High Sierra Music Festival Shares Initial Lineup: The Word, Don Was & The Pan-Detroit Ensemble, Cymande and More
High Sierra Music Festival has announced the initial artist lineup for its 34th annual presentation. From July 2-5, the beloved Northern California institution will migrate to its new venue of the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley, Calif. with a carefully curated roster of pioneers in jam, funk, bluegrass, Americana, alternative and global music. The festival’s first dispatch confirms 33 acts, led by the sacred steel supergroup The Word, storied bassist Don Was and his Pan-Detroit Ensemble and groundbreaking psych-funk legends Cymande.
Beyond the top billings, High Sierra’s 2026 lineup reflects its deeply held commitment to tradition, innovation and community with many returning favorites and special collaborations. ALO’s Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz, last year’s artist-at-large, will lead a Lebo & Friends supergroup with other familiar faces like George Porter, Jr., Jay Lane, Jennifer Hartswick and Holly Bowling; elsewhere, The Breaks will pool the funk prowess of Galactic, The New Mastersounds and The Greyboy Allstars by uniting Stanton Moore, Eddie Roberts and Robert Walter.
Other standouts booked for High Sierra include Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Dumpstaphunk, Eggy, Mountain Grass Unit, The Rumble, Big Something, Judith Hill, Steve Poltz, BALTHVS, lespecial and many more. Tickets are available now at highsierramusic.com.
