2026 Festival Road Trip Guide
Get ready to trade your headphones for the front row and your playlist for a powerful, live-loud encounter under the summer sun! Let us help you with a guide to a multitude of summer festivals that are taking place all around the country. This guide will help answer any questions as to who is playing where, how much it costs and any other potential questions.
RETURN FESTIVAL - MARYLAND
Dates:
June 5-6, 2026
Location:
Liberty Christian Fellowship, 14200 McMullen Hwy SW, Cresaptown, MD 21502
Cost:
FREE (Registration required)
Camping:
$30 - on-site tent camping (no hook-ups)
$100-$300 - off-site camping (full hook-ups). Located 1.5 miles away from Return Festival at the Allegany County Fairgrounds: 11490 Moss Ave., Cumberland, MD 21502
Website:
www.lcfmissionplace.com/returnfestival
If you’re close to Maryland, you still have a few days to register for the Return Festival, a brand new festival hosted by Liberty Christian Fellowship. This free, two day event will have music, food trucks, camping, family activities, and more! The lineup is pretty stacked. They are also hosting a food drive to donate to a local organization, CityReach Church.
Lineup Highlights:
Seventh Day Slumber, Matt Baird, Magdalene Rose, Mawcore, Matt Sassano, Sinners to Saints, Mr Weaverface, and more!
KINGDOM COME FESTIVAL - INDIANA
Dates:
June 18-20, 2026
Location:
Howard County Vietnam Veteran’s Campground, 8313 County Rd E 400 S, Greentown, IN 46936
Cost:
FREE (includes camping on fairgrounds)
Website:
This event features three days of incredible bands. The festival has its complete schedule listed on their website featuring multiple stages (main stage, subculture stage and an acoustic stage). They’ve got a page filled with FAQs, ranging from outside food, inclement weather policy, canopies and camping. As you attend this festival, please be respectful to the grounds, volunteers, each other and the surrounding communities. This sounds like a worthwhile trip, especially for the free price tag.
Lineup Highlights:
June 18th: Behold The Beloved, Spoken, Jason Dunn, and more.
June 19th: The Letter Black (headliner), I Am The Pendragon, Chaotic Resemblance, Honor & Glory, Sean Rodriguez, From Ravens to Doves, and more.
June 20th: Disciple (headliner), Vitruvia, Grave Robber, Dreaded Dale, Drive Thru Society, Relent, Nate Parrish, XIII Minutes, The Protest, Tricord and more.
AUDIOFEED - ILLINOIS
Dates:
July 2-5, 2026
Location:
Champaign County Fair Association, 1302 N Coler Ave, Urbana, IL 61801
Cost:
$100 for the whole event (including camping)
$80 additional for a RV site
$50 - single day event
FREE - kids 11 and under
Website:
For those who remember the iconic Cornerstone Festival, Audiofeed has been carrying on its legacy since 2013, one year after Cornerstone was last held. This year’s festival has an incredible lineup. Small Step Records will be sponsoring the Bloodline Stage on July 2nd, featuring a night packed with punk, emo, and ska bands. We highly recommend checking out The Caballerials! July 2nd will also feature the return of Run Kid Run who will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their hit album “This is Who We Are.”
The lineup is incredible and this is always a great chance to see some of the best up and coming bands ranging from metal to folk to hip hop to rock. When you’re thinking of where to go to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, take some time to consider Audiofeed!
Lineup Highlights:
Bleach, Bloodlined Calligraphy (reunion), Clear Convictions, Cold Streets, Deathbreaker, Dreaded Dale, Pipe Bomb, Plead the Widow’s Cause, Run Kid Run (reunion), Rusty Shipp, Sam’s The Hero, The Caballerials, The Forerunner and xDoulosx just to name a few.
