Carolfest 5/28/26
Join us at the James Ballentine “Uptown” VFW Post 246 in Minneapolis for the 3rd Annual Carolfest to celebrate 5 years of Adventures in Americana!
The 2026 event will take place Thursday, May 28, with music from 6 to 9 p.m. This year's lineup features Nathan Graham, a fast-rising Chicago singer-songwriter who bridges South Side Blues with Nashville Americana to deliver a bittersweet and soulful sound, as well as two Minnesota acts: two-time Midwest Country Music Awards winner Molly Brandt and Cedar Commissions grantee McKain Lakey.
Carolfest started informally in 2022 as a living room show, a birthday celebration for Carol Roth, co-founder of the indie music outlet Adventures in Americana. In 2024 it became a public event and moved to a bigger stage at the Uptown VFW, and this year for the first time it's officially presented by AiA.
The festival is free and open to the public (21+). Adventures in Americana will be encouraging contributions to help cover event costs. Thanks to AiA's Springboard Incubator fiscal sponsorship, all donations made through GiveMN are tax-deductible.
Carolfest 2026 Line-Up
When you think of a singer-songwriter, who comes to mind? Nathan Graham says it probably isn’t somebody who looks like he does. And he wants to change that. Raised in Chicago on Prince and Earth, Wind & Fire, Graham bridges South Side Blues with Nashville Americana to deliver a bittersweet and soulful sound.
Starting out backing blues singers at famous haunts like Buddy Guy’s Legends and Kingston Mines, he spent a decade building his career as a guitar-for-hire before forming bands to perform his own music and lyrics. But it took a bit of convincing to overcome self-doubt as a singer. Some advice from his mother eventually pushed him forward: “All you have to do is open up your mouth, and project.”
What Graham projects now are stories of the human condition, somehow both achingly painful and exquisitely comforting. His guitars convey heartbreak, lyrics tell stories of regret, but his rich vocal delivery offers the remedy.
Nathan Graham
Emmett Marsh
Molly Brandt
Named Americana Artist of the Year at the 2023 and 2024 Midwest Country Music Awards—and nominated in many other categories—Molly Brandt is one of the most distinctive voices in the independent Twin Cities music scene. Since releasing her first singles in 2022, she's performed in venues across the Midwest and beyond and at festivals including Blue Ox, Big Turn, Rochester Thaw, Boogiedown, and Boats & Bluegrass. Her song “Mr. Texas” appeared on Netflix's hit series The Hunting Wives.
Whether playing as a duo or trio or with her full 7-piece band, Brandt puts on an unforgettable show. On stage, she commands attention with her signature fashion; powerful, expressive vocals; and down-to-earth, funny and fearless personality.
Eleanor Parks
McKain Lakey
Award-winning multi-instrumentalist and songwriter McKain Lakey comes to Minnesota from Washington state, by way of the mountains of north central Arkansas. Described by What’s Up Magazine as “a time capsule unearthed, fine-tuned and re-imagined,” Lakey draws creative inspiration from far corners of the American folk music tradition, such as Old Time Country to Rockabilly, and Cajun to Dixieland. They blur lines of old and new, referencing musical textures of past eras while unabashedly exploring topics of mental health, family separation, rural identity and queer love.
Photos courtesy of the artists, 2026.
More About Adventures in Americana
Carolfest 2026 commemorates the fifth anniversary of Adventures in Americana, which began as a pandemic lockdown project for two friends in January 2021 and has since expanded to include over a dozen contributors. AiA aims to support and celebrate music, artists and venues through a mix of reviews, interviews, videos, podcast interviews, ticket giveaways, show coverage on social media, and a crowd-supported online events calendar.