Five addresses on Center Street hold almost all of the 24th Moab Folk Festival. The Press is on the first block east of Main. Star Hall is at 159 E. Center Street, the Center Street Ballfields are at 198 E., and the Grand County Public Library is at 257 E. The Helipad, at 239 W. Center Street, is the only venue on the west side. From Friday, November 6, through Sunday, November 8, the whole weekend fits on one street you probably drive every week.
Only two of those addresses need a ticket. The other three, plus an outdoor patio next to Star Hall, run on a published schedule the festival lists as "all free," and that schedule is built from the same performers as the paid one.
The Ticketed Rooms Are Small, and One Is Gone
The festival describes Star Hall as a historic room that holds 290 people. The daytime venue at the city ballpark holds 1,500. As of mid-October, the festival's ticket page shows the Friday and Saturday night Star Hall shows, $60 each, as sold out.
Ballfield tickets are still on sale:
- Saturday ballfield pass: $80
- Two-day ballfield pass: $150
- Ballfield-only VIP two-day pass: $450
- Children 10 and under: free with an accompanying adult
One change for 2026 affects anyone who used to buy VIP to get a Star Hall seat. The ticket page says the VIP package no longer includes a night at Star Hall, and the two venues are sold separately with no combo tickets. With Star Hall sold out, that route is closed this year.
If you didn't buy Star Hall tickets in spring, the Friday and Saturday night lineup is off the table. Most of the musicians in it are not.
The Same Names, in Free Rooms
The 2026 bill has nine named acts across Star Hall and the ballfield. Five of them, or a member of the band, also appear somewhere on the free schedule.
| Performer | Ticketed slot | Free slot |
|---|---|---|
| Melissa Chilinski | Fri. 7 p.m., Star Hall, sold out, with Pearly Blue | Sat. 10:30–11:15 a.m., musical story hour, Grand County Public Library |
| The Rebel Eves | Sat. 12:15 p.m., ballfield | Fri. 7:30 p.m., free community concert, Helipad |
| Steve Poltz | Sat. 7 p.m., Star Hall, sold out; Sun. 12:15 p.m., ballfield | Sat. 10–10:50 a.m., artist interview, Star Hall |
| Jordan Smart | Sat. 11 a.m., ballfield | Sun. 9:30–10:30 a.m., Songwriter in the Round, Star Hall |
| Rising Appalachia | Sat. 3 p.m., ballfield | Sat. 6–8 p.m., drum workshop and jam with Biko Casini, Helipad |
Look at Steve Poltz's Saturday. He's in a free artist interview at Star Hall in the morning and back on the same stage that night for a sold-out show. Jillian Linklater of The Rebel Eves joins Jordan Smart and Cosy Sheridan for Sunday's songwriter round, so that band shows up for free twice.
The four acts not on the free schedule are John Craigie, who plays Star Hall both nights, plus Bonnie Paine, Sister Sadie and Sunday's ballfield closer, Leftover Salmon. The free events don't cover the whole festival, but they cover more than half of it.
Saturday, Block by Block
Saturday has the most going on, and every free event that day is within a few blocks. Here's the day in order from the published schedule:
- 9–11 a.m., Sun Court. Coffee Slam & Bluegrass Jam on the outdoor court next to Star Hall, with Coleman Smith of Yonder Mountain String Band and students from Camp Coletrain.
- 10–10:50 a.m., Star Hall. Artist interview with Steve Poltz, a few steps from the jam.
- 10:30–11:15 a.m., Grand County Public Library. Musical story hour with Melissa Chilinski, about a block and a half east at 257 E. Center Street.
- 6–8 p.m., Helipad. Drum workshop and jam session with Biko Casini of Rising Appalachia, at 239 W. Center Street.
- 6–8 p.m., The Press. Festival Picker's Jam, open to all ages and instruments.
The morning items overlap, so you'll have to pick between them. The evening ones overlap too. The Helipad and The Press sit on opposite sides of Main Street, and both run from 6 to 8 p.m.
Friday evening uses the same two venues for different events. The Picker's Jam at The Press starts at 6 p.m. The Helipad has a free community concert, with Still The Weather at 7 p.m. and The Rebel Eves at 7:30. Sunday morning repeats the Coffee Slam & Bluegrass Jam at Sun Court from 9 to 11 a.m. and adds the songwriter round inside Star Hall at 9:30. The paid ballfield program runs from 11 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, so the free events land before and after it. If you have a ballfield pass, you can catch most of the free events too.
The festival notes on its schedule page that set times may change. Check it again the week of the festival.
The Picker's Jam Is in the Old Newspaper Office
The Press is the venue most people in town have been inside for something other than music. The Moab Times-Independent reported that owner Rebecca McAllister bought the building at 35 E. Center Street, the paper's longtime home, from the Taylor family, who owned the paper. She named the business The Press in their honor.
The same report says The Press had a soft opening on March 19, 2026. It sells coffee and food, locally made art, T-shirts, knitting supplies and adult beverages. McAllister told the paper she had the contractor leave pieces of the old pressroom equipment in place. That makes this year's festival the first to hold its Picker's Jam in a business that has only been open since spring, inside a building most longtime residents know as the newspaper office. The festival lists the venue as 29 E. Center Street, and the newspaper gives 35 E. Either way, look for The Press sign on the first block of East Center.
The festival lists the jam as open to all ages and all instruments.
A Local Nonprofit Runs the Free Schedule
According to the festival's history page, Melissa Schmaedick founded the Moab Folk Festival in 2003. Friends of the Moab Folk Festival was set up as a nonprofit in 2005 and became a standalone nonprofit in 2024. That group presents the festival. The 2026 festival is the 24th since the first one in 2003.
Some costs went up this year. For 2026, food vendors at the ballfield pay a $25 application fee and, if accepted, a $150 booth or truck fee. The festival attributes the increase to the rising cost of providing and managing power.
If you're going to only one thing, Saturday morning packs the most into the smallest area. You get the Sun Court jam, the Poltz interview and the library story hour within about two blocks, all between 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
If the festival weekend has you curious about which Moab homes are within walking distance of Star Hall, the library and The Press, Nikole Andersen Real Estate is happy to talk it through. Contact Nikole for a complimentary market consultation.
