After 13 years, Watershed—the largest country music festival in the Pacific Northwest—has announced it will take a break in 2026. Artists like Zach Top, Dierks Bentley, and Jason Aldean have previously performed at the three-day long, multi-stage festival at The Gorge in Quincy, Washington.
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“After 13 incredible years of country music and community at The Gorge, we wanted to be the first to let you know that Watershed will be taking a hiatus in 2026,” the organization wrote on its website and social media accounts. “Any future plans will be announced accordingly. #ShreddersForLife.”
Event officials have not publicly provided specific details about what led to the cancellation.
Watershed Festival Began in 2012
This year’s Watershed Festival was set for July 31 through Aug. 2, according to its website.
Curated by six-time CMA Promoter of the Year Brian O’Connell, the country music festival kicked off in 2012. Since then, its lineup has included A-listers like Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Miranda Lambert.
It does not appear that event officials had announced a lineup of this year’s performers. Last year’s acts included Bailey Zimmerman, Tyler Hubbard, and Jackson Dean.
On social media, fans speculated about the reason behind this year’s break. “It’s gone downhill and prices have skyrocketed. This was bound to happen,” one Facebook user remarked.
Others surmised that Pacific Northwest’s peak “fire season” may have something to do with the cancellation.
Multiple Country Music Festivals Scrapped in 2026
The Watershed Festival is just the latest casualty in a growing trend of canned country music festivals this year. Last year, the Faster Horses Festival, held at the Michigan Speedway, announced it wouldn’t return in 2025. However, event officials assured fans that, “We are taking the year to make plans for a bigger and better Faster Horses for our fans who deserve the absolute best.”
The brand-new Country Roads Music Festival, a spin-off of the scrapped Faster Horses Festival, was subsequently canceled as well. And in September 2025, organizers for Country Jam Colorado—the largest country music festival in the Centennial State—announced the event would not take place in 2026 as they “re-evaluate and plan for the future.”
Featured image by Mat Hayward/Getty Images
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