· Downtown Durham, NC

Good Moon 2026 Lineup

Sylvan Esso's hometown festival, back after a year off: three headline nights at DPAC, a free Saturday matinee, and late shows in three downtown rooms.

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Set times are out for Good Moon 2026. Save any act and it lands on your day-by-day plan, with overlapping sets flagged so you can see what you would miss. No account needed to start.

About Good Moon 2026

Good Moon is Sylvan Esso's own festival, run with their Psychic Hotline label, and after skipping 2025 it comes back October 8 to 10, 2026 in a new shape. The ballpark editions at Historic Durham Athletic Park and, in 2024, Durham Bulls Athletic Park are gone; this year the base of operations is the Durham Performing Arts Center, with three headline nights there (Sylvan Esso on Thursday and Saturday, Tyler Childers on Friday, doors 6, show 7), and everything else within a walk of it downtown.

Each DPAC night pairs the headliner with one special guest: Meshell Ndegeocello on Thursday, the poet aja monet before Tyler Childers on Friday, and Mexican singer Silvana Estrada on Saturday. Then the late shows start. Bay 7 at American Tobacco Campus hosts William Tyler and Yasmin Williams in a shared guitar night, Seoul's pansori dance band Leenalchi, and Circuit des Yeux presenting her 'Wordless Music' program. BOOM Club, booked with the No Visa collective, runs the DJ end with Jacques Greene, a GRRL x Made of Oak live set and Armana Khan. The Pinhook takes the bands: Star Moles, Kumo 99 with Babe Haven, and the Mississippi family disco-soul of Annie & the Caldwells.

Saturday afternoon is free. From 3pm the American Tobacco Campus amphitheater has MJ Lenderman, Rodrigo Amarante and Woke County Speedway, plus the North Carolina premiere of William Tyler's music film Time Indefinite, with vendors and everything before 6pm open to anyone. Tickets are per show (DPAC nights from $45.50 plus fees, late shows $40 in advance or $20 at the door if there is room), and a VIP weekend pass covers all three DPAC nights, every late show and the matinee.

Expect electronic, jazz, soul and singer-songwriter across 31 acts.

Lineup last updated September 9, 2026

Good Moon 2026 lineup & schedule: all 31 acts

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Day
Stage
Genre
Tier
Show31 of 31 acts

DPAC headliner · Thu, Oct 8 · 7:00 PM · Durham Performing Arts Center / Sat, Oct 10 · 7:00 PM · Durham Performing Arts Center

Sylvan Esso

Amelia Meath's plainspoken hooks over Nick Sanborn's modular synth pulses: Durham electronic pop that clicks in a club and still sings in a field.

synth-popelectronicindie pop

DPAC headliner · Friday · 7:00 PM · Durham Performing Arts Center

Tyler Childers

Eastern Kentucky songwriting with fiddle front and centre — plainspoken, regional, and completely uncompromised, honky-tonks to arenas without changing a thing.

countryappalachian-folk

DPAC special guest · Friday · 7:00 PM · Durham Performing Arts Center

aja monet

Brooklyn-born surrealist blues poet reading over a live jazz band; her debut album turned a decade of verse into a spoken-word record with real swing.

spoken wordjazzsoul

Headlining a show · Saturday · 10:30 PM · The Pinhook

Annie & the Caldwells

A West Point, Mississippi family band playing church-raised disco soul; four decades in, a Luaka Bop debut finally put them on the road.

soulgospeldisco

Headlining a show · Saturday · 10:00 PM · Bay 7

Circuit des Yeux

Haley Fohr's four-octave baritone over orchestral art-rock and drone, out of Chicago; each record is a bigger, darker production than the last.

art-rockexperimentaldrone

Headlining a show

Derrick Gee's Radio Hour Live

Music curator Derrick Gee's record-recommendation videos turned into a live listening show: he spins and talks through what he loves and why.

DJ set

Headlining a show · Friday · 10:00 PM · BOOM Club

GRRL x Made of Oak

Nick Sanborn's Made of Oak alias, the modular half of Sylvan Esso, in a live back-to-back with Triangle producer GRRL.

electronichouse

Headlining a show · Thursday · 10:00 PM · BOOM Club

Jacques Greene

Montreal producer whose chopped-vocal house helped define a whole strand of the 2010s — 'Another Girl' glow, still radiating.

uk-garagefuture-r&b

Headlining a show · Friday · 10:30 PM · The Pinhook

Kumo 99

Ami Komai's hardcore-bred shout over Nate Donmoyer's jungle and drum and bass breaks: rave music built for a pit rather than a chill-out room.

drum-and-bassjunglepunk

Headlining a show · Friday · 10:00 PM · Bay 7

Leenalchi

Seoul band setting pansori singers over two basses and a drummer, so a 200-year-old Korean epic comes out as taut, deadpan dance-punk.

alternativedance

DPAC special guest · Thursday · 7:00 PM · Durham Performing Arts Center

Meshell Ndegeocello

Bassist, singer and bandleader who has slid between funk, jazz, soul and spoken word since the early nineties, and keeps winning Grammys for the jazz end.

