M3F Fest just announced its 2026 lineup. See who’s headlining

The 2026 edition of M3F music festival in Phoenix will be topped by DJs Peggy Gou and Mau P when the festival returns to Steele Indian School Park the weekend of March 6-7, 2026.

This is the festival’s third year at that location.

Conceived as a team-building exercise for the festival’s producers, Wespac Construction, M3F donates 100% of its proceeds to charity. The festival has raised more than $6 million since its inception in 2004.

This year, the festival featured headlining performances by LCD Soundsystem and Justice on a bill that also included such high-profile artists as Alvvays, Sylvan Esso, Girl Talk, Badbadnotgood and Beach Weather.

Here’s what we know about 2026 at M3F.

M3F Festival 2026 lineup

Here are all the artists playing M3F 2026 at Steele Indian School Park the weekend of March 7-6, 2026:

• Mau P
• Peggy Gou
• Big Wild
• Chris Lorenzo
• Dora Jar
• Elderbrook
• La Roux
• Nimino
• Polo & Pan
• Rio Kosta
• The Knocks
• 2Hollis
• Avery Cochrane
• Jigitz
• Loukeman
• Mild Minds
• Neil Frances (presents Club NF)
• Raecola
• Salute
• Sees00000
• Tokimonsta
• After
• Artemas
• Bricknasty
• Cuco
• Daily Bread
• Magdalena Bay
• Of the Trees
• Thxbby

M3F 2026 tickets

M3F festival 2026 tickets are available now at m3ffest.com.

What does M3F stand for?

M3F is shorthand for McDowell Mountain Music Festival. The festival rebranded to M3F in 2018.

As festival founder John Largay explained to The Arizona Republic in 2020, “We always called it M3F internally, because it was easier to spell. But as we got away from WestWorld and McDowell Mountains, calling it McDowell Mountain really wasn’t appropriate anymore. So we just morphed it into an M3F brand. Calling it McDowell Mountain doesn’t have any application in a downtown environment.”

M3F festival history

Now entering its 23rd year, M3F has supported its community through donations to various beneficiaries under its four pillars of community, education, arts and environment.

Initially, a team-building exercise spawned by the family-run Wespac Construction and originally called McDowell Mountain Music Festival, it has evolved into a philanthropic flagship for the city.

In 2023, M3F launched the M3F Fund, allowing nonprofit or 501 (c)(3) organizations to apply for funding. The M3F Fund raised $750,000 in 2024, supporting a range of charities with notable contributions of $140,000 to Phoenix Children’s Hospital for music therapy programs and $100,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Northern Arizona.

Reporting by Ed Masley, Arizona Republic

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