Cave Fest 2026: Smiling Through the Rain 

I covered Cave Fest 2026, my third, last weekend. I missed the rest of the Nashville crew, who were all attending our team member Mike’s wedding (Congratulations, Mike and Debbie!) but like a Transformer, I linked up with our good friends The What Podcast to tackle a rainy weekend together. See our episode from the campground soon.

Like so many festivals this summer, Cave Fest 2026 had weather issues. Rain from Hurricane Isaias persisted throughout Saturday morning into late afternoon and then overnight into Sunday. Unlike many other festivals, they took it in stride and kept the grounds remarkably intact and easy to navigate. 

And one thing I love about the crowds at bluegrass/folk festivals is their sunny attitude. The weather may have kept more people in the Caverns Tavern and the Cave, but they showed up and danced in the rain at the Amphitheater as well. Sets ran mostly on time, and nothing was cancelled. I give a lot of credit to the Caverns for keeping things moving and the vibes high. They even let us know ahead of time that they were monitoring the storm and to bring rain gear — I appreciated the transparency and communication throughout. I talked to Jeff Meltesen, the Marketing Director at the Caverns, and Todd Mayo, the founder, and they were both their usual friendly and welcoming selves — no signs of stress at all.

I live in the Pacific Northwest and don’t mind the rain, but since my camera doesn’t enjoy it I started shooting late on Saturday. First was Slay & Stinson’s set in the Tavern. Music in the Caverns Tavern was a great addition this year, a chance for people to listen to great sets in an intimate setting and even watch key football games at the same time. Of course Slay & Stinson played “Rocky Top” when the Vols won!

 

Went outside for festival staples Jim Lauderdale & the Game Changers, and then into the Cave for Dom Flemons & the Travelin Wildfires’ excellent set. I also caught Peter Rowan & Sam Grisman Project in the Cave before the Tree of Forgiveness Band John Prine 80th Birthday Celebration — a big band on the big stage, paying tribute to a legend.

On Sunday, I caught a bit of Lew Card’s set in the Tavern, then Cave Fest Queen Lindsay Lou with a large team of fellow bluegrass women in the Amphitheater. (She had also played a very fun Sublime set in the Cave on Friday night.) 

Back to the Tavern for Oh Me Oh My and Nick Horner Family before Rising Appalachia’s first set in the Cave. They were on the big stage later that night, and both sets were very well received. 

Keller and the Keels were next, with a diverse and high-energy late afternoon set on the main stage. Keller was characteristically barefoot and dancing, engaging with the crowd throughout. They started with a Weezer “Island in the Sun” cover and went all over the Keller map from there.

One of the most unusual and special sets of the festival was Modern Biology: Music Made From Plants and Mushrooms. Tarun Nayar hooks up wires to mushrooms and makes music from their bioelectricity. I still don’t quite understand how it works, even though he took questions from the audience, but the music was perfect for the Cave and the audience loved it. The farmer who grew the mushrooms even got to participate.

Another highlight for me was the Open Cave Jam, where Haven Slay of Slay & Stinson was singing in a circle of about 30 festivalgoers and pros. I saw someone playing a washtub, a young man playing the guitar with (I’m guessing) his dad, and a lot of coordination and enthusiasm as they played bluegrass standards. Allowing audience members to participate creatively is one of the things that sets Cave Fest apart.

I ended the night with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings in the Amphitheater. They sounded incredible on songs that were familiar and ones I didn’t know they were connected to — David Rawlings wrote two of the songs on Ryan Adams’ Heartbreaker, and they played the excellent “To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High).” “The Way It Will Be” was also a standout for me. 

Gillian is a treasure. She sings such sad songs but her love and joy are all over her face. The best way to describe her is radiant, and her set was the perfect way to end the weekend. 

Thank you, Cave Fest! Can’t wait to go back with the Nashville crew next year. 

–Elizabeth Thorpe

EDITORS NOTE: Thanks so much Beth for representing Nashville.com like no one else can! Also a shout out to Cave fest Marketing Director Jeff Meltezen who always takes care of Nashville.com.