The State of Bluegrass - Q2 2026

We tracked 3,278 live bluegrass shows across 51 states between April and June. North Carolina and Colorado lead the pack, accounting for 14% of all shows between them, but Pennsylvania isn't far behind.

Key Takeaways from Q2 2026

→ 3,278+ live bluegrass shows tracked across 51 states
→ The Southeast still has the most action (38% of tracked shows)
→ Nashville, TN has the most shows of any city we track
→ Some bands are hitting 20+ states in a single quarter
→ Nearly 1 in 4 shows happen on a weeknight

Here's what we found when we dug into this quarter's numbers.

Q2 2026 at a Glance

3,278

Live Events

346

Bands Tracked

2,272

Venues

U.S. States

270

Festivals

Based on 3,278 events collected from 346 band websites and venue listings currently in our system. This is a sample, not a census. Many active bands and venues are not yet tracked. Plus 245 events across 49 countries.

Platform Growth

How GrassGigs tracking expanded from Q1 2026 to Q2 2026

+1,842

Events Tracked

1,436 → 3,278

+127

Bands Tracked

219 → 346

+1,265

Venues Discovered

1,007 → 2,272

134 new bands added to GrassGigs tracking this quarter

What's Playing

Breakdown by event type this quarter

2,348 Concerts

762 Festivals

86 Church/Gospel

61 Workshops

8 Benefits

8 Jam Sessions

Beyond standard concerts: 762 festivals tracked this quarter, 8 jam sessions. The variety shows a scene that's about community, not just ticketed performances.

Where Bluegrass Lives

Top U.S. states by number of tracked events

North Carolina

269 (8.2%)

Colorado

207 (6.3%)

Pennsylvania

199 (6.1%)

Virginia

196 (6.0%)

Tennessee

189 (5.8%)

California

167 (5.1%)

Kentucky

137 (4.2%)

Georgia

118 (3.6%)

Ohio

103 (3.1%)

Maryland

102 (3.1%)

38% of the shows we tracked are in the Southeast, which is a lot considering how small the region is geographically. The rest is spread across 51 states, with pockets of real activity in the mid-Atlantic, Colorado, and California.

U.S. Bluegrass Activity

Every dot of heat is a real event. 3033 events mapped.

3,278 bluegrass events mapped across the U.S. Explore the interactive map →

Most Visited Cities

Cities where bands played the most shows this quarter

1 Nashville, TN 90 events

2 Owensboro, KY 39 events

3 Branson, MO 36 events

4 Grass Valley, CA 29 events

5 Wilkesboro, NC 28 events

6 Cumberland, MD 28 events

7 Pittsburgh, PA 27 events

8 Denver, CO 27 events

9 Telluride, CO 26 events

10 Savannah, GA 26 events

Nashville, TN leads with 90 tracked events, followed by Owensboro, KY at 39.

Most Active Bands

Bands with the most shows in our tracking this quarter

1 65 North Pickers 35 shows

2 Molly Tuttle 35 shows

3 Alison Krauss & Union Station 34 shows

4 Rhonda Vincent 33 shows

5 Mountain Grass Unit 33 shows

6 Sierra Hull 33 shows

7 Kitchen Dwellers 32 shows

8 The Jacob Jolliff Band 32 shows

9 The Brothers Comatose 31 shows

10 Shadowgrass 30 shows

65 North Pickers played the most shows we tracked: 35 in three months, which works out to roughly one every 3 days. Molly Tuttle is right there too at 35.

Busiest Venues

The venues with the most shows on the calendar this quarter

1 Silver Dollar City - Bluegrass & BBQ · Branson, MO 23 shows

2 Grand Ole Opry · Nashville, TN 23 shows

3 The Station Inn · Nashville, TN 13 shows

4 Club Possum Event Center · Mountain View, AR 11 shows

5 From the Earth Brewing Company · Roswell, GA 8 shows

6 The Ryman Auditorium · Nashville, TN 8 shows

7 Denton Farmpark · Denton, NC 7 shows

8 The Bluegrass Lounge - Olde Town · Arvada, CO 7 shows

9 Atomic By Jamo · St. Louis, MO 7 shows

10 Bluegrass Camp · Weiser, ID 7 shows

Silver Dollar City - Bluegrass & BBQ in Branson, MO had the most shows on the calendar with 23 this quarter. If you're anywhere nearby, chances are there's something playing.

Recently Added to GrassGigs

The newest bands we started tracking this quarter

1 Hickory Bottom Band 14 shows

2 Humbletown 3 shows

3 Pearlgrace & Co. 11 shows

4 Cynthia Ridge 6 shows

5 Kristy Cox 20 shows

6 Thomas Cassell 11 shows

7 Crandall Creek 29 shows

8 Brad Kaylor & Mineral Bluff Revue 5 shows

9 Pam Setser 40 shows

10 Sad Daddy Band 9 shows

New to our data, not necessarily new to the scene. We recently started tracking these bands' websites. Worth a listen if you haven't heard them.

