Nearly two dozen regional, national and international musical acts will descend on Haines for the 40th annual Southeast Alaska State Fair held July 24-27.

"We have tons of musicians playing during the day," entertainment coordinator Byrne Power said. "We're kind of bunched this year."

The music will culminate with a "double headliner" during Saturday's concert, with Deke Dickerson & The Ecco-Fonics of Missouri opening for Boston-based Barrence Whitfield beginning at 9 p.m. in the Payson Pavilion on the fairgrounds.

Dickerson has built a reputation with his guitar playing abilities, Power said.

"He's considered one of the best Rockabilly players in America right now," he said.

Whitfield also has earned accolades from critics for his singing prowess, Power said.

"He does kind of a '50s R&B style reminiscent of Little Richard or even early period Otis Redding," he said. "He's great. So it's just going to be a great night of roots rock and roll."

There will be concerts in the pavilion on Thursday and Friday nights beginning at 9 p.m. Beer gardens will be set up for all three evening concerts.

Power said the Thursday night concert will showcase Alaskan music with Fairbanks-based Sweating Honey headlining the show.

"They seem to be a band with a future with a very interesting mix of styles ranging from the usual blues and rock and such, but with Latin and calypso and reggae influences ... kind of all blended into an interesting stew," he said.

The Friday night concert is being dubbed "Northern Neighbors Night" and will feature Canadian acts, Power said.

"I decided the connections between Southeast Alaska and the Yukon and British Columbia are strong anyway and we should make them stronger," he said.

The Toronto-based Roger Marin Band will headline the night with special guest Nicole Edwards from Whitehorse.

"He kind of does a, I wouldn't call it Americana, but we'll call it a North Americana style and kind of a rockin' but rootsy style," Power said.

A fair sampling of Juneau musical acts will be on hand for the Southeast Alaska State Fair this year, including Buddy Tabor, Slow Gun Runner, Teri Tibbett, One Aisle Over and The Folkin' A's.

Local Haines musicians are scheduled to perform, as are other acts from around the state, including Anchorage-based LoveLifeMusic.

Kelly Hostetler, the new executive director of the fair, said the annual event has grown to be a big social gathering in Haines over the past 40 years.

"It was started in 1969 as a project of the Chilkat Valley Homemakers Club," she said. "The first year it was held in the American Legion Hall here in Haines and the first year there were about 300 entries housed in a single room."

They had more than 7,000 people come through the gate for last year's fair, Hostetler said.

This year, there will be the same ole' favorite events as well as some new events, she said.

"There's just a little bit of everything for everybody," Hostetler said.

Beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday will be the singer-songwriter competition, billed as a perennial crowd favorite. Beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday will be the fair's first-ever Fishermen's Rodeo, where gear and cash prizes will be on the line as anglers compete at net mending, gear baiting and survival suit donning contests.

On Saturday there will be the grand parade, bingo, a fiddle contest, 5K and 10K fun runs, a horse show, and the annual logging show.

There will be numerous activities, contests and entertainment opportunities for kids, from a Ferris wheel to puppeteers.

"We made it more kid friendly," said Theresa Raven, vice president of the fair's Board of Directors. "We brought in a lot of games for the kids to play."

There are also plenty of vendors, she said, from food to clothing.

"This kind of involves the whole family and it has a little bit of everything I think - fun and games and music," Raven said.

• Contact reporter Eric Morrison at 523-2269 or eric.morrison@juneauempire.com.