Back in May, we knew the 2026 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival dates. The festival returns August 27 through November 21, bringing Global Marketplaces, Remy’s Hide & Squeak, Emile’s Fromage Montage, and plenty of reasons to return to EPCOT throughout the fall.
Now, the missing piece is here.
The full Eat to the Beat 2026 lineup gives Food & Wine its soundtrack, with Hanson, Yellowcard, The Fray, Boyz II Men, The Beach Boys, Lauren Alaina, Grace Potter, and many more taking the America Gardens Theatre stage.
For a festival that began in 1996, this 30th anniversary season feels especially fitting. Food & Wine has always been about more than trying a few booths in one afternoon. It is a reason to build an EPCOT day around what you enjoy most. For some guests, that is the food. For others, it is the music.
This year, the concert calendar gives guests a lot of reasons to come back.
New Names Give Eat to the Beat a Different Sound
Eat to the Beat has always worked because it blends familiar favorites with artists guests may not expect to see at EPCOT.
For 2026, Disney is adding several new acts to the America Gardens Theatre schedule. Lauren Alaina, Fitz and the Tantrums, Grace Potter, The War and Treaty, Couch, Grupo Manía, Rey Ruiz, Allen Stone, and Big Head Todd and the Monsters are all marked as new additions.
That range makes this one of the more varied Eat to the Beat schedules in recent years. There is country with Lauren Alaina. Indie pop arrives with Fitz and the Tantrums. Grace Potter brings blues-rock energy. Meanwhile, The War and Treaty, Grupo Manía, and Rey Ruiz add even more variety across the festival calendar.
It is exactly what EPCOT’s fall concert series should be: a reason to find a date that fits your taste and make an evening of it.
Familiar Favorites Bring Guests Back Again
The returning names may be just as important.
Hanson opens the first full weekend of the festival. Yellowcard returns in September. MercyMe, New Found Glory, Smash Mouth, Tiffany, STARSHIP featuring Mickey Thomas, Ben Rector, Bowling For Soup, Boyz II Men, and The Beach Boys all give longtime Eat to the Beat fans a familiar reason to circle dates.
The Fray also returns October 12 and 13.
We were there when The Fray rocked the Eat to the Beat stage in 2024, and their return is one of the standout dates on this year’s schedule. Their songs, the setting along World Showcase Lagoon, and the energy of a nighttime EPCOT crowd make for a very different kind of Disney concert experience.
The Hooligans close the concert series November 13 through 16. They are another familiar name for Sam’s Disney Diary readers after bringing their energy to EPCOT’s Garden Rocks stage in 2025.
Eat to the Beat 2026 Concert Schedule
August
- August 27: Evolution: Motown
- August 28-31: Hanson
September
- September 1-3: Evolution: Motown
- September 4-5: The War and Treaty
- September 6-7: Yellowcard
- September 8-10: Fly Guys
- September 11-12: Couch
- September 13-14: Fitz and the Tantrums
- September 15-17: Latin Ambition
- September 18-19: MercyMe
- September 20-21: Grupo Manía
- September 22-24: Metro Latino Band
- September 25-27: Element
- September 28-29: New Found Glory
- September 30: Smash Mouth
October
- October 1: Smash Mouth
- October 2-4: Champagne Orchestra
- October 5-6: Rey Ruiz
- October 7-8: Tiffany
- October 9-11: Viva Latina
- October 12-13: The Fray
- October 14-15: STARSHIP featuring Mickey Thomas
- October 16-18: Jaclyn Hayden
- October 19-20: Ben Rector
- October 21-22: Allen Stone
- October 23-25: SoundUp
- October 26-27: Lauren Alaina
- October 28-29: Bowling For Soup
- October 30-31: Southbound
November
- November 1: Southbound
- November 2-3: Boyz II Men
- November 4-5: Big Head Todd and the Monsters
- November 6-8: M-80’s
- November 9-10: Grace Potter
- November 11-12: The Beach Boys
- November 13-16: The Hooligans
The Music Ends Before Food & Wine Does
One detail is worth keeping in mind while planning. The 2026 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival continues through November 21. However, Eat to the Beat concludes November 16.
That gives guests five final festival days without the nightly concert series.
For some visitors, that may be perfect. The final week could be a little easier for guests focused on food booths, Remy’s Hide & Squeak, or a more relaxed walk around World Showcase.
Dining Packages Return July 16
Guests who want a guaranteed concert seat can reserve an Eat to the Beat Concert Series Dining Package beginning July 16.
The package includes a meal at a participating EPCOT restaurant and reserved concert seating for a show later that day. Seating within that reserved section is still first-come, first-served, so it is worth arriving early for the best view.
There is also a useful option for spontaneous festival days. Regal Eagle Smokehouse will again offer same-day dining packages, subject to availability. That can be a smart backup plan for guests who decide they want concert seating after arriving at EPCOT.
The 2025 Eat to the Beat lineup showed how quickly favorite artists can turn a normal EPCOT evening into a planned event. The 2026 lineup looks ready to do the same.
Food, Music and a Reason to Return
EPCOT Food & Wine works because it is easy to make the festival your own.
You can come for a few booths, spend a full day trying new dishes or bring the family for Remy’s Hide & Squeak. Or you can choose one concert date, build dinner around it, and let live music become the reason for the visit.
That is where Eat to the Beat shines.
For Food & Wine’s 30th anniversary season, EPCOT is not just serving another long list of flavors. It is giving guests a fall concert calendar filled with new names, returning favorites, and plenty of reasons to come back for another night around World Showcase.
