After a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival will return to Franklin, Tenn., Sept. 25-26.
Dave Matthews Band, The Black Keys, Maren Morris and Cage the Elephant will headline the two-day festival, which will take place just outside Nashville at Franklin’s The Park at Harlinsdale Farm.
Additional performers spread across five stages include Khruangbin, Black Pumas, Amos Lee, Tanya Tucker, Better Than Ezra, Houndmouth, Tank and the Bangas, Valerie June, JD McPherson, Jamestown Revival, Low Cut Connie, Robert Finley, Katie Pruitt, Morgan Wade, Larry Fleet, Harlem Gospel Travelers, Hailey Whitters, Dylan LeBlanc, Anna Vaus, Blessing Offor and Natalie Madigan, with more to be announced.
Better Than Ezra and Franklin resident Kevin Griffin co-founded the festival with W. Brandt Wood and Michael Whelan in 2015. Justin Timberlake is a co-producer of the event, which is promoted by Pilgrimage events. This year’s fest will feature 35 local restaurants and cafes on the festival grounds, as well as 20 area food trucks and a beer hall that highlights offerings from the region’s distillers and brewers.
“Tennessee thrives on live music and we’ve been in a musical drought for the past year,” Griffin tells Billboard. “Pilgrimage is a one-of-a-kind festival experience, showcasing the best music, food, libations, and crafts the region has to offer. We can’t wait to deliver one of the most exciting and diverse lineups of our seven-year history this September. Let’s bring the music back to Franklin.”
A portion of each ticket sold will go to the Recording Academy’s philanthropic arm, MusiCares, and Friends of Franklin Parks. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. CT on Thursday (April 29). The festival is expected to sell to full capacity, but COVID-19 restrictions will apply should they remain in September.
Past lineups have featured Foo Fighters, The Killers, Keith Urban, Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Timberlake and Eddie Vedder, among others.
According to an economic impact study, the 2019 event brought in more than $3 million to the local area with average daily attendance of 16,624.