Even though we're in the midst of the St. Paul Winter Carnival, the Minnesota State Fair wants to get on our radar. Def Leppard, Alan Jackson and the Turtles are the latest acts to be announced for this summer's grandstand lineup.

The fair set a new precedent by announcing its first 2015 show, country superstar Carrie Underwood, in early December, and that Aug. 29 concert sold out. So why keep music lovers in suspense?

Three more performances starring time-tested acts will go on sale next week: veteran rockers Def Leppard with Styx and Tesla ($67 and $52) on Aug. 27; country stalwart Jackson with critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated newcomer Brandy Clark ($40) on Aug. 30, and the Happy Together Tour of 1960s golden oldies including the Turtles, the Association, the Grass Roots, the Buckinghams and Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & the Raiders ($21) on Aug. 31.

The tickets for each concert will go on sale at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon, respectively on Feb. 3 at etix.com, 1-800-514-3849 and the State Fair box office (open only from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 3; regular box-office hours begin in June).

All three of the newly announced headliners have been regulars at the Minnesota State Fair. Def Leppard has rocked the grandstand four previous times, most recently in 2011. Jackson boasts seven grandstand gigs, most recently in 2012, and the Turtles have brought their oldies package to the fair for the last four years.

Other newly announced concerts include Gregg Allman (of the recently disbanded Allman Brothers Band), who will perform March 27 at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis, and Mark Knopfler, who returns to the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis on Sept. 29. Ticket details have not been announced for those gigs.

Indie pop heroes Death Cab for Cutie will return to Northrop Auditorium on May 2 (tickets, priced at $38.50, will go on sale at noon Friday), and indie-rock mainstay Sufjan Stevens is set for Northrop on April 22 (tickets, priced at $39.50, will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday). Those tickets will be available at 612-624-2345 and www.northrop.umn.edu.