The Saturday Night Benefit Concert begins at 7:00pm on Saturday, September 5th, on the Dan Maher North Stage. Tickets will be taken at the entrance.
Tickets for the Saturday Benefit Concert are $15, and are available at the festival, at both the Info Booths, and from our roving ticket and button sellers (look for the folks in aprons carrying a sign).
2026 Headliners Reggie Garrett and Christine Gunn are a musical duo of unparalleled emotion and virtuosity. Reggie’s lyricism in his explorations of the variety and subtlety of human experience are supported and propelled into flight by Christine’s dynamic and sensuous musicality. The songs are expansive, taking the time to set a mood and tell the stories. They reveal harsh truths with power and poetry and an undeniable empathy. Reggie has performed throughout the US and Canada for a number of years, both solo and with his band “Reggie Garret & the Snake Oil Peddlers.” Christine has performed widely as a solo artist, creating richly layered musical tapestries with her looping pedal. She is a founding member of the bands “Trillian Green” and “Gravity Quartet,” and has performed as an accompanist to hundreds of bands, orchestras, musical theatres, and singer‑ songwriters, both live and recorded.
2026 Headliners Great Aunt are an award‑ winning Australian folk duo known for their soaring harmonies, unique instrumentation, and heartfelt live performances. Winners of the 2024 Folk Alliance Australia Duo of the Year, Megan Bird and Chelsea Allen blend folk, country, and roots music with influences from their backgrounds in punk, jazz, and rock to create a sound both familiar and new. With four U.S. tours under their belt and a debut LP, ‘It’s All Downhill From Here’ released in early 2026, the duo will return to North America on multiple occasions this year. Great Aunt make music that is equal parts joyful and vulnerable, and deliver it with warmth, wit, and open hearts.
2026 Headliners Whateverly Brothers grew out of two friends enjoying playing music together. Starting as a maritime music group, they soon followed their wide interests and backgrounds into many styles and genres including full Celtic and Yule sets. Dan Roberts and Chris Glanister, both seasoned folk music collectors, performers, and multi‑instrumentalists, have delighted audiences with their varying repertoire, shimmering harmonies, striking arrangements, and offbeat humor. This year, they are joined by long-time Folk artist Bill Murlin. A power group, tight and expressive.
The band for this year’s festival-closing Contra Dance is Tri-Cities’ own Def Sturgeon.
The band Def Sturgeon is comprised of a group of Tri-Cities musicians who gather to play Appalachian style old time fiddle tunes. The group has been playing together for almost five years. The name of the band derives from a tongue in cheek mash-up between the rock band “Def Leppard,” and the old time fiddle tune called “Jeff Sturgeon.” Def Sturgeon plays for several contra dances every year.
This year’s raffle guitar was a NEW Cort Grand Regal GA My Bevel that has a cutaway body with beveled armrest, a solid Sitka Spruce top, an arched Myrtlewood back, a Mahogany neck with an Ovangkol fingerboard, and a built-in pickup with a preamp. It comes with a Stag soft zippered case and was valued at $800.
The drawing was held during the Sunday evening concert at the festival and the guitar was won by Chris Pinney, of Walla Walla!
Tumbleweed founder Micki Perry made a special quilt for this year’s quilt raffle that features ALL 30 festival logo T-Shirts!! (It’s 9 Feet Tall!!)
The drawing was held during the Sunday evening concert at the festival, and the quilt was won by Kip McGilliard, of Richland!
*As of 7:00 am September 4, 2026. It was subject to slight changes during the festival.
