FestivalGrassRootsFinger Lakes GrassRoots Festival
GrassRoots Announces Its 34th Year: Rhiannon Giddens, Taj Mahal, Del McCoury Band
Four days and four stages return to the Trumansburg Fairgrounds July 16-19, with more than 80 artists and all-fees-included ticket pricing held flat from last year.
May 23, 2026
TRUMANSBURG, N.Y. — The Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance has released the lineup for its 34th edition, running Thursday, July 16 through Sunday, July 19 at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds. Rhiannon Giddens, Taj Mahal and the Del McCoury Band headline.
The festival spreads across four days and four stages, with more than 80 additional artists filling out the schedule.
Ticket prices are held flat from last year, and 2026 moves to all-fees-included pricing: the 11 percent health and safety fee and the 6 percent processing fee are now built into the listed price rather than added at checkout.
Who is on the bill
Alongside the three headliners, the announced lineup includes C4 Trio, the Latin Grammy-winning Venezuelan cuatro players, and returning Ukrainian folk quartet DakhaBrakha. Roots reggae group John Brown’s Body is also billed.
Donna the Buffalo hosts, as it has since the beginning.
A festival that started with a benefit at the State Theatre
GrassRoots traces to a 1990 AIDS benefit at Ithaca’s State Theatre, where Donna the Buffalo, The Horse Flies and Neon Baptist played a sold-out show that raised more than $10,000 for AIDS Work of Tompkins County. Jeb Puryear started the festival the following year, in 1991, with Donna the Buffalo, his family and the people around them.
The relationship ran both ways. In the mid-1990s, seed money from GrassRoots helped pay to remove the wall that had divided the State Theatre’s balcony since 1976 and return the building to theatrical programming.
Roughly 1,000 volunteers work the festival each year.
Tickets
All prices below include both fees.
| Pass | Advance | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Four-day adult, 16 and over | $204.75 | $228.15 |
| Four-day youth, 13 to 15 | $102.96 | $115.83 |
| Thursday | $72.54 | $84.24 |
| Friday | $78.39 | $90.09 |
| Saturday | $86.58 | $98.28 |
| Sunday | $57.33 | $69.03 |
| Children 12 and under | Free with a parent or guardian | |
Earlier four-day tiers ran $157.95 for the fall special, $169.65 at the holiday price and $187.20 for early bird. CashorTrade is the festival’s official face-value resale exchange.
Camping
Onsite gates open at noon on Thursday, July 16. There is no early arrival onsite. Festival admission is not included with a camping ticket, and all campsites went on sale February 14.
| Site | Regular | Front row |
|---|---|---|
| Small vehicle, about 22 by 26 feet | $380 | $565 |
| Large vehicle, most 28 by 45 feet | $760 | $970 |
| Tent, 15 by 15 feet | $275 | n/a |
| Premium tent | $325 | n/a |
Open flames are prohibited, and generators are not permitted onsite. Early camping at the Across The Way campgrounds opens at 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 15 for an additional $40.
There is no parking at the fairgrounds unless you are vehicle camping. The official lot is at Across The Way, 8669 Falls Road, at $10 a day or $30 for the weekend.
The ninth annual GrassRoots Culture Camp runs July 12 to 15, ahead of the festival.
Tickets and camping are available through the festival.
The 34th Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance, July 16-19, 2026, Trumansburg Fairgrounds, 2150 Trumansburg Road, Trumansburg, New York 14886. Hosted by Donna the Buffalo.
Sources: GrassRoots Festival, GrassRoots tickets, GrassRoots camping, GrassRoots history, NYS Music, State Theatre of Ithaca.