LIFEST - WISCONSIN
Dates:
July 9-11, 2026
Location:
Sunnyview Expo Center, 500 E County Rd Y, Oshkosh, WI 54901
Cost:
$94 - Adult (16+) Full Event
$51 - Youth (8-15) Full Event
FREE - Kids 7 and under (still required to have a ticket)
$53 - Adult (16+) One Day
$29 - Youth (8-15) One Day
Camping:
$118 - Single Tent Site
$633 - Electric Camping
Website:
Lifest is a complete festival that features a wide variety of Christian genres from CCM to rap to rock. The festival also features multiple stages, from the Main Stage to the Faith Technologies Inc Edge Stage to the Cafe Stage to the KidZone. The website also highlights a variety of questions that will be similar to the other festivals like camping, parking, inclement weather, food and what you can bring onto the grounds. This festival features some of the biggest names in Christian music but also some up and comers like Grace Graber, Drive Thru Society and many others.
Lineup Highlights:
July 9th: Disciple, Grace Graber, Drive Thru Society, Rusty Shipp, Ignescent, the Band JAREN, and more.
July 10th: KB, Honor & Glory, Mawcore, and more.
July 11th: Skillet, KB, These Beautiful Ruins, Brotality, and more.
Check out the full lineup on their website!
ALIVE - OHIO
Dates:
July 16-18
Location:
Atwood Lake Park Mineral City, Ohio, 9500 Lakeview Rd, Mineral City, OH 44656
Cost:
$184 - Adult (11+) Full Event
$83 - Junior (5-10) Full Event
$76 - Adult (11+) One Day
$38 - Junior (5-10) One Day
Camping:
$570 - Standard RV site
$673 - Deluxe RV site
$441 - Standard Tent/Pop-Up Site
$122 - Tent Site
Website:
The bands for this year’s festival include the return of Nine Lashes, Zauntee, Miles Minnick and Skillet on July 16th, Bleach and Strings & Heart on July 17th and Grace Graber and Disciple on July 18th. You can find the full lineup at alive.org.
Alive is being hosted at the Altwood Lake Park and offers a wide variety of activities beyond the music. For those families who have smaller children, there is Camp Alive that is offered along with your ticket. This is designed for children who just completed Pre-K through 5th grade. There are also a multitude of activities available throughout the day beyond the music. There might be some sticker shock with the ticket and camping prices, but when you think of everything that is offered it seems to be a fair price.
Lineup Highlights:
July 16th: Nine Lashes, Zauntee, Miles Minnick, Skillet and more.
July 17th: Bleach, Hulvey, Strings and Heart and more.
July 18th: Disciple, Grace Graber, and more.
Check out the full lineup on their website!
CHAINS UNCHAINED - MISSORI
Dates:
July 17-18, 2026
Location:
Real Life Church, 3104 W Division Springfield, MO
Cost:
$50 - Full Event
$30 - Single Day
$90 - VIP (Full Event Ticket, 3 meals and festival shirt)
Website:
This 2-day immersive musical experience comes to the heart of America. This festival is hosted by Chains Unchained Ministry which aims to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to their local community. Chains Unchained will feature Bryan Kemper (Rock for Life), Jarrod Butler (Suffer Not The Witch) and Wayne Nale (Chains Unchained) as featured speakers over the 2-day event. This festival is on location at Real Life Church. There is only one stage, but there’s more than enough fun to be had!
Lineup Highlights:
War of Ages, Chaotic Resemblance, Relent, Living Scars, Fear Not, XIII Minutes, Drive Thru Society, Dreaded Dale, Reborn, I Am The Pendragon and so many others.
JCHC FEST - CALIFORNIA
Date:
July 18, 2026
Location:
Ventura Missionary Church, 500 High Point Drive, Ventura, CA 93003
Cost:
$46.95 (fees included)
$26.75 - Bring A Friend
$67.15 - VIP Ticket (tacos and a backstage pass)
$46.95 - Bring A Friend VIP Ticket (tacos and a backstage pass)
Website:
This one day event taking place at Ventura Missionary Church on July 18th in Southern California. JCHC stands for Jesus Culture Hunger Conference. From the website, JCHC Fest is a one-day, ministry-first hard core festival built around unapologetically Christ-centered bands. You can go on their website to find the schedule including the all-important taco break. This one-day gospel-centered mosh pit looks like one you can’t miss.
