For the Reporter

Two of Christian music’s premier entertainers, Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant, take the grandstand stage at the Washington State Fair on Sept. 17.

Smith is known for hit songs “Place in This World,” and “I Will Be Here for You,” While Amy Grant is recognized for hit songs “That’s What Love is For,” and “Every Heartbeat.”

The concert is part of the Fair’s Columbia Bank Concert Series.

Tickets are $50 (Golden Circle), $40, and $30 with reserved seating, and include Fair gate admission. Tickets will start selling on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 10 a.m. online at www.thefair.com/concerts or by phone (888) 559-FAIR (3247) daily, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Tickets also can be purchased in person at the Washington State Fair’s Box Office at 9th Avenue Southwest and Meridian Street on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and a $1 per ticket service fee will be charged for on-site purchases.

Michael W. Smith

Throughout his 31-year career as a recording artist, Smith has amassed an impressive catalog of achievements. His prior 25 albums have garnered multiple honors including an American Music Award, three Grammy Awards (from 13 nominations), 44 GMA Dove Awards and 33 No. 1 radio hits.

In addition, he holds 16 Gold, 7 Platinum and 2 Double-Platinum albums for career sales approaching 17 million. Decades of Worship, Smith’s latest career album, released January 2012.

Smith, who was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2009, has scored several film projects, written 12 books and has been featured by media outlets including “Hannity,” NBC’s “Today Show,” ABC’s “Good Morning America,” “NBC Nightly News,” “Larry King Live,” The Associated Press, Billboard magazine, USA Today, The New York Times, and Newsweek. He was named one of People magazine’s “Most Beautiful People” and has presented multiple times on the Grammy Awards show.

Amy Grant

With six Grammys, more than 20 Dove Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and numerous other accolades to her credit, Grant is an American music icon who has erased lines between genres and earned the respect of fans and peers with her honesty, vulnerability and ceaseless creativity.

Whether laying her soul bare in her 2008 Book “Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far” or exploring faith and family in a diverse catalog of hits from “El Shaddai” to “Baby Baby,” Grant’s artistry has continually resonated with audiences since she first hit the national spotlight as a fresh-faced teen with a guitar three decades ago.

She is one of a short list of artists to have scored No. 1 hits in each of the last three decades. Grant’s latest effort released in 2013, How Mercy Looks From Here, joins 28 other albums she has recorded since her first was released in 1977.

More acts will be announced in the coming months for the State Fair’s Columbia Bank Concert Series. Visit www.thefair.com/concerts for updates, or sign up at www.thefair.com to receive email or text announcements prior to the concert on-sale dates.

STATE FAIR ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP

Date, performance, time, prices

• Sept. 13: An Evening with Keith Urban, “Light the Fuse Tour” (country), 7:30 p.m., $100 (Golden Circle), $80, $40. Pre-show dinner: $55

• Sept. 17: Michael W. Smith/Amy Grant (Christian), 7:30 p.m., $50 (Golden Circle), $80, $40.

• Sept. 18: Jeff Dunham (comedy), 7:30 p.m., $75 (Golden Circle), $50, $40. Pre-show dinner: $55