If you were walking along the grounds of The New York State Fair this year ( 2025) no doubt you encountered Jimmy Ashley and his Tiki Shack.
It’s certainly a unique looking cart that he has.
In fact, as Jimmy strolled around playing guitar and singing it provided a rather different vibe for a crowded Fair.
Jimmy Ashley spoke with us about The Tiki Shack creation.
Q – Jimmy, I guess some people might say you’re a One Man Band, but Bandaloni who performs at the Fair plays all these instruments in his act. You’re going around singing and playing guitar. So what do we call you?
A – (laughs). You know, that’s a good question. I’m not a One Man Band. Bandaloni with the drum set and everything is definitely a One Man Band. They call guys with loopers a One Man Band also. But, I don’t have the patience to use a looper and I don’t think crowds have the patience to listen to somebody set up a song for 5 minutes. I’ve always been just an acoustic guitar player/singer and last year I started playing with backing tracks and it was a better reception because people like a beat and I like the fact that I can play guitar solos. People seem to enjoy it more in this situation. So, yeah I don’t know what I would classify as (laughs).
Q – Have you ever written your own material?
A – I have but I just do what I really enjoy, at what I think I’m the Best at. That’s just playing songs, playing ‘covers’, trying to make people smile and make sure they’re having a good time at the Fair. That’s what I’m about. I make a lot of announcements. The gift of gab is a pretty big part of what I do.
Q – Today is a pretty warm day at the Fair. That has to be tough on you isn’t it?
A – It’s not bad. I live in California. I left home August 5th and went to Billings, Montana and played the Fair there for 9 days and then I had like 2 days to get here and it’s not really too bad here compared to what I’m used to in California, in Sacramento. In Sacramento, I’ve done the California State Fair for 13 years and it can be 105 degrees and 106 degrees and that’s really tough to do. I’m really kind of enjoying it here.
Q – California has that dry heat which is different from the heat and humidity in Syracuse.
A – I don’t think I’ve experienced the humidity yet.
Q – How did you get this gig at the New York State Fair? Did you self book or do you have an agent?
A – I have an agent in California that I just started with in January ( 2025) and I don’t know how this all came about with them. They just said ‘You want to go to New York?’ and I said, ‘Sure’. So, I made the jump to Montana and then here and I’ll go back to California for about a week and then I got to pop up to Idaho and then I got two more fairs in California for the season and then I’ll be done.
Q – You travel to Hawaii three times a year. Do you have a steady gig somewhere in Hawaii?
A – I just go to Hawaii because I’ve been going since I was a kid. I do have some friends there and I have a gig I can do if I want to when I’m there. It’s just a drop in for kind of fun. It’s a restaurant. Sometimes I do ( play). Sometimes I don’t. It’s more just to see my friends.
Q – So you more or less just hang out at the beach with your friends then?
A – Yeah. Just lay around and enjoy the Island. I’ll usually camp for a few days when I get there. There’s a nice little campground I go to for like 26 bucks a night that has a private beach. I’m just kind of at home there. It’s a place I like to go.
Q – Was it expensive to put this Tiki Shack of yours together?
A – Overall, ‘cause this is my second full season with the Shack, it has cost me a lot of money not so much to put the Shack together , but promotional stuff. Doing video and audio and showcasing it. It’s taken a little chunk but now it’s kind of up and running smoothly and I have I think like 11 or 12 fairs this year. So, it’s smoothed out a little bit financially. It’s not quite as much overhead.
Q – You don’t take that Tiki Shack to Hawaii should you perform do you?
A – No. New York is the farthest I’ve come so far. It does break down and it all fits in the back of my Honda Pilot, but I have not figured out an economical way to fly it or ship it across the country. Doing a dumbed downed version of it would just not be as impactful visually.
Q – How long have you been playing and singing?
A – It’s probably been 20 plus years since I’ve done my first fair, most of which have been in California. The Tiki Shack is my second full season of doing that.
Q – How did you come up with The Tiki Shack concept?
A – Well, I saw a lot of my friends that I’ve known for a bit were grounds performers at fairs. I did have a friend of mine in California who plays violin a has a tiny, little collapsible wagon with no theme. He just has a speaker in it and walks around the fair. He’s really, really good. He doesn’t dress up because he’s such a phenomenal player. I thought it would be cool to have some sort of theme or some sort of outfit, a Hawaiian shirt. Something to make me a little more of a spectacle and going to Hawaii as a I do I thought a Tiki bar thing might be a little cool. I also have another one that’s a Country theme that kind of looks like a little barn but that one doesn’t go out as much as this one.
Q – And so when you approach a Fair do you give them a choice of the Tiki Bar or the Country Barn?
A – That’s just kind of the one they choose. They just like the colors of the Tiki one. Washington State Fair did use the Country one because they had the Tiki one at Washington State Spring Fair. So, they wanted something different for the Fair in September, so they brought the Country one in.
Q – What are your impressions of The New York State Fair so far?
A – I wouldn’t mind coming back here at all. It’s been a great Fair. It’s really a Big Fair. It’s kind of cool. I’m only strolling the Restaurant Row. That’s where they want me, but I have taken a walk around and seen some more of it and it’s a nice Big fairgrounds and everybody’s’ been very kind here. I would come back for sure.
Q – You’re saying the California State Fair isn’t as big as The New York State Fair?
A – I think the New York State Fair is maybe twice the size. The New York State Fair is pretty big. The California State Fair is big also but this one is a pretty good size.
Q – So you’ve got the Tiki Bar theme and the Country Barn theme. What else can you expand to? Any ideas?
A – I’m sure there are possibilities to do out there. It takes a few years before an act starts to get stale and everybody’s’ kind of seen it and starts saying ‘What else do you have?’ I figure I’ve got a couple more years with this one and then I’ll see how I’m doing, if I want to keep going or retire and go from there.
©Gary James
Official Website: thetikishackmusic.com
