Klamath Music Festival Marks 10 Years at New Home
The two-day festival takes over Watershed Row this weekend with national, regional and local talent, including Saturday headliner Mix Master Mike.
IF YOU GO
What: 10th Annual Klamath Music Festival
When: Saturday, July 25, 1 to 9 p.m. Doors open at 12:30 p.m.
Where:
Watershed Row
330 S. 7th Street
Klamath Falls
Headliner: Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys at 7:30 p.m.
Also Performing: Kalan Wolfe & The Shift, Edi Callier, Adam Gabriel & The Cavaliers, Daniel Bocchi & The TwangTones and Runaway Fire
All Ages: Yes.
Get Tickets:
https://klamathmusic.simpletix.com/
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — Ten years after setting out to build connections through music in the Klamath Basin, the Klamath Music Festival is preparing to celebrate its biggest milestone yet with a new home, a new format and a weekend built around much more than what happens on stage.
The 2026 Klamath Music Festival takes over Watershed Row in downtown Klamath Falls on Friday and Saturday, July 24 and 25, bringing together national, regional and local performers for the festival’s 10th anniversary.
For longtime festivalgoers, parts of the weekend will feel familiar. Much of it, however, will be brand new.
The festival has moved from the Ross Ragland Theater complex, into the indoor and outdoor spaces of Watershed Row at 330 S. 7th Street. The move also gives many in the community one of their first opportunities to experience the emerging downtown development as an active gathering place.
“We’re excited to be at our new venue, Watershed Row, and to have Mix Master Mike come in and show Klamath Falls that Klamath Music is about all kinds of diverse music in the basin,” said Nick Depew, executive director of Klamath Music.
“Not every aspect is going to be open, but the ones needed for the festival will be. Attendees will be able to visit Sunbird Kitchen, explore the Living Room and enjoy the plaza, home of the main stage, Depew added.”
The Living Room at Watershed Row offers a flexible indoor gathering space within the downtown Klamath Falls development and will be among the areas festivalgoers can explore during this weekend’s Klamath Music Festival. Photo courtesy Watershed Row
More than a stage
This weekend, Watershed Row will become more than the Klamath Music Festival’s new address. The festival will spread through the property and onto a closed section of Oak Street, creating a mix of music, food, activities and gathering spaces across the downtown block.
Saturday’s Klamath Music Festival at Watershed Row will feature more than live performances, with courtyard buskers, the family-focused Rock & Rhythm Zone, a music history trolley and the Underground Art KF gallery among the activities planned throughout the day. Graphic courtesy Klamath Music
The main stage will anchor the plaza, while festivalgoers will be able to explore other parts of Watershed Row, including Sunbird Kitchen and the Living Room, as they move between performances throughout the day.
Oak Street will add another layer to the festival experience, with additional food and beverage vendors and the family-focused Rock and Rhythm Zones. The kids area will include an instrument petting zoo, where young festivalgoers can pick up, explore and play with musical instruments rather than simply watch from the audience.
The Klamath County Museum will also bring its trolley to the festival with a walk-through exhibit, “History of Music in the Basin,” connecting the weekend’s celebration to generations of music-making in the Klamath Basin.
And because Saturday is designed as a full-day event, organizers are putting an emphasis on comfort as well. Tents, seating and shaded areas will be available throughout the festival grounds, giving people places to step away, cool off and settle in between performances.
For many attendees, the weekend will also provide their first real opportunity to experience Watershed Row.
The half-city-block redevelopment is being built around food, recreation, arts and community gathering, with plans that include a climbing gym, garden and bakery, event spaces and a collection of small businesses. While the entire development will not yet be open, the festival offers a glimpse of what the space was designed to become: a place where people come downtown, spend time together and stay awhile.
A national headliner and a wide-ranging lineup
Saturday’s main event is headlined by Mix Master Mike, best known for his work with the Beastie Boys and regarded as one of the pioneers of modern turntablism.
