Mountain Jam Will Not Return in 2026

Mountain Jam 2025, photo by Bahram Foroughi

Mountain Jam will skip 2026 and plans to return in 2027. After returning from a six-year hiatus in June with three days of music from some of the jam scene’s biggest names, founder and organizer Gary Chetkof detailed in a post to the festival’s social channels that it will take another year off, with the intention to continue in the near future.

“Mountain Jam 2025 was truly special — thank you to everyone who came out and made it unforgettable,” Chetkof wrote. “After much thought, Mountain Jam will take 2026 off and we hope to return in 2027!”

Mountain Jam launched in 2005 as a single-day celebration of Radio Woodstock’s 25th Anniversary at Hunter, N.Y.’s Hunter Mountain. Through the decade and change that followed, the festival grew to become a fan-favorite in the region and a multi-night camping event. In 2019, the festival held its last staging before the pandemic at Bethel, N.Y.’s Bethel Woods.

Mountain Jam’s triumphant return in 2025 moved to Highmount, N.Y.’s Belleayre Mountain, where it marked 20 years since its debut with a stacked lineup of 16 acts led by headliners Khruangbin, Mt. Joy and Goose. Among the event’s many highlights were crossovers between Dogs In A Pile and Molly Tuttle and Goose and Mikaela Davis, demonstrating the community focus and adventurous spirit of the jam world. Get an inside look at the event here.