Lineup Highlights:
Cultist, Officer Negative, Symphony in Peril, xDoulousx, Take, Deathbreaker, Light the Way, Barriers, Nomads and others.
IMMERSION FESTIVAL - OHIO
Date:
September 4-5, 2026
Location:
Pickaway County Fairgrounds, 415 Lancaster Pike, Circleville, OH 43113
Cost:
FREE
Website:
www.facebook.com/Immersionmusicfest
This festival seemed to pop up within the past couple of weeks with spontaneous artist announcements. This two-day event features four stages with 60 bands. It will also include vendors, food trucks, merch and other activities to keep the whole family entertained throughout this Labor Day weekend event. There will be more information posted as we get closer to the event. This is something to consider for that last vacation for the summer!
Lineup Highlights:
Divine Martyr, These Beautiful Ruins, Brotality, Diatheke, Irae, Aaron Justice, Ben Dixon, Drown The Planet, HomePlate, cntxt, Unworthy, Dreaded Dale, Drive Thru Society, Small Voice and many more.
UPRISE FESTIVAL - PENNSYLVANIA
Dates:
September 11-12, 2026
Location:
Shippensburg Fairgrounds, 10131 Possum Hollow Rd, Shippensburg, PA 17257
Cost:
$129.76 - Full Event
$93.72 - Single Day Ticket
Camping:
$81.94 - Tent Site
$92.65 - Small Camp Site (pop-ups and campers under 20’)
$103.36 - Medium Camp Site (campers 20’-30’ in length)
Site:
We’ve attended this festival the past two years. It has so much to offer, including a kids section, food court featuring local food vendors, three stages, and so many big name bands! Originally called Vertical Fest and Butterfly Fest, the Uprise name has stuck and this year’s festival is coming off its 20th anniversary last year with a lineup that is absolute dynamite. Something to consider as you’re planning a potential trip to Shippensburg is that if you want to grab something to eat or drink at the food court, you will need tokens, which are available for purchase before and during the festival.
Lineup Highlights:
Skillet, KB, Petra, Pillar, Disciple, Wolves At The Gate, Spoken, Convictions, Bloodlines, Chaotic Resemblance, The Protest, Heal The Hurt, Saved by Skarlet, Grace Graber, War Of Ages, To Speak Of Wolves, and so much more!
UNDEAD REVIVAL - OHIO
Date:
October 17, 2026
Location:
Ottawa County Fairgrounds, 7870 OH-163, Oak Harbor, OH 43449
Cost:
$40 - Advanced
$50 - Day of
FREE - Kids 10 and under
Website:
There are three words that define Undead Revival and they are Surrender, Worship and Revival. For the third year, Undead Ministries is blasting out hope to the northern Ohio region. Along with two stages with stacked lineups, you can visit the Heartsupport wall and Christcore prayer table. This one-day event goes from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. If you want to wrap your festival season on a high note, prepare a trip out to Ohio for this one-day maximum volume event.
Lineup Highlights:
Heal the Hurt, Diamonds to Dust, Plead The Widow’s Cause, Cleansing of the Temple, Voluntary Mortification, Pipe Bomb, The Tarnished, Collective Dust, Tricord and more!
This year’s coast-to-coast summer festival lineup has something for everyone! You can catch festival favorites like Skillet and Disciple, alongside highly anticipated return sets from Pillar, Petra, Symphony in Peril, Run Kid Run, and Bleach. Plus, get ready to welcome fresh new talent to the stage with festival debuts from Grace Graber, The Callabrials, and so many more. Music festivals are iconic and memorable, always the highlight of the summer. We hope you can make it out to one!
