Under The Big Sky Fest Reveals 2027 Lineup
The biggest independent country and roots festival each year has just announced its 2027 lineup, and it’s crowned by some big names. Zach Bryan is usually busy selling out football stadiums on consecutive nights, and Kacey Musgraves is packing out arenas these days on a pretty regular basis. But both of them will be trekking up to Whitefish, Montana to headline Under The Big Sky Fest July 16th thru 18th. Nathaniel Rateliff rounds out the list of headliners.
They lead other big names such as Sam Barber, Buffalo Traffic Jam, Midland, and The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers who released a pretty killer country album this year. Other big names include Dawes, The Devil Makes Three, and Evan Honer. Under The Big Sky favorites Paul Cauthen, and Hogslop String Band also made the poster.
The undercard also has some really cool artists worth checking out like Two Runner, Big Richard who are really fun live, and Sterling Drake who’s local to Montana.
Undoubtedly the 2026 festival lineup is rich with big names along with plenty of performers worth discovering. But it’s also almost uncanny how every single name is more “country-adjacent” than actually country. Almost all these names sit on the country periphery as opposed to within the bulls-eye. Perhaps that’s a sign of smart curation in the way it will appeal to certain fans. But compared to the 2026 lineup that had Zach Top, Cody Jinks, and Chris Stapleton as headliners, it feels almost like a different festival.
Zach Bryan, Buffalo Traffic Jam, Dawes, Futurebirds, The Dead South, Evan Honer, Jess Williamson, these are all names that fit into the more contemporary folk mold adjacent to indie rock. They also all fit very well together.
Along with the music, there’s a full-blown rodeo that happens all weekend coinciding with the event, with a creek and a train track running straight through the festival site surrounded by mountain ranges, only 60 miles from the Canadian border, and a skip away from Glacier National Park. For more of what you can expect at Under The Big Sky, you can check out Saving Country Music’s 2026 Recap.
Presale tickets go on sale Friday 11/6 at 10AM MT, with the public onsale starting at 2PM MT at underthebigskyfest.com.
October 29, 2026 @ 7:59 pm
Musgraves AND Bryan?
That’s a political rally not a music festival.
However you’d classify, it’s gonna suck
October 29, 2026 @ 8:23 pm
My wife and I go to Montana every year, and we’ve talked about going to Under the Big Sky. Looking at this lineup, 2027 won’t be the year.
We saw Kacey Musgraves recently in Atlanta. I went to see Charles Wesley Godwin, and my wife went to see Kacey. Charles put on a fantastic set, much better than Kacey’s. My wife was disappointed in much of her show, too, and she’s a pop country fan. I was disappointed that Kacey didn’t give CWG a shoutout for opening.
Glad I got to see Charles at the Old Saloon this summer. Can’t wait to see who the Old Saloon brings in for 2027!