Kenai Peninsula festival puts fresh seafood and live music on the menu
Published 4:30 am Friday, July 31, 2026
The Greater Kenai Peninsula is set to come alive this weekend for an annual celebration of salmon, art, and culture.
Salmonfest 2026 returns to the Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds and ARCHES Amphitheatre in Ninilchik from July 31 to Aug. 2 for its 15th anniversary. The annual event will feature over 60 musical acts, fresh local seafood, and a celebration of — and focus on — wild salmon.
The event is a conservation festival dedicated to celebrating wild salmon, supporting habitat protection, and raising funds for environmental nonprofits. Key beneficiaries and partners include Kachemak Bay Conservation Society, Cook Inletkeeper, and the United Tribes of Bristol Bay.
There will be a total of four stages of music, the River Stage at the amphitheater, Ocean Stage, Headwaters Stage, and Inlet Stage, and numerous artisan and food vendors throughout the three-day festival. The popular Smoked Salmon Super Bowl returns as well for its sixth annual competition.
“Delicious smoked salmon from professional smoke houses from across the state will be judged by a panel including top musical acts from the festival and local Alaskan seafood specialists including chefs, fishmongers and fishermen,” according to a release from the festival. “We are also launching an amateur category this year.”
This year’s headliners include: Trampled by Turtles, a bluegrass-influenced folk band from Duluth, Minnesota; Goth Babe, Chattanooga, Tennessee-native Griff Washburn’s indie-rock solo project; and Guster, an alternative rock band formed in Somerville, Massachusetts
Additional top performers include Molly Tuttle, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Anders Osborne, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Pato Banton, and The Last Revel.
The rest of the lineup includes: The Reverand Peyton’s Damn Big Band, Boot Juice, Jackie Greene, Blackwater Railroad Co., Tim Easton, Dead Winter Carpenters, Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise, Pamela Parker’s Fantastic Machine, Sam Chase & The Untraditional, The Heists, Hope Social Club, Black Barrel & The Bad Men, Super Saturated Sugar Strings, Seth Freeman, Lena Marie Schiffer, The Roland Roberts Band, Jim Lewin, H3, Posterchild, Ayla Ray, Madeline & Brothers Smith, Wiley Post, Robb Justice, Brooks the Wook, Hope Cassity, River Livers, Pushki Pickers, Junosmile, Fractal Theory, Pudgies, Good Campany, Discopians, P.Troll, Chris Christy Quintet, Jenny Baker, Steve Liddell, Megan Webb, Blind Pony, Steve Schoolmaker & Poets Anadromous, Blues Brothers, Parkstrippers Marching Band, DSB Band, Lucy & Clark, Gil Watkins, Sam N’ Jam, and Floating Poets.
