FORM Arcosanti is set to return to the desert compound in Arcosanti, Arizona, from Friday through Sunday, with Lorde, Geese, Turnstile, Adrianne Lenker, Blood Orange and Kamasi Washington all booked to perform. The festival, known for using the site's futuristic concrete architecture as its stage backdrop, has limited attendance to roughly 2,500 tickets this year, according to multiple accounts of the event.
The lineup announcement, as reported by Pitchfork, also lists Disclosure, Avalon Emerson, Underscores, Tinashe, ML Buch, Nourished by Time, YHWH Nailgun, James K, Annahstasia, Dylan Brady, Keiyaa, Julianna Barwick, Mary Lattimore and Fcukers on the bill. Christopher Willits and Tycho are scheduled to play extended ambient sets at what the festival calls its Envelop Stage. Disclosure and Tinashe are each playing DJ sets at the event, according to Phoenix New Times.
No Overlapping Sets, No Backstage Separation
Organizers describe the format as deliberately stripped down: one act plays at a time, with no competing stages pulling fans in different directions. FORM's own event page promises “breathtakingly intimate performances with no overlapping sets,” per its listing on experienceform.com. Billboard reports that the festival has no VIP area or backstage artist tents, with performers intermingling with fans throughout the weekend.
That hands-off approach traces back to founder Zach Tetreault, the drummer for Hundred Waters, who launched FORM in 2014. The festival's first edition reportedly drew about 350 people to see eight bands play for free, before FORM grew into a ticketed event that later featured major acts including Thundercat, Four Tet and Skrillex. Solange debuted material from A Seat at the Table at the festival in 2017, according to Phoenix New Times.
A Pandemic Pause and a Costly Comeback
FORM went dark from 2020 through 2023 before returning to Arcosanti in October 2024, and the festival reportedly sat out 2025 as well, per Phoenix New Times. The 2024 comeback edition, which ra.co describes as the festival's most recent prior outing following its pandemic hiatus, sold out in under 24 hours after being announced that March, according to the outlet's earlier reporting.
Tetreault has said the festival has been losing money year after year and is raising ticket prices to better reflect its actual costs, according to Phoenix New Times. The outlet also reports that artists are paid a fraction of their normal rate to perform. Attendance figures have varied across years of coverage: a 2018 Billboard report put annual turnout at around 2,000 people, while Billboard's 2026 coverage cites roughly 2,500 attendees for this year's event, with the festival already largely sold out.
Camping Moves Closer, Pool Stays Open
This year's edition includes several logistical changes. Camping, once situated down the mountain, has moved closer to the festival grounds, to the top of the mountain; organizers say the shift makes the walk to the music easier. Standard camping is included in the ticket price, and car camping is now part of that package as well, according to experienceform.com. Glamping has relocated to the Minds Garden, while RV and glamping passes have reportedly sold out, per Phoenix New Times.
Arcosanti's cliffside swimming pool will stay open during the day throughout the weekend, the festival's site notes. Because the site lacks access to potable water, organizers are required to truck in all water and power themselves, according to Phoenix New Times. Food options this year reportedly include food trucks, meals from Arcosanti's dining area, and pop-ups from Otra Pizzeria and Sweetgreen.
Wellness Programming and a New Spotify Stage
Beyond the music, FORM is leaning into its wellness angle with soundbaths, yoga classes and trail runs, alongside artist-led workshops, meditation sessions, guided hikes and architecture tours, according to ra.co. For the first time, the festival is partnering with Spotify on a Fresh Finds stage, Billboard reports.
Tetreault told Phoenix New Times the festival is “gonna blow people's fucking minds” this year. FORM's website notes that Tier 2 tickets are selling quickly and that prices will rise once that tier sells out, a dynamic consistent with the festival's broader push to recoup costs it has struggled to cover in recent years.
