Muscled musician Steve Grand takes the stage at Market Days on Saturday, Aug. 12

Get ready, Chicago – the hometown hero is coming back and will be center stage at the largest outdoor street festival in the Midwest.

Steve Grand, the suburban Lemont native, performs on Saturday, Aug. 12 at the 36th annual Northalsted Market Days. Grand will perform on Nissan's Celebrate Equality Stage at Roscoe Street, starting at 2 p.m. That stage later on Saturday will feature performances by Tiffany, Brian Justin Crum, Robin S and eventually Maxine Nightingale.

Grand, 27, last performed at Market Days in 2005, has been attending the two-day street fest since he was 19 – and he hasn't played in Chicago in close to two years.

"It's great that so many people from Chicago, not to mention across the U.S. and around the world, come and hang out in the city that I love the most. (Market Days) is just a great time," Grand told ChicagoPride.com.

In 2015, Grand was playing with his full band, "so that was fun," he said. This time, it's just Grand. Market Days, he said, "is always a big crowd and I always get to see people who I haven't seen in a while ... It's always nice playing for my hometown crowd."

Grand was quick to note that Market Days draws a strong crowd of shirtless, sexy men. "Market Days is just a cool (LGBT) community event, a well-run event," he said.

When asked about his all-time favorite Market Days memory, Grand hesitated then said with a laugh, "Probably not one that we can print."

Then he added, "Actually, the first time I played after my song had just come out a month earlier in 2013 ... I played right before the headliner, and did two songs. That was such a cathartic moment to be up on a stage, playing in front of all of the people."

But wait, what about the unprintable story – we had to ask, with a wink. So Steve, was he cute?

"Of course," Grand said, laughing.

Grand said he of course will be playing some of his classics, such as, All-American Boy and STAY, plus songs from his yet-to-be-released record, including his latest single, Walking, which was released earlier this summer.

Grand said the reception so far for Walking has been, "so great" and the lyric video already has more than 100,000 views. 

Grand's All-American Boy was his breakout song, and it has garnered more than 10 million views on YouTube. All-American Boy tells the story of unrequited love between two men.

There is no release date for the new album.

Grand has been performing several days a week this summer at The Art House in Provincetown, Mass., and he said the shows, "have been going so well." His stint in P-Town runs through the end of the month.

"Every night (at The Art House has) truly been special and the shows have evolved all summer," he said.

Grand will film most of his music videos in the fall for his upcoming album, and more. And yes, he'll be back living in the Chicagoland area.