2026 Black Swamp Arts Festival Music Line Up

The Motet, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, Silverada, and Magoo Headline the 33rd Black Swamp Arts Festival Main Stage Music Line Up

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — The Black Swamp Arts Festival returns to downtown Bowling Green Ohio September 11-13, 2026, for a weekend celebrating art, community, and live music. The 33rd annual festival brings together emergent local, regional, national, and international performers across multiple genres and is one of Ohio’s signature annual arts events. The 2026 Main Stage lineup reflects the festival’s spirit of embracing original music with a roster that moves from country and bluegrass to funk, soul, indie rock, blues, Afro-funk fusion, and gypsy swing—giving audiences multiple entry points into original music while spotlighting both established acts and rising artists. All performances are free and open to the public.

Friday, September 11

Black Swamp Arts Festival’s Main Stage opens on Friday with Austin & the Syd Experience at 5 p.m., bringing Columbus-bred funk rock with psychedelic soul and high-energy groove. At 6:30 p.m., Debutants adds an adventurous “Indiana Newgrass” sound that blends bluegrass, indie folk, and Americana. Magoo takes the stage at 8 p.m. with progressive bluegrass shaped by tight harmonies, inventive arrangements, and improvisation from a rising Denver-based quartet. The night closes at 10 p.m. with Silverada, the acclaimed Texas country band known for workingman’s roots, road-tested musicianship, and a modern take on honky-tonk tradition.

Saturday, September 12

Saturday starts with Bowling Green’s Sankofa Sounds at noon and its Afro-funk fusion rooted in music of the African continent and diaspora. The Go Rounds from Kalamazoo, MI follow at 1:30 p.m. with boundary-pushing indie rock, psych-pop, and Americana influences, and Leadfoot Granny brings fresh Northwest Ohio rock-and-roll at 3 p.m. At 4:30 p.m., Brother Wallace offers a joyful, high-powered set shaped by gospel, soul, and Motown traditions. Paul McDonald and the Mourning Doves return to the festival stage at 6:15 p.m. with his distinctive, raspy vocals and epic stage presence, followed by the return of Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears to the festival stage at 8 p.m., delivering blues grit and swagger. Saturday night culminates with The Motet at 10 p.m., a nationally recognized band who has headlined the Red Rocks Amphitheater seven times with a blend of funk, soul, jazz, and jam band rock.