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10 musical acts worth hearing at the State Fair of Texas

Every year, the State Fair of Texas serves up a cornucopia for the taste buds and the eyes. But let's not forget about the ears.

From the massive Chevrolet Main Stage to several smaller stages, musicians play every day during the fair's 24-day run, free of charge with regular admission. Here are 10 local and national acts from various genres that are definitely worth hearing.

Kacey Musgraves (Sept. 30, Chevrolet Main Stage)

The country tunesmith from Mineola wrote "Mama's Broken Heart," a No. 1 hit for her fellow East Texan Miranda Lambert. Yet Musgraves is big deal in her own right — an assured singer with a knack for offbeat gems like the pro-gay, pro-pot "Follow Your Own Arrow."

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Killdares (Sept. 30-Oct. 7, Dr Pepper Stage)

This may be your last chance to see the spirited Celtic-rockers. After two decades — and 15 years of playing the State Fair — the Dallas group is calling it quits at the end of the year.

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A.B. Quintanilla (Oct. 2, Chevrolet Main Stage)

Selena's bass-playing brother, band-mate and co-writer went on to form the Kumbia Kings and the Kumbia All-Starz. His new band, Elektro Kumbia, features twin vocalists Alfonso and Zuriel Ramirez.

Prophets & Outlaws (Oct. 7, Chevrolet Main Stage)

This young Dallas band rhapsodizes about "Country Music Gold," but they've also got a soulful lead singer in Matt Boggs and plenty of Southern blues-rock influences, too.

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Peterson Brothers (Oct. 14, Chevrolet Main Stage)

They're still just teenagers, but blues-rocking Austin siblings Glen and Alex Peterson have already found the sweet spot between Howlin' Wolf and Jimi Hendrix.

Nelly acknowledges the crowd during a performance at American Airlines Center in Dallas, on...
Nelly acknowledges the crowd during a performance at American Airlines Center in Dallas, on Thursday, May 14, 2015.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)

Nelly (Oct. 15, Chevrolet Main Stage)

The Austin-born, St. Louis-based rapper-singer hasn't released an album in several years, but he's got a huge stockpile of old hits to work with, including "Ride Wit Me," "Dilemma" and the strippers' anthem "Hot in Herre."

Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band (Oct. 16-23, Bud Light Soundstage)

Though not as popular as it was in the '90s, the funky Louisiana dance music known as zydeco never goes out of style — especially when it's played by the Grammy-winning Carrier and his rollicking Bayou Swamp Band.

Light Crust Doughboys (Oct 16-23, Dr Pepper Stage)

Billed as the longest-running country band in the world, today's Light Crust Doughboys carry the same Western swing torch that was first lit in 1931 in Forth Worth by original Doughboys Bob Wills and Milton Brown.

The Quebe Sisters (Oct. 21, Chevrolet Main Stage)

Kind of like the Erwin sisters in the Dixie Chicks' early days, Grace, Sophia and Hulda Quebe are D-FW-based siblings with a penchant for tight harmonies and old-time, fiddle-fired country music.

La Energía Norteña (Oct. 23, Chevrolet Main Stage)

These Mexican-born, Dallas-based musicians earned a Latin Grammy nomination last year for best norteña album for Cruzando Territorio, a record brimming with quicksilver accordion and velvet-smooth vocals. Chevrolet Main Stage.