What are they doing over there in Iowa? Every year, the Hinterland Festival comes to the Des Moines area. When it started in 2015, the fest went heavy on roots music and indie rock, but it has slowly evolved into something else. At this year’s fest, the headliners were Lana Del Rey, Kacey Musgraves, and Tyler, The Creator — a slightly all-over-the-place lineup that at least made sense on the festival circuit. Today, however, the bookers unveiled a 2026 lineup that makes me feel like I’m in outer space — in a good way, I think.
Next year, the Hinterland Festival expands to four days, coming to St. Charles. Iowa July 30 to Aug. 2. This time around, headliners include Lorde, R&B star Kali Uchis, and KATSEYE, the Netflix-documented attempt to export the K-pop model to the rest of the world. Those all seem like headliners you might book if you were putting together a European-style future-pop festival. But then they have Mumford & Sons headlining, too?
I’m so flummoxed. Are there people out there in Iowa who love KATSEYE and Mumford & Sons with equal devotion? Maybe there are! Maybe that’s just what pop music is now! If I were at a big pop festival with a Mumford & Sons headlining set, I would probably watch. Maybe I’d like it! But I wouldn’t go see them in any other situation, so maybe this is brilliant. The immediate-support slot is just as wacky, with beabadoobee, MUNA, country-trap hybrid beast Jessie Murph, and Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko. Honestly, I’m talking myself into this one. This looks fun as hell.
There’s lots of other worthwhile stuff on the Hinterland bill, too. Notable names include Geese, the reunited Format, Snow Strippers, Wet Leg, ASHNIKKO, CMAT, Santigold, Jane Remover, Suki Waterhouse, Audrey Hobert, Frost Children, Samia, and Julia Wolf. Once again, there’s a 90 degree guarantee; ticket holders can get refunds for any day where the temperature is forecast to reach 90 degrees or higher. You can find all the important info here.
