Being musically free also allowed Nelly to branch out beyond hip-hop into country territory, playing new songs from his 2021 “Heartland” album like “High Horse” and “Someone Somewhere.” He also revisited “Over and Over,” his crossover smash with Tim McGraw that dominated just about every chart in 2004.

Nelly also celebrated other big songs of his heyday, including snippets of Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up” and Lil Jon’s “Get Low,” and repeated last year’s tribute mix featuring artists who have died recently including Biz Markie (”Just a Friend”), Digital Underground’s Shock G (”Humpty Dance”) and DMX (”Ruff Ryders Anthem,” “Party Up”). Sometimes he and City Spud would sing along, sometimes they would let the crowd take the lead — and sometimes the bass was so loud, my eyebrows rattled.

Nelly, left, and City Spud perform at the New York State Fair's Chevy Park concert on Aug. 31, 2022. (Geoff Herbert | gherbert@syracuse.com)

And because he still had hits left in his back pocket, Nelly quickly went into “Hot in Herre,” the 2002 smash encouraging everyone to take off all their clothes. (I didn’t see anyone disrobing, though Nelly did eventually take off his hat, sunglasses and leather vest.)

Then he dropped “Dilemma” for the ladies as thousands of cell phones lit up the sky, briefly shining brighter than the glowing rides on the nearby Midway. The audience took over Kelly Rowland’s part, while Nelly commanded the rest.

The 90-minute party finally concluded with “Just a Dream,” which asks everyone “If you ever loved somebody put your hands up.” We all loved Nelly, so we put our hands up.

Nelly performs in Chevy Park at the New York State Fair, Syracuse, N.Y., Wednesday Aug. 31, 2022. Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com

Nelly drew a record crowd of 43,000 fans to the New York State Fair's Chevy Park concert on Aug. 31, 2022. (Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com)

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