neo-souljazzfunk

Headlining a show · Saturday · 3:00 PM · American Tobacco Campus Amphitheater

MJ Lenderman

Asheville guitarist whose deadpan, Crazy Horse-leaning songs about wasted afternoons made Manning Fireworks one of 2024's most loved rock records.

indie rockalt-country

Headlining a show · Saturday · 3:00 PM · American Tobacco Campus Amphitheater

Rodrigo Amarante

Rio songwriter from Los Hermanos and Little Joy, singing hushed bossa-tinged folk in three languages; the Narcos theme 'Tuyo' is his.

mpbindie folkbossa nova

DPAC special guest · Saturday · 7:00 PM · Durham Performing Arts Center

Silvana Estrada

Veracruz songwriter with a cuatro and one of the most arresting voices in Latin folk — jazz-schooled, heartbreak-fluent.

latin-folksinger-songwriter

Headlining a show · Thursday · 10:00 PM · Bay 7

William Tyler

Nashville's cosmic guitar cartographer — instrumentals that feel like interstate sunsets, American primitive tradition with a widescreen lens.

American primitiveinstrumental

Headlining a show · Thursday · 10:00 PM · Bay 7

Yasmin Williams

Fingerstyle guitarist who lays the instrument flat on her lap, taps it like a piano and adds kalimba and tap shoes; her Nonesuch album Acadia is instrumental folk built from one note at a time.

folkinstrumentalacoustic

On the bill · Thursday · 10:00 PM · Bay 7

Anjimile

Fingerpicked folk with a choral, hymn-like weight from a trans songwriter on 4AD; The King traded the early warmth for spare, grief-struck intensity.

indie folksinger-songwriter

On the bill · Friday · 10:30 PM · The Pinhook

Babe Haven

Durham punk band with riot grrrl bite and pop hooks, built on the local DIY circuit and loud enough to have outgrown it.

punkriot grrrl

On the bill · Thursday · 10:30 PM · The Pinhook

Brotherkenzie

singer/songwriter

On the bill · Friday · 10:00 PM · Bay 7

Nicole Mitchell & Joe Westerlund

AACM flutist Nicole Mitchell and Megafaun drummer Joe Westerlund improvising as a duo, spiritual jazz and freeform percussion in open conversation.

jazzexperimental

On the bill · Saturday · 10:00 PM · Bay 7

Weirs

Non-hierarchical NC collective where old-time stringband tradition dissolves into DIY noise and drone — anywhere from two to twelve players.

experimental folkold-timedrone

The headliners

  • Sylvan Esso Amelia Meath's plainspoken hooks over Nick Sanborn's modular synth pulses: Durham electronic pop that clicks in a club and still sings in a field. The hosts, headlining two DPAC nights with different guests each time: Meshell Ndegeocello on Thursday and Silvana Estrada on Saturday.
  • Tyler Childers Eastern Kentucky songwriting with fiddle front and centre — plainspoken, regional, and completely uncompromised, honky-tonks to arenas without changing a thing. Friday's DPAC headliner, the biggest booking Good Moon has made, with aja monet opening.

Up-and-comers to catch early

  • Kumo 99 Jungle breaks with a hardcore vocalist up front; the Pinhook show on Friday will be the loudest room of the weekend.
  • Babe Haven Durham's own riot grrrl punks, opening for Kumo 99 at the Pinhook on Friday.
  • Leenalchi Two basses, drums and pansori singers turning a Korean folk epic into dance-punk; a rare US club date at Bay 7.
  • Star Moles Headlining the Thursday Pinhook after-show, with Brotherkenzie opening.
  • Anjimile Grief-struck fingerpicked folk from 4AD, opening the guitar night at Bay 7 on Thursday.
  • Annie & the Caldwells Church-raised disco soul from West Point, Mississippi, closing the Pinhook on Saturday with Hex Files.

Other acts worth planning around

  • MJ Lenderman Headlines the free Saturday matinee at the American Tobacco amphitheater from 3pm; no ticket needed.
  • Meshell Ndegeocello Thursday's DPAC special guest, on a run of Grammy-winning jazz records.
  • Circuit des Yeux Presents 'Wordless Music' at Bay 7 on Saturday night, with Weirs opening.
  • Jacques Greene Opens the BOOM Club late shows on Thursday, with DJ BossLady and Summy on the decks.
  • Rodrigo Amarante Plays the free Saturday matinee, the only chance to hear 'Tuyo' outdoors in Durham this year.
  • William Tyler A shared guitar night with Yasmin Williams at Bay 7 on Thursday, then his film Time Indefinite screens free on Saturday afternoon.

The lineup by day

Times shown are each show's start time as ticketed (doors an hour earlier at DPAC and The Pinhook). Running orders within a show have not been published; the opener goes on first. Derrick Gee's 'Radio Hour Live' has no venue or day announced yet.

