Late last month, Gasparilla Music Festival unveiled the lineup of headliners for its 2026 return—and promised that more than 50 more acts would be announced soon.
The nonprofit founded in 2011 mostly made good on that promise last week when it added more than three dozen artists to the weekend concert set for April in downtown Tampa.
Joining Mt. Joy, Two Friends, and Gov’t Mule are other national acts like rowdy Americana songwriter Shakey Graves, EDM crossover star Jai Wolf, and alt-country royalty Drive-By Truckers.
Gasparilla Music Festival 2026
Time Fri., April 10, 3-11 p.m., Sat., April 11, 3-11 p.m. and Sun., April 12, 3-11 p.m.
Location Meridian Fields, 101 S Meridian Ave., Tampa
East Nash Grass, a Tennessee quintet that won the 2024 International Bluegrass Music Association Award for New Artist of the Year, brings its joyful, style-jumping album All God’s Children to the show, too.
“Glee Project” alum-turned pop-rapper Bryce Vine is on the bill along with a hip-hop heavyweight—Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA—who brings his Phunky Nomads band to Gasparilla Music Festival (GMF), too. The Nomads are led by drummer Ramsey Jones, who is the eldest brother of the late Wu-Tang icon Ol’ Dirty Bastards.
Kaitlin Butts (“You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me)”), a rising country songwriter and vocalist, is also among the touring acts added to GMF 2026.
As it’s been since the beginning, GMF is anchored by a lineup of the best, and often emergent, homegrown artists.
MiniM—perhaps the most popular Bay area band in the jam scene—is on the bill, along with local indie-rock stars Rohna. Little Giver, an exciting new emo-folk band out of St. Petersburg, makes its GMF debut, too.
Other Bay area highlights include the GMF debut of Tampa’s most-respected emcee Tom G (who’ll presumably link up at some point with his “Cuban Links” collaborator Sam E Hues, who is also on the bill), Daptone-and-Linear Labs-flavored instrumental outfit Soft Cuff, punk quartet Pet Lizard, and elder statesmen of the Americana scene Urbane Cowboys.
Artists from across the Sunshine State are well-represented, too, thanks to young bluesman Josh Gluck, Gainesville art-pop favorite Prizilla, and South Florida indie-pop band Cannibal Kids.
See the full Gasparilla Music Festival 2026 lineup so far below.
- Bryce Vine
- Cannibal Kids
- Casey Bishop
- Cat Ridgeway & The Tourists
- David Ward
- Down From Jersey
- Drive-By Truckers
- East Nash Grass
- Future Joy
- Gov’t Mule
- Greg Roy & The Pressure Band
- GZA & The Phunky Nomads
- J. INX
- Jai Wolf
- Javier Solaris
- Josh Gluck
- Judvanne Jackson
- Kaitlin Butts
- Kayla Blackman
- Kelsey Hickman
- Light The Wire
- Little Giver
- Marvin Alyse Band
- Melody Bridge
- Mercy McCoy
- Minim
- Mr. Marley
- Mt. Joy
- Peli Gene
- Pet Lizard
- Prizilla
- Rohna
- Sam E Hues
- Shakey Graves
- Soft Cuff
- Tasty Boiz
- Tom. G
- Two Friends
- Urbane Cowboys
TAMPA BAY CONCERTS
As first reported by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, GMF announced a return from a one-year hiatus late last year, along with news that the festival had found a new home in downtown Tampa: Meridian Fields, between Channelside and Water Street Tampa near the silos from the demolished Ardent flour mills.
In comments to CL, GMF Executive Director David Cox said that the festival was forced to make the hard decision on a 2025 hiatus after the back-to-back speedbumps of a partial weather cancellation in 2023 and more wet weather in 2024. “It’s a lot for us to just keep kind of pushing down the same path. We needed to pause, regroup, and look at what the next 10 years could look like,” he added.
But the festival is poised to re-invent itself—and serve its ultimate mission of promoting local artists and also refurbishings musical instruments to place them in schools across Hillsborough County—this spring.
Tickets for Gasparilla Music Festival 2026 happening Friday-Sunday, April 10-12 start at $55 for single-day admission. Three-day GA passes start at $100. VIP tickets start at $135 for a single-day and $245 for a three-day pass.
Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.
Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | BlueSky
This article appears in Feb. 19 – 25, 2026.