15th Annual Montauk Music Festival | May 14-17, 2026
There is a specific weekend every May when Montauk stops being a place you're anticipating and starts being a place you're actually living in. For me, that weekend is the Montauk Music Festival -- and this year marks the 15th annual, presented by the Montauk Sun.
Over 400 performances. 100 acts. 40 satellite venues spread across town. Music spilling out of every bar, every patio, every corner you turn. It's the weekend the whole town feels alive in a way that's different from the height of summer -- looser, warmer, more communal. Everyone is genuinely happy to be there.
The Main Stage
The heart of the festival is the Main Stage on the Green, right in the center of town. It runs Saturday and Sunday, May 16th and 17th, from 11am through 5 or 6pm. Bring a beach chair or a blanket, gather your people, and settle in.
Admission is a $20 two-day pass (children under 5 are free), and a percentage of proceeds benefits two causes close to this community: Lucia's Angels and the East End Coalition for Women's Cancers. Cash or Venmo only, so come prepared.
A few things to know before you go: no coolers or outside alcohol. Beer, wine, and soda are available at the sponsor tent during the event.
The Satellite Venues
This is where the festival really lives. From Friday through Sunday, over 40 venues throughout Montauk are hosting performances -- and the best way to experience it is with no real plan. Follow the sound. Wander. End up somewhere you didn't expect.
Some favorites to hit: Montauket for sunset with a band in the background, Montauk Beach House, and Montauk Brewing Co. But truly, everywhere you turn this weekend there's music. That's what makes it unlike anything else out here.
Why This Weekend Is Worth It
The Montauk Music Festival falls in that perfect window before peak season. Everything is open, the energy is fully there, but it's not July yet. Not August. The crowds are real but they're the good kind -- people who love Montauk, who come back for this specific weekend, who know what they're there for.
Fifteen years in, this festival has become as much a part of the Montauk calendar as the Fourth of July or Labor Day. It just feels like the start of something.
The Details
📅 May 14-17, 2026
🎵 400+ performances | 100 acts | 40+ venues
🎤 Main Stage: Sat May 16 + Sun May 17, 11am-5/6pm
📍 On the Green, Montauk
🎟 $20 two-day pass | Kids under 5 free
💵 Cash or Venmo only
🪑 Bring a chair or blanket | No coolers or outside alcohol
💛 Benefiting Lucia's Angels & East End Coalition for Women's Cancers