R&B and Soul festivals

16 festivals still to come with R&B and Soul on the bill, carrying 65 of the 153 R&B and Soul acts we track. Every act has a page: which festivals they play, what time they go on once the festival says, and what they sound like if the name is new to you.

Most of these acts travel with a full band, so the drums hit harder outdoors than they do on record and a horn section cuts clean through open air. Singers stretch songs out, holding a note well past where the recording ends. Backing vocalists carry whole choruses on their own, and the crowd hears every word.

Soul and funk sets tend to land in the late afternoon and early evening, when the light is good and there is room to move. Alt-r&b and electro-soul run later, under a tent or indoors, with low light and bass you feel in the chest. Expect people singing back at the stage.

R&B and Soul festivals in 2026

Every bill still ahead of you with real R&B and Soul on it, deepest first. A festival needs at least 2 R&B and Soul acts to be here, so one stray booking on a bill about something else does not count.

Who carries R&B and Soul this season

All 153 acts we have tagged R&B and Soul, sorted six ways. The lists disagree with each other, and the names they disagree about are usually the ones worth hearing.

Booked the most in 2026

The R&B and Soul acts who spent 2026 on the road. Go to more than one festival and you have probably seen a few of them already.

  1. 1Blood Orange14Dev Hynes's velvety art-R&B — '80s soul textures, jazz chords, and quiet heartbreak from one of pop's most sought-after collaborators.
  2. 2Balu Brigada9Kiwi brothers making slinky, falsetto-led alt-funk — Auckland groove-pop polished to a late-night sheen, with basslines that do most of the flirting.
  3. 3Lola Young8'Messy' made her unavoidable — raw South London soul-pop with a busted-heart snarl and a voice that earns the Winehouse comparisons.
  4. 4Teddy Swims7A tattooed Georgian with a genuinely enormous soul voice, who covered his way to a following and then wrote the heartbreak records to match.
  5. 5Jessie Murph6A rasp built for heartbreak, dragging country songwriting through trap drums and open-wound honesty — genre lines treated as suggestions.
  6. 6Dijon5Songs that sound recorded live in a crowded room by accident — ragged, intimate, and completely singular, with a live band that pushes them even further loose.
  7. 7GRiZ5Saxophone-wielding electro-funk — half of the GRIZTRONICS b2b with Subtronics, and a solo catalog of brass-blasted future-funk joy.
  8. 8Rochelle Jordan5UK-garage-inflected R&B — Kaytranada's favorite-vocalist energy, silk delivery over broken beats, two-step rhythms under velvet vocals.
  9. 9Skye Newman5UK breakout with a smoky retro-soul voice and diaristic pop instincts — old-soul phrasing on new-school subjects.
  10. 10Mariah the Scientist4Slow-burn Atlanta R&B — heartbreak delivered with surgical calm, ballads that cut deeper for never raising their voice.

Most upcoming bookings

Everything still ahead of us, for anyone with festivals left on the calendar.

  1. 1Lola Young5'Messy' made her unavoidable — raw South London soul-pop with a busted-heart snarl and a voice that earns the Winehouse comparisons.
  2. 2Balu Brigada3Kiwi brothers making slinky, falsetto-led alt-funk — Auckland groove-pop polished to a late-night sheen, with basslines that do most of the flirting.
  3. 3Blood Orange3Dev Hynes's velvety art-R&B — '80s soul textures, jazz chords, and quiet heartbreak from one of pop's most sought-after collaborators.
  4. 4JMSN3Self-made silk — Detroit R&B auteur with a devoted following, self-released and sounding more expensive than most majors.
  5. 5Alabama Shakes2Brittany Howard's voice is the whole argument — southern soul-rock that sounds like it was recorded in a room too small for it.
  6. 6Chris Stapleton2A songwriter's songwriter with a howl that turns Nashville craft into something closer to Muscle Shoals soul — 'Tennessee Whiskey' just the entry point of a stacked catalog.
  7. 7Daily Bread2Dusty, hip-hop-rooted electro-soul that would sound at home on a boom-bap record if you slowed it down — Atlanta sample-craft in the Pretty Lights lineage.
  8. 8Durand Jones & the Indications2Retro-soul made by people who studied the records — two voices trading leads over immaculate rhythm work, from falsetto sweetness to preacher grit.
  9. 9GoldFord2Gravel-and-honey soul-folk — 'Walk With Me' warmth, stomp-and-clap swells built for arms-around-strangers moments, gospel-warm and stadium-ready.
  10. 10GRiZ2Saxophone-wielding electro-funk — half of the GRIZTRONICS b2b with Subtronics, and a solo catalog of brass-blasted future-funk joy.

