The largest free, women-led music festival in the nation is back in Wilmington this weekend, and its new leader is hoping to further spread its message of community and intersectionality in the future.

The Ladybug Music Festival opens at noon Saturday and music kicks off at 3 p.m.

WXPN favorites Fawziyya Heart, Birdie Busch, and Jada Lee are on the bill, which is being headlined by the guitar-slinging, New Orleans-based funky soul singer-songwriter Mia Borders. A full schedule for the festival’s seven stages is posted below.

Jill Slader-Young — who took over directing the event in December after co-founder Gayle Dillman sold the festival — and her husband Dan Young traveled to the New Orleans Jazz festival in early May to see Borders perform before booking her for the festival.

”She’s a big name around New Orleans,” Slader-Young told WXPN. “ She does a lot for the LGBTQ+ community.”

One main factor in booking this year’s festival was ensuring artists who not only perform beautifully, but also walk the walk and talk the talk when it comes to being forces for good in the world, according to Slader-Young.

“ That’s what I’m the most excited about: a collection of people from far and wide, as well as local, coming in to a place like Wilmington and having influence.”

The festival is trying to speak to attendees of all types.

“ We’re really pulling from everywhere, because we understand that everything about our being is based in intersectionality.”

It will feature a kids’ area, a sober zone, a food truck alley, bars, and appearances by the Philadelphia Union, the Delaware Blue Rocks, and the Delaware Blue Coats.

“ One of the things I love most about Ladybug is that everyone experiences it differently,” she said. Some come for specific artists, others come to take in a much live music as possible, and many come to feel part of a supportive community. “ They want to feel joyful, they want to be in a space where they can forget about the state of the world. We all need a little bit of relief.”

Slader-Young said the 2026 Ladybug Music Festival could not have happened without a community of people who helped raise funds. While the festival did wrangle some corporate sponsors, “they’re small and they’re few and far between,” she said.

“ We appreciate them greatly, but the lion’s share was truly the community,” she said of fundraising efforts.

This year’s festival is completely non-profit and attendance is free to all. But that does pose a challenge financially. Slader-Young said paid, VIP experiences are available at the festival.

“ We’re trying to find as many creative ways to keep those streams of income going, because the other piece is we want to get to a place where we are truly paying these artists for what they’re worth,” she said.

That’s not to say artists aren’t being paid: Slader-Young simply wants to pay them more for their art and a participating in a forward-thinking event such as the festival.

The festival is presented by the non-profit organization Igniting Delaware’s Edutainment Association, which is run by Slader-Young’s husband Dan Young. Its goal is to bring education, entertainment, creativity, culture, and community together to impact in a meaningful and accessible way.

“This isn’t a one and done,” she said. “This is a community that we want to grow and have be present throughout the year.”

They hope to spread Ladybug’s message to more states with additional events.

“This isn’t something to be owned,” Slader-Young said of the festival. “This is something to be shared and something to be taken care of because we look at it as something that is living.”

The music festival is the culmination of Ladybug Women’s Week, which runs from now through Friday and features film screenings, expert panels, and more.

Below is the festival lineup and schedule:

Main Stage

3 p.m. — Eat The Cake Band (Hip-Hop/ Soul)
4 p.m. — Kat Rivers & The Second Sight (Rock)
5 p.m. — Rachel Ana Dobken (Rock/ Soul)
6 p.m. — Tabitha Meeks (Retro Pop/ Folk)
7 p.m. — . Graves (Rock)
8 p.m. — Mia Borders (Funk/Soul/ Americana)

Fifth Street Stage

3:30 p.m. — Bel (Indie Rock)
4:25 p.m. — Reina Williams + The Remedy (Hip-Hop/ Rock)
5:20 p.m. — Diamond Swing Jazz (Jazz Standards)
6:15 p.m. — Allie Sandt (Rock/ Soul/ Folk)
7:10 p.m. — Fawziyya Heart

The Crown at The Queen

3:15 p.m. — Women In Sports (Indie Rock)
4:10 p.m. — LEX the Lexicon Artist (Rock/ Pop/Hip-Hop)
5:05 p.m. — Jada Lee (R&B/ Soul)
6 p.m. — Sofia Devitt (Pop Rock)
6:55 p.m. — Trainwreck Boyfriend (Rock)

Willingtown Square

3:30 p.m. — FORREST (Alt-R&B/ Caribbean)
4:25 p.m. — Erin Frances (Rock/Folk)
5:20 p.m. — Ndichu (Rock/ Soul/ World)
6:15 p.m. — Aziza Nailah & Co (R&B/Rock Soul)
7:10 p.m. — Jennifer Silva (Rock/ Soul/ Americana)

Merchant Bar

3:25 p.m. — Strays & Misfits (Folk/ Americana)
4:20 p.m. — Selena Tibert (Folk/ Rock)
5:15 p.m. — Myla Ondra (Soul)
6:10 p.m. — Max Davey (Folk/Americana)
7:05 p.m. — Sweet Leda Duo (Rock/ Pop/ Soul)

Simmer Down at the Quoin

3:15 p.m. — Meg Murray (Americana/ Soul)
4:10 p.m. — Emily Moses McNatt (Pop/ R&B/ Folk)
5:05 p.m. — Payel (Pop)
6:00 p.m. — Alyssa Hankey (Americana/ Folk)
6:55 p.m. — Sofia Campoamor (Folk)

Huxley & Hiro Upstairs

3:25 p.m. — Blank Page (Americana/ Pop/ Rock)
4:20 p.m. — Christine Irizarry (Folk/ Pop)
5:15 p.m. — Camp Bedford (Folk/ Pop)
6:10 p.m. — Myon Trio (Classical/ Jazz/ Blues)
7:05 p.m. — Birdie Busch (Americana/ Country)

Kathleen Edwards: “Chameleon/Comedian” (XPoNential Music Festival – 2019)