On the Colorado River's Edge, Three Days of the West Coast's Best Bluegrass Returns for Year Twenty-Three

The 23rd annual Bluegrass on the Beach Music Festival runs March 6 through 8, 2026, at Lake Havasu State Park in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, with three days of concerts, workshops, on- and off-stage jam sessions, 40 craft exhibitors, and dry camping inside the park, gates open 8:30 AM daily on the Colorado River shoreline below the London Bridge.

Event details

For 23 consecutive years, the first weekend of March has belonged to bluegrass in Lake Havasu City. The Bluegrass on the Beach Music Festival returns March 6 through 8, 2026, to the shoreline of Lake Havasu State Park at 699 London Bridge Road, organized by Danny and Christa Stewart’s Productions LLC, which has promoted bluegrass festivals and cruises since 2006. The festival draws an estimated 2,000 attendees across the three days, with early dry camping available from the Monday preceding the festival for participants who want the full week of lake-side jamming before the formal programme begins. The festival operates on a single outdoor stage with approximately 40 craft exhibitors and eight food booths positioned across the Lake Havasu State Park grounds.

What the Three Days Hold

The ticket gate opens at 8:30 AM daily on the south side of the Hampton Inn location, with the band schedule available through the festival website from January 15, 2026. The programme structure follows the immersive festival format that distinguishes Bluegrass on the Beach from conventional concert events: workshops across the three days allow both working musicians and enthusiastic beginners to develop their technique alongside the professional performers, and the informal jam sessions that run on and off the main stage encourage active participation over passive attendance. Bringing an instrument is encouraged. All-inclusive packages combining three-day festival access with dry camping within Lake Havasu State Park represent the most economical approach for participants planning to stay the full duration. Day passes and three-day passes are available separately, with tickets going on sale October 1, 2025.

Good to Know: No outside coolers are permitted on the grounds. A shuttle service operates within the festival for attendees managing gear and instruments across the site. Free parking is available via the access road next to the Knights of Columbus. Lawn chairs and blankets are the appropriate seating for the grass performance area. The band schedule, confirmed for release January 15, 2026, will identify which artists perform on each of the three days.

Why the Setting Earns the Name

Lake Havasu State Park’s Windsor Beach, the festival’s home ground, sits on the western edge of the 45-mile Colorado River reservoir below the London Bridge, Havasu’s improbably relocated 19th-century Thames crossing, visible from the park grounds in the middle distance. In early March, Lake Havasu City averages daily highs near 24 degrees Celsius with consistently clear skies, producing the kind of outdoor concert conditions that bluegrass festivals held in the American South or Midwest rarely achieve before May. The Windsor Beach Blonde Ale, a craft beer produced specifically to celebrate Lake Havasu State Park, is available for tasting at the festival, providing a local beverage anchor to complement the regional character of the music. For families and couples extending the festival weekend into a broader Lake Havasu City stay, Lake.com lists vacation rental options in the Lake Havasu City area, including waterfront properties on the Bridgewater Channel that keep the London Bridge and the lake itself within walking distance throughout the event.