Bristol Rhythm and Roots Announces Stellar Initial Lineup for 2026
If you’re ready to get your boogie on Bristol Rhythm and Roots style, they’ve already released a big lineup for 2026, with more artists to be announced in the months to come. To be held from September 11th to 13th in 2026 in Bristol Virginia/Tennessee, it’s a great opportunity to see some of the biggest independent names in country and roots music, and discover some of the best performers on the rise.
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Braxton Keith, The Del McCoury Band, and The War and Treaty join Sierra Ferrell as the top names for the festival in 2026. Fast-rising acts The Creekers, Mason Via, and Maggie Antone, along with Darrell Scott Sting Band with Rob Ickes, Hannah Dasher, and Clay Street Unit are other names that come highly recommended.
There’s a few places you can go in this world to remind you that country music is not just “music.” It is a historical continuum so inextricably interwoven with the fabric of rural American life that to disentangling it would risk the very unraveling of society itself. Bristol, TN/VA is one of these places. It presents a living history of country music. It’s where Ralph Peer set up his portable recording machine in a hat shop in 1927 and captured the most important recordings in country music and American history.
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in downtown Bristol is worth visiting all by itself. But the best time to visit is during Bristol Rhythm and Roots. They block off State Street running down the middle of downtown and straddling the state lines, erect multiple stages, and vendors set up shop on the main drag and side streets. Instead of traipsing back and forth through an open field like many festivals make you endure, you feel like you’re entering a musical village, and one that you never want to leave.
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum produces the annual event, and is not for profit. The festival came in at #5 on Saving Country Music Best Festivals List from earlier this year. The rest of the lineup will be revealed in early 2026. For tickets and more information, visit bristolrhythm.com.
December 4, 2025 @ 11:12 pm
Sierra Ferrell is THE top name. The ONLY one. IN BIG LETTERS. No democratized font. No co-headliners. I feel like that’s kind of a big deal.
December 5, 2025 @ 6:15 am
Acoustic Syndicate…a name I haven’t heard since SmileFest 2005.
December 5, 2025 @ 7:29 am
Up-and-coming primal roots guitarist: Gwenifer Raymond. Fierce attack. She’d fit right in.
December 5, 2025 @ 8:39 am
I wonder if this will have any crossover with the Earl Scruggs Festival which will be the previous weekend and is just a couple hours away in Western NC. This year, there was some crossover with Scruggs and IBMA, but it looks like they pushed back the IBMA a month for 2026. Although the lineup is announced for Bristol, I don’t see a schedule yet. I haven’t been to this Bristol one yet but if the Saturday lineup looks good, it’ll be worth a day trip to drive out there and check this one out. The downtown format sounds cool.
December 5, 2025 @ 6:27 pm
There’s my girl!! Headlining! It’s about time. She is transcendent. 1 of 1.
December 6, 2025 @ 11:33 am
Just me, but I’d rather hear Darrell Scott play his own songs instead of Police covers
January 19, 2026 @ 4:05 pm
Do you have to buy a 3 day ticket just to see Sierra Ferrell?
January 19, 2026 @ 4:12 pm
I believe single day tickets will be made available, but they’re usually only sold closer to the festival date.