Gregory Alan Isakov is Philly Music Fest’s surprise headliner this year

Back in May, the lineup for Philly Music Fest 2026 dropped. The shows feature a range of artists and genres, including Mo Lowda & the Humble, Dillinger Escape Plan, Immanuel Wilkins, and RJD2.

But the true, full lineup was not made public until today with the unveiling of the festival’s surprise headliner: Gregory Alan Isakov.

Isakov will headline Oct. 12 and Oct. 13 at Ardmore Music Hall. He’s sharing the bill with Caiola, Mo Lowda frontman Jordan Caiola’s solo project, and Madi Diaz, respectively.

Get tickets for those and more Philly Music Fest dates online here.

Caiola said opening for Isakov, who he called a personal hero, is a “tremendous bonus” on top of playing the festival solo and with the band.

“That will be a special night,” he said. “It is always a pleasure to be asked to contribute to a great cause and represent this city’s incredible music scene!”

“Being able to host Gregory Alan Isakov—who just headlined The Mann Music Center—at Ardmore Music Hall for 600 Philly Music Fest fans is not only exciting, but really captures what PMF is all about: creating undeniable experiences for the Philly music scene as well as raising money to ensure that the next generation of Philly musicians are guaranteed a chance to grow, learn, and prosper so that they, too, can perform at PMF and keep the scene flourishing,” Philly Music Fest producer and founder Greg Seltzer said.

Since its launch, the festival has donated more than $600,000 to various area music programs, while hosting more than 170 bands from the region, including Japanese Breakfast, Mt. Joy, Alex G, Amos Lee, Dr. Dog, Kurt Vile, The Wonder Years, and Waxahatchee.

See the full festival lineup below.