Nelsonville Music Festival 2026

Set in the beautiful rolling hills of Southeast Ohio and surrounded by the Wayne National Forest, the laid-back weekend offers a carefully curated, diverse lineup of national, regional, and local acts in an intimate setting.

NMF constantly strives to have a positive impact on our surrounding community and environment. All festival proceeds support affordable, accessible, year-round Arts Education programs at Stuart’s Opera House. This means every ticket purchased helps enrich the lives of people of all ages in our region by opening the door to transformative cultural experiences. Admission is free to kids 12 and under. We partner with Rural Action’s Zero Waste Event Productions to divert 90% or more of the waste created at the festival from the landfill with recycling and composting.

The AV Club and Ohio Magazine have named NMF as the “Best Music Festival in Ohio,” and Time Out Chicago has called it “one of the Midwest’s best festivals.” Past performers have included Death Cab for Cutie, Mavis Staples, Tyler Childers, The Breeders, Wilco, The Flaming Lips, Willie Nelson, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Ween, Loretta Lynn, Gillian Welch, John Prine, The Avett Brothers, They Might Be Giants, The Decemberists, Randy Newman, Merle Haggard, Iron & Wine, Yo La Tengo, George Jones, Emmylou Harris, Courtney Barnett, and many more.

The Nelsonville Music Festival is a fundraiser for and production of Stuart’s Opera House, a historic, non-profit theater located in Nelsonville that features over 75 events a year including live music, theater, educational programming, and more. You can find out more about the Nelsonville Music Festival at nelsonvillefest.org.