Top Takeaways from Mile 0 Fest 2026 (& Recap)

Mile 0 Fest in Key West, Florida is the festival where stars are born, legends never go away, songwriters are revered, and memories are made. It’s where performers like Tyler Childers, Cody Jinks, and the Turnpike Troubadours performed before they blew up. The Red Clay Strays cite their Mile 0 Fest experience for helping to springboard them to the big time.

Who we’re some of the performers in 2026 who could be returning next year as headliners, or might blow up so big they can’t return to a mid-sized festival at all? Here are the performers who made a major impression at Mile 0 Fest 2026.

(full review and photo gallery below)

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The Johnny Mullinax Band

Is Johnny Mullenax and his band the best performing musical outfit out there on the planet at the moment, from an instrumental and compositional standpoint at least? It’s sure hard to think of peers or comparables after seeing them burn the stage down at Mile 0 Fest.

Take the twang and taste of country, the speed of bluegrass, the blazing improvisation of jazz, and you have something that’s utterly transcendental, while still feeling grounded in the roots. It’s like the country version of Frank Zappa.

From the finale with Hank Williams III’s “Straight To Hell,” to Charlie Daniels, to compositions from jazz great Chick Corea, The Johnny Mullinex Band can do it all, and with incredible confidence, alacrity, and mastery. Every single venue and festival on planet Earth should be moving heaven and earth to get these dudes on their stage. You’re pulling the mother of all boners if these boys rolling through your town, and you’re at home nestled in with Netflix. (read full review)

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Kaitlin Butts

Kaitlin Butts walked out on the stage at Mile 0 Fest in Key West like a country music queen arriving in front of her court. Talk about a commanding presence. Kaitlin has been the hardest working woman in country music over the last few years, and it’s paying off in spades. Major label deal, mainstream recognition, mega viral moments. It’s all happening as they like to say.

But Kaitlin hasn’t forgotten who she is, or where she’s from. It’s from the Texas/Red Diet scene where she emerged. It’s on stages like Mile 0 Fest where she first wow’d audiences. Who knows where all this goes from here. She’s no longer the up-and-comer. She’s no longer the underdog. She’s no longer the person you shake your fist at Nashville for not giving an opportunity. She’s made it. She’s a headliner. She’s the current queen of Red Dirt. But most importantly, she’s Kaitlin Butts.

Congratulations Kaitlin, you have arrived.

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Tanner Usrey

Tanner Usrey is single-handedly Saving Classic Rock Music and the reckless abandon that made that music so alive and electric. He embodies everything that’s been lost in so much of today’s “rock.” Only Usrey can pull up to a Texas/Red Dirt festival, do an Ozzy medley, mix it with some Southern rock, a little Texas-infused country, and pull it all off seamlessly.

Usrey’s been around for a while now and wowing audiences, including at Mile 0 Fest on previous years. But there was something special about his amphitheater set this year that had folks buzzing for the rest of the week. There was just an extra level of energy and abandon that really stood out, and set the pace for all the other performers. Tanner is already a big deal in certain circles. But there is still upside potential for him to expand well beyond the Texas/Red Dirt perspective.

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The Droptines

The Droptines have really tapped into some original alt-country chemistry that’s been missing in the roots music diet, and have spent the last couple of years since releasing their debut self-titled album really dialing it in even further. Nobody is really doing what The Droptines do. It’s heavy songwriting that stirs emotions, underpinned by involved melodies.

On a soggy afternoon at Mile 0 Fest, they put on a stellar set that included the appropriate and propulsive “Raining Where You Are” and their excellent new single “Tombstone.” Now signed with Big Loud Texas, The Droptines feel like a band that’s going places.

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The Kruse Brothers

From the straight ahead country realm, The Kruse Brothers out of Phoenix made a huge impression at Mile 0 Fest 2026, and one that was perfectly timed to coincide with their debut album Heartbreak and Honky-Tonk released on January 23rd. Chandler and Miles Kruse come with strong traditional country influences, but bring just enough of a rock edge to their delivery with songs like “Tulsa County Jail” to make the whole experience that much more infectious.

These are definitely two dudes to have on your radar and look out for.

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Mile 0 Fest is not for the passive music listener. It’s for those who put music first, who pursue those lifelong memories through musical moments that you’re only able to capture when you go seeking them out. It’s for folks who want to be satiated by their familiar favorites, but find something new enjoy for the years to come. And it all happens in the closest thing to paradise the United States can offer: Key West, FL.

Happening from January 27th thru the 31st in 2026, Mile 0 fest started out this year with a block party open to the public on Key West’s famous Duval Street. Cross Canadian Ragweed headlined, with Silverada, Josh Weathers, And Shelby Stone also performing. To see a full recap of the opening day, CLICK HERE.

There were numerous changes in how Mile 0 Fest was set up for its ninth year, and to the positive according to many long-time festival goers. First and foremost, they constructed dueling stages at the Truman Lawn, near the main amphitheater. That meant continuous music could happen during the day in one central location, though you could still venture to Margaritaville or Hank’s on Duval to check out a songwriter set, or head over to the legendary Sunset Pier, or the beach at the Southernmost Point of the United States for a show.

There weren’t any afterparties this year, aside from during the street party, and to finish the fest off with Max and Heather Stalling at Durty Harrys. What started as shows at the bars on Duval evolved to afterparties at the main amphitheater in recent years, often paying tribute to a certain artist, or taking some theme (’90s country, ’80s pop, etc.) and showcasing performers in unique collaborations. Though this was missed a little, it also freed up the evenings of patrons to find their own trouble to get into on Key West.

Weather is always one of the reasons to flock to Key West in the dead of the winter. But for the second year in a row, weather played a big factor in the events, and in more ways that one.

2025 was unusually cold the entire time after years of the fest being pleasant and seasonable. 2026 was nearly perfect on Thursday and Friday if maybe a little chilly at night, and same goes for the street party on Tuesday. But Wednesday and Saturday were big time cold, not due to the temps in the lower 60s, but due to a merciless wind which reached epic proportions Saturday evening, forcing organizers to decide if they even wanted to move forward with the final night.

At one point Jason Scott of the High Heat pointed out, “Hey, the sign says Mile 0 FIST!” as the “E” in the fest’s legendary sign at the top of the amphitheater got blown sideways. Eventually, all the letters were laid on the ground, the big speaker bays and video screens on the amphitheater stage were lowered, and other provisions were made to make sure the festival could move forward safely. Though some sought shelter in bars or their hotels, a surprising amount of folks bundled up and stuck it out, and didn’t regret if they did.

Though people who got caught in the ice storm up north are probably laughing at a little wind storm in paradise, the storm up north definitely affected the doings on the island too. Sunny Sweeney was socked in at her home in Nashville, and couldn’t leave. Same went for Shinyribs who was scheduled to come in from Austin. Crow and Gazelle (Mike McClure and Christlyn Lawrence) also couldn’t make it. Josh Weathers made it, but his band didn’t.

Everyone that was able to make it to Key West was surprisingly on time, though in numerous cases it was after multiple canceled flights and Herculean logistical efforts on the part of the performers and the festival. There are many stories to tell due to weather and Mile 0 Fest 2026.

But ultimately, Mile 0 Fest was all about the music, which it always is. Some great performances went down. Well let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

For more photos and videos from Mile 0 Fest 2026, follow Saving Country Music on Instagram. Sincere apologies to artists not mentioned or photographed. With so many events going on simultaneously, you just can’t see everything.

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