Twice IBMA's entertainer of the year, a Haywood County five-piece whose western North Carolina bluegrass stretches to symphony collaborations.
Blue Highway Fest 2026 Lineup
Four days of hard bluegrass in a Southwest Virginia coal town: Rhonda Vincent, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Dailey & Vincent and a Boxcars reunion.
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Name a few bands you love and we'll scout all 21 acts on the Blue Highway Fest bill for the ones you shouldn't miss.
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About Blue Highway Fest 2026
Blue Highway Fest is four days of traditional bluegrass in Big Stone Gap, a Southwest Virginia coal town that started the festival in 2022 to put something back downtown. The band Blue Highway anchors it and plays three times across the weekend, including a Friday set chosen by fan vote.
The reunion is the reason to buy a Friday ticket. The Boxcars, the supergroup Adam Steffey and Ron Stewart ran from 2010 to 2017, put their original five back on one stage for the first time in years, two hours before Rhonda Vincent & The Rage closes the night. Saturday belongs to the format's institutions: Junior Sisk, The Grascals, Dailey & Vincent, and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver last at 8:00.
Thursday is its own evening on its own ticket, downtown at the 3rd Street Stage, with a writer's round for songwriter Ronnie Bowman, Ralph Stanley II marking the Stanley Brothers' induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and Balsam Range at 7:15. Everything from Friday on is at Bullitt Park. Sunday is a short gospel morning that ends with The Cox Family at 2:45.
Expect bluegrass, country and americana across 21 acts.
Blue Highway Fest 2026 lineup & schedule: all 21 acts
Search it, filter by day, stage or genre. Save anything straight to your schedule.Browse all 21 acts →
Search it, filter by day, stage or genre. Save anything straight to your schedule.
Bluegrass mainstay running since the mid-nineties on a famously stable lineup — original songwriting and tight vocal harmony ahead of showpiece picking.
Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent stacking close harmony over bluegrass, gospel and old country, with the stage patter of a television variety show.
East Tennessee mandolin patriarch whose band is known for a cappella gospel quartets and for graduating three decades of bluegrass sidemen.
The queen of bluegrass, a Missouri mandolin player and Opry member whose band drives hard behind a voice that works just as well on hard country.
Northwest Louisiana family band whose blood harmony reached the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack and a Grammy-winning gospel album made with Alison Krauss.
Bluegrass five-piece built from three Quicksilver alumni when Doyle Lawson retired, gospel-leaning harmony carried by the picking pedigree they brought.
Virginia traditionalist with one of the most mournful lead voices in bluegrass, singing hard-luck songs with no ornament at all.
Bluegrass supergroup around mandolinist Adam Steffey and multi-instrumentalist Ron Stewart, four albums of hard-driving material between 2010 and 2016.
Comedy bluegrass act performing as a backwoods family band, translating current pop and rock hits into banjo and mandolin arrangements delivered deadpan.
Nashville bluegrass band with a country session pedigree, hard shuffle rhythm and a long working association with Dolly Parton.
Washington DC's progressive bluegrass institution since 1971, pulling folk-rock and pop songs into high-lonesome harmony from a long Birchmere residency.
Carolina Detour
North Carolina string band with nobody in it older than 21, whose first single No Wrong Turn was written by its sixteen year old fiddler.
Nashville five-piece devoted to 1950s bluegrass, Don Reno and the Stanley Brothers by way of Jeremy Stephens and fiddler Corrina Rose Logston.
Flatpicker Kenny Smith, whose guitar tone gets copied across bluegrass, paired with Amanda Smith's clear and unfussy lead singing.
Nathan Adams
Ohio band built on Tim Shelton's soul-inflected lead voice, back in 2026 with a new label and new material after more than a decade away.
Son of Ralph Stanley, in the Clinch Mountain Boys since 1995 and fronting them since his father died, carrying the family repertoire in a country-leaning voice.
Blue Highway's lead singer and mandolinist out with his sons Grayson and Garrett, playing the gospel-leaning songs he writes away from that band.
The Blue Bridge Boys
Four Owensboro teenagers who won the Earl Scruggs festival's Battle of the Banjos and turned close-up fiddle and banjo clips into millions of views.
Nashville songwriting family: producer Buddy Cannon with daughters Marla Cannon-Goodman and Melonie Cannon, trading the songs behind other people's hits.
The headliners
Blue Highway — Bluegrass mainstay running since the mid-nineties on a famously stable lineup — original songwriting and tight vocal harmony ahead of showpiece picking. Plays three times, and Friday's set is picked by fans.
Balsam Range — Twice IBMA's entertainer of the year, a Haywood County five-piece whose western North Carolina bluegrass stretches to symphony collaborations.
Rhonda Vincent & The Rage — The queen of bluegrass, a Missouri mandolin player and Opry member whose band drives hard behind a voice that works just as well on hard country. Closes Friday at 8:15, the biggest voice on the weekend.
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver — East Tennessee mandolin patriarch whose band is known for a cappella gospel quartets and for graduating three decades of bluegrass sidemen. The last set of the main Saturday bill.
Dailey & Vincent — Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent stacking close harmony over bluegrass, gospel and old country, with the stage patter of a television variety show.
The Cox Family — Northwest Louisiana family band whose blood harmony reached the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack and a Grammy-winning gospel album made with Alison Krauss. Closes the festival with the harmony from O Brother, Where Art Thou.
Up-and-comers to catch early
- The Blue Bridge Boys — Open the Bullitt Park weekend at noon Friday, straight off a national banjo contest win.
