DEVO co-founder Jerry Casale is heading back to Cleveland this weekend for the rescheduled DEVOtional 2026, a two-day celebration of the Akron-born new wave pioneers that kicks off Friday at the Beachland Tavern and wraps up Saturday at the Beachland Ballroom. The gathering, originally planned for September, finally lands with Casale and former DEVO member David Kendrick both on the bill, according to the seed facts behind this report.
The event was rescheduled from its original September date, as reported by coolcleveland.com. This year's lineup of special guests includes Casale, DEVO's original bassist, alongside Kendrick, who toured with the band from 1987 through 1991 and has also performed with Sparks and Gleaming Spires. Kendrick is set to lead his own band, Quintophrenia, during the festivities.
Friday's kickoff at the Beachland Tavern begins at 7 p.m. on Nov. 6, with activities running on a pay-what-you-can donation basis at the door. Organizers chose to bring Friday's event back to the smaller Tavern venue to recreate the intimate club atmosphere of DEVOtional's early years. Saturday's program shifts to the larger Beachland Ballroom starting at 2 p.m. on Nov. 7.
Eight Bands Take the Saturday Stage
Saturday's lineup at the Ballroom features eight bands in total, including Quintophrenia, Cleveland's Pal, and Reg Bloor from New York. Akronauts, hailing from Akron, round out the local flavor, while Columbus contributes two acts: Buttertuna With Butterknives and Zoonatoona, and Dana Boojilicious and Superphone.
The 2022 edition of the gathering offers a sense of how these guest-heavy DEVOtionals typically unfold — that year's special guests included Mark Mothersbaugh alongside bandmates Gerald Casale and David Kendrick, and the Saturday program at the Beachland Ballroom featured interviews and Q&As with guests from 4 to 6 p.m. before more music took over, according to coolcleveland.com. The convention has usually taken place primarily at the Beachland Ballroom, per the same outlet's coverage.
Tickets Still Available at the Door
Online ticket sales for DEVOtional 2026 are closed, but tickets will still be available for purchase at the door on the day of each event. Fans looking for a souvenir can also pick up DEVOtional 2026 t-shirts online, which feature a photo by Lisa Casale.
DEVOtional has grown considerably since its humble beginnings. The first gathering in 2000 brought only about 35 people who had connected online, and the convention now averages around 200 attendees in recent years, according to cleveland.com. Last year's 25th-anniversary event, held Oct. 10-11, 2025, at the Beachland Ballroom and also featuring Kendrick's Quintophernia, drew visitors from Canada, Australia and Japan, with tickets priced pay-what-you-wish on Friday and $40 on Saturday.
Organizer Michael Pilmer told the outlet that the fan base has been getting younger, noting that a lot of teenagers have been showing up to DEVOtional in recent years — a sign that the band's spud-suited performances keep finding new ears decades after DEVO first took hold in Northeast Ohio.
