Summer Arts Festival:
Entertainment Application - MAIN STAGE
Festival Dates: June 26, 27 & 28, 2026
Deadline to submit: March 28th, 2026
Local, regional, and national acts are welcome to submit an application to be part of our Main Stage lineup for the 57th Annual Summer Arts Festival! The Main Stage is made possible through generous local community partnership support, and is located on the north side of the building in our McMenamins Food Court the heart of festival. Here, festival guests get to enjoy amazing food and drink alongside energetic musical performances with plenty of space for dancing and audience participation.
Our Main Stage lineup is carefully selected and curated to provide upbeat, energetic, and family-friendly performances that can be enjoyed by everyone in the community. All Main Stage Entertainment applications are reviewed by our Food & Entertainment Committee who embrace the philosophy and goals of the Summer Arts Festival. When evaluating applications, the committee considers the following:
- The musician's proficiency with musical elements such as pitch, rhythm, text articulation, etc.
- The music is energetic, dynamic, and family-friendly.
- The band's stage presence is strong, confident, and engaging with the audience.
All applications for the Main Stage Entertainment are reviewed and juried by UVA Staff and the Food & Entertainment Committee after the March 28th deadline. If selected, you will receive notification of your acceptance no later than April 14th, wherein a discussion about payment, performance dates/times, and more will be discussed with the Representative listed on the application.
APPLICATION TIMELINE
- Application Deadline: January 30th
- All Applicants Notified: No later than March 2nd
- Entertainment Contracts & W-9s Due: April 30th
- Entertainment Booklet Sent: May 29th
MAIN STAGE LINEUP
The Main Stage runs all three days of the festival. Each set is 90 minutes long, with 30 minutes in between to change equipment and get ready for the next act. See below for the opening time (Start of the first act) and closing time (End of the last act) for each day of the festival:
Friday, June 27th: 3:00pm-8:30pm
Saturday, June 28th: 3:00pm-8:30pm
Sunday, June 29th: 12:00pm-3:30pm
ENTERTAINMENT PAYMENT INFORMATION
It is FREE for all interested applicants to apply. All applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis leading up to the January 30th deadline and confirmed until all timeslots are filled. If all timeslots are filled before the final deadline, the application process will be closed. This rolling jury is to ensure a timely response for confirming availability and discussing payment with each accepted musician/band. Once a musician/band is confirmed, UVA will send a contract outlining the confirmed payment amount, expectations, a W-9 for tax purposes (UVA is required to report all earnings over $600 in a calendar year), and our Entertainment Booklet.
The Summer Arts Festival is UVA's biggest fundraiser of the year, providing our organization with essential funding that helps us stay sustainable and operational as we provide year-round arts and educational programming to our community. Our Main Stage, and the rest of the festival, is made possible by the generous support of community partners who contribute to our event.
MAIN STAGE APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
All Main Stage applicants MUST complete the online form in its entirety to be considered for jurying. Requirements of this form include:
- All applications MUST contain links to examples of their music.
- LIVE PERFORMANCE EXAMPLES PREFERRED. Links to studio recordings may be submitted to show a broader representation of the gorups music, but we request as live performances that accurately reflect the group's current members and general sound when performing live.
- Submissions made using slides, physical cds/tapes, paper applications, or emailed resumes/CVs and digital music/video files will not be accepted for jurying.