Mix Master Mike, best known for his work with the Beastie Boys, headlines Saturday’s Klamath Music Festival and is scheduled to close out the evening with a 7:30 p.m. performance. Photo courtesy Klamath Music
A three-time DMC World Champion, Grammy Award winner and longtime international performer, Mix Master Mike has taken his turntables from major concert tours to the Vancouver Winter Olympics, along with collaborations spanning hip-hop, rock, television and entertainment.
He is scheduled to close out Saturday’s festival with a 7:30 p.m. performance.
But the festival is deliberately not built around a single genre or a single name.
Saturday’s lineup also includes Kalan Wolfe & The Shift, “American Idol” contestant Edi Callier, Adam Gabriel & The Cavaliers, Daniel Bocchi & The TwangTones and Runaway Fire, creating a lineup that moves across musical styles while putting emerging and regional performers on the same bill as nationally recognized talent.
That mix has long been part of the festival’s identity.
Klamath Music describes the event as a showcase for local, regional and national artists, with a larger goal of strengthening the musical ecosystem of the Klamath Basin. Proceeds from the festival support the nonprofit’s work throughout the year, including concerts, music education, artist development and other community programs.
Kalan Wolfe & The Shift are among the regional and local acts scheduled to perform during Saturday’s Klamath Music Festival at Watershed Row in downtown Klamath Falls. Photo courtesy Klamath Music
full festival experience
The anniversary celebration begins Friday evening with a smaller VIP Preview Night from 5 to 8 p.m. That portion of the festival is already sold out.
Friday was offered as an early-purchase perk and will feature more intimate performances from Rudolf Korv, City Blooms and Ayden Carroll, along with guided tours of Watershed Row, food and beverage service from Watershed Row vendors and a celebration of Klamath Music’s first decade. No walk-up tickets will be available Friday.
Saturday is when the doors open wide.
The main festival runs from 1 to 9 p.m., with doors opening at 12:30 p.m. The full outdoor festival footprint, food vendors, family activities and other amenities will be operating throughout the day, making Saturday the largest and most complete version of the weekend’s experience.
The festival is all-ages, with alcohol service limited to adults 21 and older.
Families will be able to move between Watershed Row, the plaza and the closed portion of Oak Street, stopping for music, food, activities or simply a place to sit in the shade between performances.
And for people who have driven past Watershed Row for months wondering what exactly is taking shape inside, Saturday offers something else: a chance to finally step through the doors and see part of that vision coming together.
Ten years, and another step forward
This year’s festival is itself the latest step in a decade of evolution.
Singer-songwriter Gary Jules performs during the 2025 Klamath Music Festival. This year’s event marks the festival’s 10th anniversary and its first year at Watershed Row in downtown Klamath Falls. Photo by Aurora Simpson / Photo Art by Aurora
Known in earlier years as the Klamath Folk Festival, the event has gradually expanded beyond its original identity. Organizers moved the festival to July and introduced a two-day format this year in response to community feedback, while the move to Watershed Row creates room for a more immersive festival experience.
At the center of it all, though, remains the same idea Klamath Music has carried for a decade: that music can create connections.
This weekend, that idea will play out across a downtown city block.
“We’re looking forward to giving the community an opportunity to get together, to reconnect and meet new friends through music, arts and culture,” Depew said.
“Klamath Music is creating an opportunity for people to say, ‘You know, we’ve got more in common. So let’s get together, reconnect and have a good time.’”
Saturday-only tickets are currently $25 for general admission and $5 for children 12 and younger. General admission increases to $30 after 5 p.m. Thursday, July 23. According to Depew, a limited number of tickets may be available at the gate if the event does not sell out in advance.
For festival information, tickets, the full schedule and amenities, visit klamathmusic.com.
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Cover image: Watershed Row in downtown Klamath Falls will serve as the new home of the Klamath Music Festival, with performances, food, activities and gathering spaces spread throughout the property and surrounding festival grounds. Photo courtesy Watershed Row
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