Three stages, 17 acts, and three days of fiddle, banjo, and mandolin are set to fill Cottonwood Flats Recreation Area in Guthrie this weekend as the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival returns for its 29th year. The festival runs October 8 through October 10, with daily programming running from noon to 10 p.m.
A Guthrie Tradition Rooted in 1996
The festival was founded in 1996 by three-time national fiddle champion Byron Berline and former Oklahoma State Representative Joe Hutchinson, who built it as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting bluegrass music and education, according to the Oklahoma Gazette. The idea itself dates back even further, first conceived by Berline and Hutchinson in 1984 during Berline's visits home to Guthrie from Los Angeles, per the same account. As KOKH reported, Joel Parks joined the station's Living Oklahoma segment to discuss the festival ahead of its 29th installment, with more information available at oibf.com.
Following Berline's death at age 77 in July 2021, leadership of the festival passed to his daughter Becca Berline, his nephew Barry “Bones” Patton, and the OIBF board, who have sustained the event in the years since, the Oklahoma Gazette's account notes. Berline himself had recorded with acts including The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Elton John, and The Eagles during his career.
This Year's Lineup Spans Nashville to Tulsa
The 2026 bill features Canadian Grand Ole Opry veterans The Slocan Ramblers, Telluride award winners The Fretliners, and Tulsa musician Johnny Mullenax as headliners across the weekend. The Fretliners won competitions at both Telluride and RockyGrass before recording a new album produced by T Bone Burnett, the Gazette adds. Festivalgoers can also catch Grammy-nominated mandolinist John Moore, banjo virtuoso Jens Kruger, bassist Todd Phillips, and guitarist Rick Faris performing across the Byron Berline Main Stage, the Cottonwood Creek Stage, and the Youth Tent.
Kruger, of the Kruger Brothers, is acclaimed internationally for weaving classical elements into bluegrass banjo playing, per the Gazette's report. The festival is held at Cottonwood Flats in Guthrie, with camping and campground jams alongside its formal stage sets.
International Roots and a Charitable Mission
OIBF has long paired Oklahoma's homegrown bluegrass scene with international performers, drawing artists from the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belgium, and Japan alongside American legends like Earl Scruggs and Ricky Skaggs over the years, according to 99.7 The Wolf. Czech performers have also appeared at past Guthrie festivals, the station reports.
Beyond the music, the festival channels proceeds from merchandise, designated food vendors, and instrument auctions into youth music scholarships, according to the Honk Journal. Youth programming also includes instrument and band competitions for musicians age 18 and younger.
Workshops, Jams, and Weekend Pricing
Festival programming includes workshops in guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, songwriting, and harmonica, alongside Jim Paul Blair's Random Band Jam, which pairs amateur musicians with main stage artists. The Gazette notes the random jam lets festival attendees perform directly on the main stage alongside top headliners.
Admission for the 2026 festival is set at $140 for a three-day weekend pass, with single-day tickets priced at $50 for Thursday, $60 for Friday, and $65 for Saturday. Children 12 and under get free gate entry when accompanied by a paying adult, and single-day passes, multi-day passes, and RV camping reservations are all available directly through the festival's website.
