Hinterland Festival 2026: Day Three

After two rainy music-filled days at Hinterland 2026, Saturday gave us the sunshine we had all been waiting for. Another solid lineup of artists were waiting for us beneath the big blue Iowa skies as the festival field filled with colorful blankets and small folding chairs. Day Three of the Hinterland went in a little bit of a different direction genre-wise, with performances catering more towards folk, indie, and country.

To start things off, Irish folk band Amble made their way to the stage, followed by Waylon Wyatt, the Americana country singer-songwriter. Both performances featured rustic vocals, paired perfectly to acoustic guitar. The audience was smitten over the back-to-back vocalists, with Robbie Cunningham’s Irish charm and Waylon Wyatt’s impressive skills — especially for only being 19 years old!

These early performances signaled much more excitement and talent to come.

To add edge, Julia Wolf made an appearance next, with handmade signs held up by fans in the crowd. The “In My Room” singer from Glen Head, New York is known for alternative indie pop elements, as well as her candid, confessional-style lyrics. Wolf brings an undeniable warmth to the stage; she’s friendly and relatable, even singing to thousands of people!

By midday, festival-goers were given another Irish treat with country-pop performer, CMAT (aka, Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson). The vibe was colorful and boisterous, with CMAT’s fiery red hair and electric personality shining through. She and her band members added bits of laughter to the day, with raunchy loud lyrics and hilarious dance numbers.

It was the perfect amount of energy needed to keep the crowd going through the hot summer sun.

Next up was the eccentric Santigold, breaking up the country folk of the day, followed by The Format. Both performers’ music is broadly described as indie pop although each carry their own special sound. Santigold offers influences of electropop, reggae, hip hop, punk, and beyond, whereas The Format leans more into alternative and classic rock with an indie spin. Despite their differences in genre, both performances shared a kinetic energy with the crowd, leaving the audience eager for more.

As the sun began to set and the festival grounds started to cool, the sultry voice of Jessie Murph sang out through the Iowa hills. Standing before us in a silky blue dress, she looked like old Hollywood royalty. She floated across the stage. Jessie Murph takes country music to a new and unique place; it is no wonder why she has grown such a dedicated following. With a mix of country, trap, and hip hop with a vintage twist, Murph sang many songs off her most recent album release, Sex Hysteria; for those who don’t know, the album is a perfect blend of fury and sexuality. Jessie gave a terrific performance and left the stage with a bubbling hype for the headlining performance from Mumford & Sons.

I stood just before the stage in front of thousands of beaming faces smiling with excitement when the darkened stage turned a deep blue.

Several silhouettes appeared onstage, taking their respective places. When the bright lights flashed on revealing the members of Mumford & Sons, the screams from the crowd literally shook the ground beneath my feet. Marcus Mumford stood centerstage on a small platform, his brown leather acoustic guitar strap inscribed with his name “Marcus” beaming in the light.

Mumford & Sons have been around for as long as I can remember. The country folk Americana group sparked a massive wave in the music industry when their notable hit “Little Lion Man” was released in 2009. As someone who spent their formative years listening to Mumford & Sons, it was incredible to be able to finally see them live.

To no surprise, they were incredible.

It seemed like every person that evening was singing along to all the crowd favorites. I myself was cheering loudly when I heard the first chords of “White Blank Page”! For the third day of Hinterland, with only one more day to follow, Day Three brought yet another perfect combination of performances. This particular day was special for how perfect the weather held up — not a raindrop in sight! The evening ended with the lovely sound of acoustic guitars strumming through our ears. Stay tuned for Day Four!

Photography by Sean Rider; recap article by Michelle Zigler

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