Most headline slots

The names printed in the biggest type, trusted to send everyone home.

  1. 1Teddy Swims4A tattooed Georgian with a genuinely enormous soul voice, who covered his way to a following and then wrote the heartbreak records to match.
  2. 2Kali Uchis3Velvet-toned bilingual soul that drifts between doo-wop pastiche and perreo without ever raising its voice — 'Telepatía' cool as a permanent state.
  3. 3Lola Young3'Messy' made her unavoidable — raw South London soul-pop with a busted-heart snarl and a voice that earns the Winehouse comparisons.
  4. 4RAYE3Britain's Grammy-and-BRIT-sweeping songwriter freed from label limbo — big-band soul-pop with real stakes, and a live show that earns every award.
  5. 5Chris Stapleton2A songwriter's songwriter with a howl that turns Nashville craft into something closer to Muscle Shoals soul — 'Tennessee Whiskey' just the entry point of a stacked catalog.
  6. 6Doechii2Switches cadence mid-bar like she's changing characters — theatrical, technically ferocious rap that never sits still long enough to be filed.
  7. 7Don Toliver2Sings trap like a psychedelic crooner — a warped, weightless voice floating over beats built for a stadium's worth of low end.
  8. 8GRiZ2Saxophone-wielding electro-funk — half of the GRIZTRONICS b2b with Subtronics, and a solo catalog of brass-blasted future-funk joy.
  9. 9Jennie2BLACKPINK's coolest-in-the-room star gone solo — sleek K-pop, R&B, and fashion-week poise at main-stage scale, with solo hits that stand on their own.
  10. 10Olivia Dean2The UK's warmest new pop-soul voice — effortless, jazz-schooled songwriting that's conquered charts on both sides of the Atlantic, charm fully intact live.

Most places played

Whose year reads like a world tour that happened to be made of festivals.

  1. 1Blood Orange14Dev Hynes's velvety art-R&B — '80s soul textures, jazz chords, and quiet heartbreak from one of pop's most sought-after collaborators.
  2. 2Balu Brigada10Kiwi brothers making slinky, falsetto-led alt-funk — Auckland groove-pop polished to a late-night sheen, with basslines that do most of the flirting.
  3. 3Lola Young9'Messy' made her unavoidable — raw South London soul-pop with a busted-heart snarl and a voice that earns the Winehouse comparisons.
  4. 4Jessie Murph6A rasp built for heartbreak, dragging country songwriting through trap drums and open-wound honesty — genre lines treated as suggestions.
  5. 5Doechii5Switches cadence mid-bar like she's changing characters — theatrical, technically ferocious rap that never sits still long enough to be filed.
  6. 6GRiZ5Saxophone-wielding electro-funk — half of the GRIZTRONICS b2b with Subtronics, and a solo catalog of brass-blasted future-funk joy.
  7. 7Rochelle Jordan5UK-garage-inflected R&B — Kaytranada's favorite-vocalist energy, silk delivery over broken beats, two-step rhythms under velvet vocals.
  8. 8Dijon4Songs that sound recorded live in a crowded room by accident — ragged, intimate, and completely singular, with a live band that pushes them even further loose.
  9. 9Mariah the Scientist4Slow-burn Atlanta R&B — heartbreak delivered with surgical calm, ballads that cut deeper for never raising their voice.
  10. 10Ravyn Lenae4A featherweight soprano over warm, live-band R&B — Chicago's most distinctive voice in the genre, 'Love Me Not' finally making it official.

Most saved to a plan

The R&B and Soul acts people are building a Saturday around.

  1. 1Cory WongThe rhythm-guitar machine of Vulfpeck fame — relentlessly upbeat, impossibly tight funk with a horn-powered live band and a clinic's worth of right-hand technique.
  2. 2DUCKWRTHGenre-fluid alt-rap showman blending funk, punk energy, and silky R&B into one of the most danceable live sets in hip-hop.
  3. 3ISTABrooklyn collective throwing a cosmic dance party — garage grit, fuzzed-out disco shimmer, and deep-groove psychedelia from a many-limbed live band.
  4. 4Leo Brooks BandGrammy-winning Miami bassist for Pitbull and Lauryn Hill fronting his own band — country twang filtered through Caribbean roots and island-funk muscle.
  5. 5Balu BrigadaKiwi brothers making slinky, falsetto-led alt-funk — Auckland groove-pop polished to a late-night sheen, with basslines that do most of the flirting.
  6. 6Blood OrangeDev Hynes's velvety art-R&B — '80s soul textures, jazz chords, and quiet heartbreak from one of pop's most sought-after collaborators.
  7. 7CelesteSmoke-voiced British soul — torch songs with modern nerve, a BRIT-anointed voice built for the spotlight and the string section.
  8. 8E'lon JDBass-forward progressive jazz and soul — virtuosic low end under soulful, socially minded songwriting, in the Thundercat school of lead-instrument bass.
  9. 9Qur'an ShaheedLA pianist, poet, and film composer blending jazz training with neo-classical and neo-soul improvisation — meditative, deeply personal, and quietly virtuosic.
  10. 10Sonny MilesWinston-Salem progressive R&B — gospel, funk, and hip-hop bent slightly askew; featured on Barack Obama's 2019 year-end playlist, and still climbing.

