A long-running Denver underground music festival has announced the lineup for its first festival in the RiNo Art District.

The Underground Music Showcase has been going strong since 2001, but fears began to spring up after funding came into question after last year’s festival. The RiNo Art District Business Improvement District stepped in in February and acquired a 50% stake in the showcase and committed $250,000 of funding annually for at least the next three years, leading the festival to move to RiNo from its previous location on South Broadway.

For the 2026 festival, headliners include 54 Ultra, slenderbodies and Goldie Boutilier. Other artists at the festival will include Kaash Paige, Tommy Newport, Charlotte Sands, MAVI, Twin Shadow, King Mala, Deb Never, The Droptines and BAD NERVES. More than 160 local artists will perform at the three-day festival, scheduled to take place from July 24 to July 26.

Keanan Stoner, UMS Festival Director, said in a news release that this year’s lineup reflects what the festival has always been about.

“We have artists coming through Denver appearing at festivals like Coachella, Outside Lands and Lollapalooza this year, but what makes UMS special is getting to experience them in a more intimate, discovery-driven setting alongside the artists shaping Denver’s music scene,” Stoner said. “We’re excited to bring that experience into RiNo in a way that still feels unmistakably UMS.”

Sounds on display for this year’s festival will range wildly, from moody alternative R&B, synth-driven indie rock to jazz-inspired hip hop and high-energy punk rock, according to organizers.

Weekend passes for the festival start at $95.

After last year’s festival, organizers compared the experience of trying to secure new funding to a roller coaster. In July 2025, UMS LLC announced there was not enough funding to support the festival’s $1.4 million budget, leading to fears that Denver’s longest-running independent music festival would be no more.

Organizers said despite the new location, the festival will not change its size or scope. The festival will feature more than a dozen stages and venues throughout RiNo. Portions of ticket sales will go back to support the RiNo district.