Hinterland Music Festival — a lowkey, folk-centered festival in small town Iowa — returns for its celebratory 10th year on August 1st through 3rd, 2025. With a stacked lineup of mainstream headliners, as well as a powerful indie-folk undercard that the festival is known for, this three-day is once again drawing thousands to St. Charles, the outskirts of the state’s capital.
Historically, Hinterland focuses on household names within the folk, indie, Americana, and bluegrass genres. But this year’s headliners break away from this pattern. The pivot to more ‘popular’ artists follows the success of Chappell Roan’s Hinterland set in 2024.
The pop star drew in quite the crowd — and she wasn’t even headlining.
2024’s headliners were Hozier, Vampire Weekend, and Noah Kahan — all popular names although all under the indie-folk umbrella. For the decennial, Hinterland is making history in welcoming Tyler, the Creator, Kacey Musgraves, and Lana Del Rey to end each night, with supporting acts like Clairo, The Marías, Sierra Ferrell, Still Woozy, Remi Wolf, Bleachers, Role Model and many others you don’t want to miss.
With only one main stage, the fest tends to keep its attendee numbers smaller than other big name festivals, meaning tickets are likely to sell out. The single stage fosters community during the weekend, though, while making the festival more laidback without the rush between sets. That said, select artists from the lineup are scheduled to perform on the side Campfire Stage within the campgrounds after each night’s headliners.
Hinterland has many possibilities for customizing your festival experience, with a variety of three-day and one-day ticket options available, as well as several camping types, parking, and shuttling — so don’t forget your add-ons! There will be several food and craft vendors on sight, as well, and even a “Hinterkids” tent filled with fun activities for children.
Another unique thing about this festival is its new 90-degree guarantee for 2025: if temperatures hit above 90º, the promoter promises refunds to ticket-holders who can’t stand the heat. This effort is not only about the safety of patrons, but to hopefully spur a bigger conversational concerning global warming and its impact on outdoor music events.
Hinterland Music Festival will no doubt be an incredible late-summer weekend escape, filled with good music and good people; it’s something every folk lover should be at! Tickets and accommodations can be found directly on the Hinterland website and, with limited passes available due to capacity, it’s better to grab yours sooner than later!
Stream the official Hinterland 2025 playlist on Spotify:
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