Pilgrimage is off. Bonnaroo is taking a break. And Deep Tropics is … in deep trouble, to say the least. But another nearby festival is just emerging from the shadows. CaveFest, now in its fifth year, features two days of laid-back live music on Oct. 10-11, bringing bluegrass and roots artists, plus diverse jam bands, to rural Pelham, Tenn.
With both underground and outdoor performances, on-site camping, kid's activities and more, CaveFest is held on the grounds of The Caverns music venue in Grundy County.
“The more I do this, the more I like just letting people have an experience,” The Caverns founder Todd Mayo told The Tennessean.
An intimate crowd of about 6,000 fans will be treated to music on three stages near Monteagle Mountain, both above
and below ground. Headliners include roots royalty like Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Peter Rowan & Sam Grisman Project, Rising Appalachia and Keller & The Keels. Acclaimed acts like Lindsay Lou, Dom Flemons & The Traveling Wildfires, plus Jim Lauderdale & The Game Changers, will also be on hand, just to name a few.
Like any festival, they’ll be joined by an unpredictable assortment of friends (like Carlene Carter, Elizabeth Cook and Ashley Monroe). Fans can also enjoy food trucks, cave yoga, underground jam sessions, sound baths, a Sunday morning gospel session and more … all for roughly $99. With warm, community vibes and few of the hassles that commonly come with major music festivals, it might just be the best overnight music experience in Tennessee this autumn.
Lauderdale has performed at every CaveFest so far, and he told The Tennessean its scenic surroundings, combined with a “stellar” lineup of great bands, is hard to beat.
“It’s the cream of the crop for folks that go to festivals, with a wide variety of bluegrass, singer-songwriter, Americana, country,” he said. “I encourage my Nashville friends to go and spend the day and evening if they don't want to camp out, and just drive home. It’s a great vibe and a great atmosphere.”
CaveFest now stands in stark contrast to many of its competitors, which have become more expensive and crowded. Bonnaroo, for example, saw an 115% increase in general admission ticket price between 2015 and 2026. Even that rise was only enough to make it #10 on the list of most-inflated festival prices, according to a study by Hard Rock Bet. Another regional favorite, Kentucky's Louder Than Life, saw a 228% increase over the same time frame.
Groundwork Collaborative CEO Lindsay Owens, a Nashville economist, said the rising prices are a result of massive ticketing platforms "figuring out how to squeeze concert-goers for every penny." Luckily, CaveFest doesn't use them.
"Nowadays, you’re not just buying a ticket at a set price; you’re paying what an algorithm has determined is the most you’d be willing to fork over," said Owens, who is also the author of the book "Gouged: The End of a Fair Price–and What That Means for Your Wallet."
She added that most music festivals now "raise ticket prices year after year, and CaveFest is a notable exception to the rule."
Mayo said the idea for CaveFest was born from a desire to celebrate "bluegrass music, jam grass music, folk music,” so that may explain its back-to-basics approach. Beginning in 2018, The Caverns venue was known as the home of PBS’ “Bluegrass Underground,” and it already had its own campground. The venue built a permanent outdoor amphitheater in 2020 to continue operating through the COVID-19 pandemic. When cave shows eventually returned, Mayo wondered what to do with the outdoor area, although he had no intention of competing with the major festivals. That became CaveFest’s strength.
At CaveFest, the affordability is combined with an easy-going clientele who tend to focus on music and community, just like the original music festivals before the age of influencers and ticketing platforms. A 2024 power outage didn’t even “harsh the vibe,” Mayo recalled.
Lauderdale added that he was about to take the stage when the entire area went dark. Instead of postponing, he and his band set up in the crowd for an acoustic set. When power returned midway through his performance, they simply plugged in for a triumphant finish. He called it one of his favorite festival experiences.
“That’s the essence of festivals,” the veteran singer-songwriter said. “There’s some kind of chemistry that goes on between the festival goers, the musicians. It’s heartwarming and kind of makes you feel like this is what it’s all about.”
Fans like Brian Gaither echo that sentiment. A local of nearby Tracy City, Tenn., Gaither and his wife attended CaveFest in 2025 and found a hidden gem, which he said showcased an “awesome” venue with “genuine roots music, good songwriting.” Gaither highlighted the scenic “five-minute walk” between stages, and also called out CaveFest campers as particularly friendly when compared to other events where space is at a premium.
He described Two Step Inn near Austin, Texas, as "really difficult to enjoy the show because of the waves of people.” Likewise, he said Bonnaroo is “awesome, but intense.”
Gaither felt CaveFest is different, and may be more pure from a music festival standpoint. Considering where its local competitors find themselves, that may not be a coincidence.
“Tennessee is one of the most beautiful places there is. And it's just set right there in the valley in Pelham and it’s just a beautiful backdrop,” he explained. “You couldn’t ask for a better spot to sit and camp and enjoy time with your friends … It's just a really different vibe than what I've seen in other camping festivals.”
Get tickets for CaveFest.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: While other festivals retreat to the shadows, CaveFest steps into the light
