Blue Ox Festival Boasts Big Lineup for 2026
If you’re from the upper Midwest and don’t want to travel to Texas, Tennessee, or California for the multi-day festival—or if you’re from Texas, California and Tennessee and want to get away for a summer music retreat—the Blue Ox Festival in Eu Claire, Wisconsin June 25-27 is a great option, with long-time patrons swearing by the richness of the experience.
In 2026, The Blue Ox Festival features a stacked lineup of country and roots talent, topped off by some of the top live performers of the discipline like Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Charley Crockett, and Marcus King. Many folks regard The Johnny Mullenax Band, Silverada, Shadowgrass, and Horseshoes & Hand Grenades as some of the greatest live acts in all of music. They’re all on the Blue Ox lineup.
Supergroup I’m With Her (Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan) just won multiple Grammy Awards. Bronwyn Keith-Hynes and Sierra Hull have also won a few of their own. And that’s just the very beginning of the names worth mentioning.
What people brag about with the Blue Ox Festival is how small it feels, even though the community is big, as are the names who take the stage. That in part comes from the festival site that is set in the pines, with plenty of shade—something many of the field festivals and megafests lack. This lends to the laid-back and enjoyable environment.
“The Pines music park is a great festival site with great camping,” Blue Ox’s Karen Wells Verlander tells Saving Country Music. “We take a lot of pride in creating an experience for people. Families come back year after year. They plan their vacation around it. We have a very community village vibe that we create every June. And people are there for the music. We have babies to grandparents there. We love the culture of music education. We have music workshops.”
Blue Ox also has a backwoods stage that is dedicated to emerging artists and rising stars, while they also putting an emphasis on local and regional talent, including their host band Pert Near Sandstone.
The Blue Ox Music Festival was founded in 2015. It is a family owned and operated organization started by The Bischel Family, who also started the Country Jam Festival. They just announced their daily lineups for 2026 (see below), and both single day and weekend tickets are on sale now.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit blueoxmusicfestival.com.
*Thursday, June 25, 2026*
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country
Shadowgrass
Etran De L’aïr
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Wild Horses
The Big Wu
Johnny Mullenax
Abby Webster
Fabrizio
Roe Family Singers
*Friday, June 26, 2026*
Charley Crockett
The Dead South
Sierra Hull
Dom Flemons & The Traveling Wildfires
Folk Bitch Trio
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
The Steel Wheels
Pert Near Sandstone
Chicken Wire Empire
Maygen & The Birdwatcher
The Spooklights
Art Stevenson & High Water
The Milbillies
Moonshroom
Gin Mill Hollow
North Fork Crossing
Sprig Of That
Hemma
*Saturday, June 27, 2026*
Marcus King Band
Kurt Vile & The Violators
I’m With Her • Valerie June
Pert Near Sandstone
Them Coulee Boys
Magoo
Silverada
The Lowest Pair
Hogslop String Band
The Mighty Pines
Molly Brandt
The Pistol Whippin Party Penguins
Mooncats
Clay Fulton & The Lost Forty
Corpse Reviver
Stony River
Virtual Band Competition Winner
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