Another promising festival is closing its doors in 2026.
If you thought that there were more country festivals now more than ever, you would be correct. With new festivals seemingly popping up each and every week, you’d be hard-pressed not to find one near you at some point throughout the year.
Of course, you have your mainstay events every year, such as Stagecoach, Two Step Inn and the nationwide Country Thunder series, all of which are returning in 2026 along with some killer lineups. With that being said, there have been quite a few quality events that are not returning this year, including the likes of both Hangout Festival and Morgan Wallen’s Sand in My Boots Fest taking a pause on the beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama as well as Country Jam Colorado (the state’s longest-running country music festival) and Ohio’s Bash on the Bay.
This week, however, one of the newest and most promising country music festivals in the nation, Oregon’s FairWell Festival, announced that it will not be returning in 2026 and may potentially disband completely.
When you take a look at their website, upon entering, you are immediately met with text that reads the following:
“Festival Update: FairWell Festival will not be returning in 2026. We’re incredibly grateful for the memories, the community, and everyone who made these past three years at Deschutes County Fairgrounds so special!”
Though there’s still potential for a return in 2027 or even a later date, it becomes a bit more concerning given the fact that FairWell either deactivated or deleted all of their social media pages, including Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). For comparison, Sand in My Boots, Hangout Fest and Bash on the Bay, all of which are not returning in 2026, still have all their social media accounts up.
In case you’re not familiar with FairWell Festival, as previously mentioned, they were undoubtedly one of the most promising new country events. Hosted at Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond, Oregon, it appeared as if the festival had been quite successful. In just three years of operation, they booked the likes of Willie Nelson, Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Turnpike Troubadours, Kacey Musgraves and Billy Strings as headliners. Additionally, they featured killer artists such as Sierra Ferrell, Koe Wetzel, Treaty Oak Revival, Colter Wall, Whiskey Myers, Ryan Bingham, Charley Crockett and a plethora of other artists. Simply put, FairWell consistently booked the best and brightest stars in the genre consistently right from the get-go.
As of now, FairWell has not given a direct reason as to why they are cancelling the festival in 2026 (and potentially disbanding completely). As Central Oregon Daily reports, it has been plagued by traffic issues exiting the event. In fact, their first year saw traffic jams lasting multiple hours after each night concluded. Though it seemed as if it was fixed in 2024, COD reported that 2025 saw similar traffic issues as well.
This is a developing story and we will provide further updates if and when FairWell Festival gives an update regarding their future.