Community Stages

Venues hosting the most different bands, not just one residency

1 Grand Ole Opry · Nashville, TN 13 different acts

2 Silver Dollar City - Bluegrass & BBQ · Branson, MO 12 different acts

3 The Station Inn · Nashville, TN 12 different acts

4 New Terrain Brewing · Golden, CO 10 different acts

5 Appalachian Fiddle Bluegrass Association · Wind Gap, PA 8 different acts

6 Yellow Creek Park · Owensboro, KY 8 different acts

7 The Ryman Auditorium · Nashville, TN 8 different acts

8 From the Earth Brewing Company · Roswell, GA 7 different acts

9 1 Fairgrounds Lane · Tunbridge, VT 7 different acts

10 Bluegrass at the Station 2026 · Auburn, AL 6 different acts

These places are rotating through a good variety of bands every week. If you're looking for a gig or just want to hear something different, start here.

Road Warriors

Bands playing in the most states, spreading bluegrass far and wide

1 Alison Krauss & Union Station 22 states

2 Magoo 19 states

3 Mountain Grass Unit 18 states

4 Molly Tuttle 18 states

5 Sierra Hull 18 states

6 Shadowgrass 17 states

7 Kitchen Dwellers 17 states

8 Bronwyn Keith Hynes 17 states

9 Béla Fleck 17 states

10 65 North Pickers 16 states

Alison Krauss & Union Station hit 22 states this quarter. That's a lot of windshield time.

Festival Season

Festivals with the most activity this quarter

1 Merlefest - 2026 · Wilkesboro, NC 19 events

2 Telluride Bluegrass Festival 2026 · Telluride, CO 17 events

3 Romp Festival · Owensboro, KY 15 events

4 Delfest 2026 · Cumberland, MD 13 events

5 Blue Ox Music Festival 2026 · Eau Claire, WI 13 events

6 New Terrain Brewing · Golden, CO 11 events

7 Yellow Creek Park · Owensboro, KY 11 events

8 Nevada County Fairgrounds · Grass Valley, CA 11 events

9 Appalachian Fiddle Bluegrass Association · Wind Gap, PA 10 events

10 Big Ponderoo Music + Art Festival 2026 · Sisters, OR 9 events

Festivals are the anchor of summer bluegrass. Multi-day events fill the calendar and bring people in from all over.

Browse all festivals →

Most Buzzed-About Shows

The events that got the most "Looks Good" and "I'm Going" reactions from the GrassGigs community

1 Denim & Plaid · Merlefest - 2026, Wilkesboro NC 2026-04-25

2 Grace n' Grass · Prissy Polly's BBQ, Kernersville NC 2026-05-16

3 Arkansauce · Radio/East, Austin TX 2026-05-07

4 Denim & Plaid · The Blue Ridge Music Center, Galax VA 2026-05-16

5 Moonshine Mule Bluegrass Band · Gray Willow, Earlton NY 2026-05-17

These shows got the most love from folks browsing GrassGigs. You can react to any event to help others find what's good in your area.

When Bluegrass Happens

Day-of-week and monthly patterns

Day of Week

Mon

116

Tue

182

Wed

490

Thu

908

Fri

1081

Sat

436

Sun

Monthly Breakdown

860

Apr

1111

May

1307

Jun

Saturdays are the biggest night (33.0% of shows). Best weeknight? Thursday, with 490 shows this quarter. Overall, 24.0% of shows happen Tue-Thu, so there's plenty of live music if you're not waiting for the weekend.

June was the busiest month with 1307 events. The jump from April to June lines up with festival season kicking into gear.

Beyond the U.S.

Bluegrass doesn't stop at the border: 245 events across 49 countries

1 United Kingdom 101 events

2 Czech Republic 30 events

3 British Columbia 10 events

4 Ontario 9 events

5 Spain 9 events

6 Germany 8 events

7 Switzerland 7 events

8 Sweden 5 events

9 Ireland 5 events

10 Belarus 4 events

European Bluegrass Activity

245 international events mapped.

The U.S. is home base, but bluegrass keeps growing overseas. The UK and Czech Republic have especially strong scenes.

Find a bluegrass show near you this week →

Every event on an interactive map. Filter by band, city, or date

Explore the Map →

This is a snapshot, not the full picture. We add new bands and venues every week. If your scene isn't showing up here, let us know. Register your band or submit a venue and we'll get you in the next one.

About This Data

We pulled 3,278 events from 346 band websites and venue listings that are currently in our system. This isn't everything happening in bluegrass, just what we've been able to find and track so far. That includes 245 international shows.

States and venues that rank high here are the ones well-represented in our data. Plenty of great scenes have been going strong for decades without us knowing about them yet. We're adding more every quarter.

Data as of July 01, 2026. Know a scene we're missing? Register your band or submit a venue.

Cite This Report

GrassGigs. (2026). The State of Bluegrass - Q2 2026. Retrieved from https://grassgigs.com/blog/2026/06/state-of-bluegrass-q2-2026.html