After returning in 2025 following a six-year hiatus, Mountain Jam Festival will not take place in 2026. Festival founder Gary Chetkof announced the gap year on social media while hoping for a return in 2027.
The post from Chetkof was brief and did not provide any additional context for skipping 2026.
Hey Jammers,
Mountain Jam 2025 was truly special — thank you to everyone who came out and made it unforgettable.
After much thought, Mountain Jam will take 2026 off and we hope to return in 2027!
Until then, enjoy this recap video of the magic we created together.
Keep spreading the love, and — as always — Jam on.
Happy Holidaze!
With gratitude,
Gary Chetkof
Mountain Jam Founder
Mountain Jam made its long-awaited return in June at Belleayre Mountain in Highmount, NY, with a lineup led by Goose, Khruangbin, Mt. Joy, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Trampled By Turtles, moe., Julien Baker & Torres, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, and more. During the time Mountain Jam was away, Chetkof wrestled control of the festival back from its corporate owners, an action he said was vital to preserving the festival’s spirit.
“We had to give up a lot of our ethos and a lot of our independence in order to have the financial security and resources of a big partner,” Chetkof told Live For Live Music ahead of the 2025 return. “So after the pandemic, when the Live Nation team that worked on Mountain Jam was pretty much gone, but they still did Peach Festival, and they launched another festival called Catbird, I said to them, ‘It’s just not right that Mountain Jam is just sitting dormant.’ And eventually they agreed.”
Related: Watch Dogs In A Pile Cover Grateful Dead With Molly Tuttle At Mountain Jam
In the six years Mountain Jam was away, five were spent “reformulating” what the festival should look like when it returned. Ultimately, Chetkof was able to revive the festival at a smaller scale without sacrificing any of its core ethos.
“We really worked on the model and said, if we keep costs down and we streamline things and just limit the number of people that are coming, but yet keep the talent budget the same, which is a pretty unique concept, we think we can make this work,” he said.
Check out a recap video from the return of Mountain Jam in 2025. Stay tuned for additional updates, and revisit L4LM’s interview with founder Gary Chetkof here.
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