WinterWonderGrass returns for its annual outdoor festival in Steamboat Springs Friday, February 27 to Sunday March 1 with one of the best line ups of any Colorado festival this year, filled with returning and newcoming artists.
The festival is one of the better festivals overall you can attend in Colorado. Of course, like any festival, it has its ups and downs, and as a returner festival goer for our third year in the running, we break things down for you that's nice and easy, like your time at the grounds should be.
Before we break things down for you, we'll highlight some of the artists on this year's lineup you may want to watch out for and who can't be missed. While the headliners are usually always great at any festival, we truly love going to watch the afternoon and early evening acts that can be surprise amazing performances. We'll break this down for you by who to catch each day at this year's festival.
Who you can't miss at the 2026 WinterWonderGrass Festival
Friday, February 27, 2026: Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Above: Bronwyn Keith-Hynes performs last year at the Lariat in Buena, Vista, CO.
Unfortunately, last year saw the breakup of one of the best modern blue grass groups in the music business, Molly Tuttle & The Golden Highway. However, that only meant the success for each individual member as they began their solo careers, and fiddler Bronwyn Keith-Hynes was one of the first to do so. She recently released her second solo album, "I Built a World" which led her to a grammy nomination. We've seen and reviewed Bronwyn around eight times both on her solo career path and with Molly Tuttle & The Golden Highway, so we can't stress enough that she's one of the acts on this year's lineup you can't miss. She also does an incredible version of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" live so hopefully we'll see that at this year's festival. The best thing? She's actually playing twice, both Friday and on Sunday!
Saturday, February 28: Sierra Hull
Above: Sierra Hull performs with Infamous Stringdusters last January at Mission Ballroom
Like Bronwyn, Sierra Hull has played WinterWonderGrass before. But this time around, last year she released one of if not the best album of her entire career: "A Tip Toe High Wire". So now is the perfect time to catch her. Last year, Sierra was one of the best performers we saw live, when she played a solo show in Breckenridge and then opened up for Infamous Stringdusters at Mission Ballroom. Both shows were incredible, and you can see the same actual line up Saturday night at this year's festival with both Sierra and Infamous Stringdusters.
Sunday, March 1: Elephant Revival
Above: Lead singer Bonnie Paine performs last year at Salida's Smalltown for the Cause.
Elephant Revival do not tour too often, so when they do, you can't really miss them. The group is incredible live, but perhaps the highlight of them all is singer Bonnie Paine. Bonnie Paine is an extremely talented musician, but the best part of their show is when she brings out the bonesaw, as any fan knows. Elephant Revival have only two dates currently for all of 2026, so this really can't be missed. Last year, Elephant performed for two nights at Salida's Smalltown for the Cause and Lindsay Lou joined them onstage. With both Lindsay and Elephant Revival performing at this year's WWG, perhaps the same thing will happen Sunday evening?
Ups and downs of WinterWonderGrass
Ups:
Small festival setting
WinterWonderGrass is known to be a small-town festival, and that itself is always a great thing. The grounds can hold around 5,000 concert goers, and it usually sells out every year because of that reason. The festival often books a solid line up for a small festival, so it's a chance to see some pretty big names in a smaller setting. It's very easy to get up close to the stage if that's your thing. Compared to the much larger summer bluegrass Colorado festivals like Rockygrass or Telluride, that itself is a blessing.
Ups:
Free beer for even general admission
While most festivals do at some point offer free beer tastings, none can be compared to WinterWonderGrass. The festival offers free alcohol samplings for several hours during the afternoon every day, even in the general admission areas. The festival gives out cups to concert goers upon entry, so don't forget your cup that can be used for the samplings. It's even better in the VIP section where free beer is offered from 1PM to 6PM. The food at the festival, while not free, is always top notch every year as well.
Ups:
Multiple stages and after parties
Above: Yonder Mountain String Bands performs at the small stage on top of the gondola
Even though there is one main stage where all the headliners perform, there are several stages in the nearby festival tents that offer music throughout the day and night. The best part though, are the afterparties, so don't think the music stops after the festival ends. Last year, the best performance of the festival was actually when Yonder Mountain String Band performed a four-hour gig on top of the gondola. While it meant for a very long night, it was epic and shows on top of the gondola can be extremely fun.
Downs:
Winter and weather
WWG isn't your typical outdoor music festival. While it's outside, it takes place during the snowiest time of the year in Colorado. Despite last year seeing 60 degrees and clear and sunny skies every day, that isn't the normal. It can get extremely chilly, especially at night, so don't forget to bring warm weather and remember you are standing outside for three days in the winter for well more than six hours at a time. Of course, most people who go every year love the winter, but for some, this can be a deal breaker.
Downs:
Extremely limited parking
The town of Steamboat Springs unfortunately do not offer lots of parking even when there isn't a festival going, so during the festival it can be extremely hard to find parking. While there are two large free parking lots close by the festival entrance, these are also for the resort, so most of the parking is filled up every day by the time the festival starts. There are also paid lots closer to the festival but can charge upwards of $50.00 for daily parking. We recommend arriving earlier, of course. You cannot park overnight at any of the lots which can result in an expensive tow fee.
Downs:
Hotels
While normally you can stay over night in Steamboat Springs for a somewhat normal price, during WWG unfortunately all the hotels in Steamboat either double or triple their nightly room fees. This is extremely unfortunate because the festival takes place during winter, there are no camping options. A good piece of advice is staying closer to the festival in case there is bad weather, but of course the closer you are the more expensive the room will be. However, the upside to this is some hotels offer shuttle services to and from the festival.
WinterWonderGrass can be an incredible and fun time if it's done right. There is a reason we go back every year, and many festival goers have also been returning year after year. It's worth going to if you can put up with some of the festival downers like expensive hotel costs and the extremely limited parking. Stay tuned for our upcoming coverage of this year's festival, including artist interviews, photos by our photographer Jessica Lewis, and the best five moment's of this year's festival.
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