Authentic Unlimited — The newest band on the bill, four years old and already playing early evening.
High Fidelity — Sunday at noon, working the 1950s repertoire harder than anyone else here.
- Nathan Adams — First act of the whole festival, on a songwriting prize from up the road.
Other acts worth planning around
The Boxcars — The original five, on one stage for the first time since 2017.
The Seldom Scene — Fifty-five years of progressive bluegrass, mid-afternoon Friday.
The lineup by day
Thursday plays downtown at the 3rd Street Stage and sells as its own ticket. Friday through Sunday are at Bullitt Park.
Thursday lineup (October 8)
Blue Highway, Balsam Range, Ralph Stanley II, The Cannons, Nathan Adams
Thursday set times (5 sets)
- Nathan Adams · 3rd Street Stage
- Blue Highway · 3rd Street Stage
- The Cannons · 3rd Street Stage
- Ralph Stanley II · 3rd Street Stage
- Balsam Range · 3rd Street Stage
Friday lineup (October 9)
Blue Highway, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, The Boxcars, The Seldom Scene, The Cleverlys, Authentic Unlimited + 1 more
Friday set times (7 sets)
- The Blue Bridge Boys · Bullitt Park Stage
- Authentic Unlimited · Bullitt Park Stage
- Blue Highway · Bullitt Park Stage
- The Seldom Scene · Bullitt Park Stage
- The Cleverlys · Bullitt Park Stage
- The Boxcars · Bullitt Park Stage
- Rhonda Vincent & The Rage · Bullitt Park Stage
Saturday lineup (October 10)
Blue Highway, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Dailey & Vincent, The Grascals, Junior Sisk, Carolina Detour + 1 more
Saturday set times (7 sets)
- Carolina Detour · Bullitt Park Stage
- Junior Sisk · Bullitt Park Stage
- Blue Highway · Bullitt Park Stage
- Newfound Road · Bullitt Park Stage
- The Grascals · Bullitt Park Stage
- Dailey & Vincent · Bullitt Park Stage
- Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver · Bullitt Park Stage
Sunday lineup (October 11)
The Cox Family, Shawn Lane and the Lane Brothers, High Fidelity, Kenny & Amanda Smith
Sunday set times (4 sets)
- Shawn Lane and the Lane Brothers · Bullitt Park Stage
- High Fidelity · Bullitt Park Stage
- Kenny & Amanda Smith · Bullitt Park Stage
- The Cox Family · Bullitt Park Stage
Blue Highway Fest 2026 lineup FAQ
When is Blue Highway Fest 2026?
October 8–11, 2026 in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Thursday runs downtown at the 3rd Street Stage and Friday through Sunday at Bullitt Park.
Who is playing Blue Highway Fest 2026?
Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Dailey & Vincent, Balsam Range, The Cox Family and Blue Highway top a 21-act bill. The Boxcars, The Seldom Scene, The Grascals, The Cleverlys, Authentic Unlimited and Junior Sisk fill out the middle, with Newfound Road, High Fidelity, Kenny & Amanda Smith, Ralph Stanley II, The Cannons, Carolina Detour, The Blue Bridge Boys, Shawn Lane and the Lane Brothers and Nathan Adams underneath.
Is Thursday on the same ticket as the rest?
No. Thursday is $60 on its own and plays at the 3rd Street Stage rather than Bullitt Park. Friday and Saturday are $75 each, Sunday is $30, a Friday to Sunday pass is $165, and the four-day pass covering Thursday too is $220.
What is The Boxcars reunion?
The band's original five, back together for one set on Friday at 7:15. Adam Steffey, Ron Stewart, Keith Garrett, John Bowman and Harold Nixon made four albums between 2010 and 2016 and split at the end of 2017, and this is the first time they have shared a stage since.
How many times does Blue Highway play?
Three. A writer's round tribute to Ronnie Bowman with The Cannons on Thursday at 3:30, a set chosen by fan vote on Friday at 2:30, and a full set on Saturday at 2:15.
Is there camping?
Yes. RV and tent camping runs October 7–11 for $115 at Frog Level Park, at the corner of Wood Avenue and Cherokee Avenue. Water is on site and restrooms are portable, with no hookups and no showers, and generators have to be off by 11pm.
Do children get in free?
Children 12 and under are admitted free with an accompanying adult ticket holder. Big Stone Gap residents can also buy any festival ticket at half price in person at the Big Stone Gap Visitors Center, up to four per family, camping excluded.
How do I find the acts I'd have liked?
Type a few artists you love into the finder at the top of this page. It matches them against this lineup and explains each pick.
Who plays Thursday at Blue Highway Fest 2026?
Thursday, October 8: Blue Highway, Balsam Range, Ralph Stanley II, The Cannons, Nathan Adams.
Who plays Friday at Blue Highway Fest 2026?
Friday, October 9: Blue Highway, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, The Boxcars, The Seldom Scene, The Cleverlys, Authentic Unlimited, plus 1 more acts.
Who plays Saturday at Blue Highway Fest 2026?
Saturday, October 10: Blue Highway, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Dailey & Vincent, The Grascals, Junior Sisk, Carolina Detour, plus 1 more acts.
Who plays Sunday at Blue Highway Fest 2026?
Sunday, October 11: The Cox Family, Shawn Lane and the Lane Brothers, High Fidelity, Kenny & Amanda Smith.
Are set times out for Blue Highway Fest 2026?
Yes. The full schedule is live: the day-by-day section on this page lists every act with its set time.
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