All 153 R&B and Soul acts

Blood OrangeBalu BrigadaLola YoungTeddy SwimsJessie MurphDijonDoechiiGRiZRochelle JordanSkye NewmanKali UchisMariah the ScientistRavyn LenaeRAYEAlabama ShakesAmber MarkAUDREY NUNABricknastyCelesteDaily BreadDestin ConradDon ToliverJim LegxacyJMSNKhamariLeon ThomasMalcolm ToddsosocamoAZULCA7RIEL & Paco AmorosoChaka KhanChris StapletonClara La SanCory WongDaniel CaesarDon WestDurand Jones & the IndicationsFKA TwigsGoldFordJalen NgondaJennieJon BatisteJorja SmithKelelaMaoliNourished by TimeOlivia DeanPawPaw RodSonny MilesSt. Paul and the Broken BonesSydTemsThee Sacred SoulsThundercatTinasheAlemedaAmaAmy GerhartzAndy Frasco & The U.N.AnnahstasiaBellahBig GramatikBLK ODYSSYBlu DeTigerCaitlin Krisko & The BroadcastChildish GambinoCommon SaintsCorinne Bailey RaeCouchDabeullDeb NeverDemaeDUCKWRTHDurand BernarrE'lon JDElla MaiElmieneENNYErika de CasierFabiana PalladinoFernieFLOFlorencia & the FeelingFousheéFujii KazeGary Clark Jr.Gavin DeGrawGeezerGiveonGramatikhalf•aliveInfinity SongIsaiah RashadISTAJackie VensonJae StephensJamiroquaiJoé Dwèt FiléJustin BieberJustine SkyeKean KavanaghKilo KishKool & The GangLeo Brooks BandLettuceLila IkéMaddy O'NealMagnus FerrellManic FocusMarcus King BandMarzzMaverick SabreMerebaMik PyroNe-YoNEZZANile Rodgers & ChicNu GeneaOdealOPIUOPJ MortonPretty LightsQur'an ShaheedRaelRebirth Brass BandSarah PotenzaSasha KeableSekouShawnee KishShinyribsSminoSneezySt. Paul & The Broken BonesSteve LacySwae LeeT-PainTedeschi Trucks BandTeezo TouchdownThe Brook & The BluffThe California HoneydropsThe Fairfield FourThe Gospel JubilatorsThe RootsTia WoodTinashe (DJ Set)Trombone Shorty & Orleans AvenueTrue LovesTyreseVan MorrisonVicky FarewellWesley JosephWHATUPRGYebba

R&B and Soul festivals: common questions

What festivals have the most R&B and Soul in 2026?

Camp Flog Gnaw 2026 (10 R&B and Soul acts), Hulaween 2026 (10 R&B and Soul acts), Austin City Limits 2026 (9 R&B and Soul acts). We count the acts on each published lineup rather than going by how a festival bills itself, so this is the depth of the actual R&B and Soul booking.

Where can I see R&B and Soul live in 2026?

16 festivals still to come have R&B and Soul on the bill. The next is Borderland 2026, September 18–20, 2026 at Knox Farm State Park, East Aurora, NY, with 4 R&B and Soul acts playing.

Which R&B and Soul artists are playing the most festivals in 2026?

Blood Orange (14), Balu Brigada (9), Lola Young (8), Teddy Swims (7), Jessie Murph (6). Counted per festival across the whole season, finished bills included.

How many R&B and Soul acts are playing festivals in 2026?

153 R&B and Soul acts appear on the lineups we track, across 16 festivals still to come. Each one has a page with its dates, stages and set times wherever the festival has published them.

Other genres

Indie (370)EDM (347)Alternative (295)Punk (277)Rock (249)Pop (245)Hip-Hop (236)House (216)Metal (205)Folk and Americana (182)Country (138)Hardcore (120)Dubstep and Bass (119)Techno (109)Bluegrass (74)Emo (58)Latin (53)Shoegaze and Dream Pop (48)Trance (44)Psychedelic (34)Jazz (31)Blues (25)Drum & Bass (25)Hardstyle and Hard Dance (24)Reggae and Dancehall (23)

Browse all festival lineups →