MINNEAPOLIS — After building its friendly and familial reputation on bluegrassy string bands in its first decade, Eau Claire, Wisconsin’s Blue Ox Music Festival will test its luck on a wider variety of sounds for its 12th incarnation.

The 2026 Blue Ox lineup announced Wednesday features Texas’ traditional country music revivalist Charley Crockett, Southern rocker Marcus King, psychedelic groovers Kurt Vile & the Violators, harmonious all-star folk trio I’m With Her and jazzy Americana singer Valerie June alongside homegrown hosts Pert Near Sandstone and dozens more.

Hosted in a woodsy campground overlooking the Chippewa River in western Wisconsin — about 90 minutes east of the Twin Cities — Blue Ox will once again take place over three days early in the summer, June 25-27. The famously laid-back festival boasts a limited capacity of around 5,000 people, which is both a cause and effect of it consistently selling out most years.

Crockett is a big get for Blue Ox organizers. Last seen in our area playing to a sold-out crowd at Surly Brewing Festival Field in August, the Ernest Tubb-like countryman is offering something of a makeup appearance at the festival, because his set there in 2023 was cut very short by bad weather.

Vile and June are both staples on the Current, and I’m With Her — featuring Nickel Creek’s Sara Watkins with reputable solo singer/songwriters Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan — has a strong following in the Twin Cities thanks to members’ past affiliation with “A Prairie Home Companion.” South Carolina powerhouse King has made strong impressions opening for Chris Stapleton and the Tedeschi Trucks Band in recent years.

Some buzzy younger acts on the Blue Ox 2026 lineup include Nashville’s twangy jammers Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, who dazzled a First Avenue crowd last month, and all-female Australian group the Folk Bitch Trio. Some acts more in the string-band mold of past Blue Ox fests include Canadian pickers the Dead South and Tennessee mandolinist Sierra Hull, plus the ever-affable Pert Near Sandstone crew.

The latter is among a list of regional Upper Midwest acts that includes Them Coulee Boys, Wild Horses, the Lowest Pair, Maygen & the Birdwatcher, Molly Brandt and the Roe Family Singers.

Three-day passes for Blue Ox 2026 are on sale now starting at $269 via blueoxmusicfestival.com, where camping passes start at $55. The daily lineups and single-day tickets are not yet available.

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