Jump to: Thursday · Friday · Saturday

Thursday lineup (October 8)

Sylvan Esso, Meshell Ndegeocello, William Tyler, Yasmin Williams, Jacques Greene, Star Moles + 4 more

Thursday set times (10 sets)
  • 7:00 PM Sylvan Esso · Durham Performing Arts Center
  • 7:00 PM Meshell Ndegeocello · Durham Performing Arts Center
  • 10:00 PM William Tyler · Bay 7
  • 10:00 PM Yasmin Williams · Bay 7
  • 10:00 PM Jacques Greene · BOOM Club
  • 10:00 PM Anjimile · Bay 7
  • 10:00 PM DJ BossLady · BOOM Club
  • 10:00 PM Summy · BOOM Club
  • 10:30 PM Star Moles · The Pinhook
  • 10:30 PM Brotherkenzie · The Pinhook

Friday lineup (October 9)

Tyler Childers, aja monet, Leenalchi, GRRL x Made of Oak, Kumo 99, Nicole Mitchell & Joe Westerlund + 3 more

Friday set times (9 sets)
  • 7:00 PM Tyler Childers · Durham Performing Arts Center
  • 7:00 PM aja monet · Durham Performing Arts Center
  • 10:00 PM Leenalchi · Bay 7
  • 10:00 PM GRRL x Made of Oak · BOOM Club
  • 10:00 PM Nicole Mitchell & Joe Westerlund · Bay 7
  • 10:00 PM Alec Lomami · BOOM Club
  • 10:00 PM Mas Culina · BOOM Club
  • 10:30 PM Kumo 99 · The Pinhook
  • 10:30 PM Babe Haven · The Pinhook

Saturday lineup (October 10)

Sylvan Esso, Silvana Estrada, MJ Lenderman, Rodrigo Amarante, Circuit des Yeux, Armana Khan + 6 more

Saturday set times (12 sets)
  • 3:00 PM MJ Lenderman · American Tobacco Campus Amphitheater
  • 3:00 PM Rodrigo Amarante · American Tobacco Campus Amphitheater
  • 3:00 PM Woke County Speedway · American Tobacco Campus Amphitheater
  • 7:00 PM Sylvan Esso · Durham Performing Arts Center
  • 7:00 PM Silvana Estrada · Durham Performing Arts Center
  • 10:00 PM Circuit des Yeux · Bay 7
  • 10:00 PM Armana Khan · BOOM Club
  • 10:00 PM Weirs · Bay 7
  • 10:00 PM Baby Rain-a · BOOM Club
  • 10:00 PM Micky Slicks · BOOM Club
  • 10:30 PM Annie & the Caldwells · The Pinhook
  • 10:30 PM Hex Files · The Pinhook

Good Moon 2026 lineup FAQ

When and where is Good Moon 2026?

October 8 to 10, 2026 in downtown Durham, NC. The headline shows are at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC); late shows are at Bay 7, BOOM Club and The Pinhook, and the free Saturday matinee is at the American Tobacco Campus amphitheater.

Who plays which night at DPAC?

Thursday October 8: Sylvan Esso with Meshell Ndegeocello. Friday October 9: Tyler Childers with aja monet. Saturday October 10: Sylvan Esso with Silvana Estrada. Doors are 6pm and shows start at 7pm each night.

How do tickets work?

Each show is ticketed on its own. DPAC nights run $45.50 to $89.50 plus a $4 facility fee and ticketing fees, late shows are $40 in advance or $20 cash or card at the door from 10pm if space allows, and the Saturday matinee is free. A VIP weekend pass includes the same seats at all three DPAC nights, priority entry to every late show and the matinee, a merch bundle and a happy hour.

What is free?

Everything before 6pm on Saturday October 10 at the American Tobacco Campus: MJ Lenderman, Rodrigo Amarante, Woke County Speedway, the North Carolina premiere of William Tyler's film Time Indefinite, and vendors. It starts at 3pm.

Who runs Good Moon?

Sylvan Esso (Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn) and their Durham label and collective Psychic Hotline. Earlier editions ran at the Historic Durham Athletic Park and, in 2024, at Durham Bulls Athletic Park with Fleet Foxes; there was no festival in 2025.

Are the late shows all ages?

The Pinhook shows are all ages. Check each venue's listing for Bay 7 and BOOM Club before buying.

Who plays Thursday at Good Moon 2026?

Thursday, October 8: Sylvan Esso, Meshell Ndegeocello, William Tyler, Yasmin Williams, Jacques Greene, Star Moles, plus 4 more acts.

Who plays Friday at Good Moon 2026?

Friday, October 9: Tyler Childers, aja monet, Leenalchi, GRRL x Made of Oak, Kumo 99, Nicole Mitchell & Joe Westerlund, plus 3 more acts.

Who plays Saturday at Good Moon 2026?

Saturday, October 10: Sylvan Esso, Silvana Estrada, MJ Lenderman, Rodrigo Amarante, Circuit des Yeux, Armana Khan, plus 6 more acts.

Are set times out for Good Moon 2026?

Yes. The full schedule is live: the day-by-day section on this page lists every act with its set time.

Going to Good Moon 2026? Get tickets ↗

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