The 43rd Annual Fountain Blues & Brews Festival is scheduled to bring two days of live music, craft beer, cider, wine, cocktails and food vendors to downtown San Jose on Saturday and Sunday, June 27-28, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The organizer lists the festival site as Plaza Park, 1 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose, CA 95112. Visit San Jose lists the location as Plaza de Cesar Chavez, 194 South Market Street, placing the event in the same central downtown park area near the convention center, museums and South Market Street hotels.
The weekend is built around a Main Stage lineup topped by Eric Gales on Saturday and Ronnie Baker Brooks on Sunday. Both headliners are scheduled for 6:30 to 8 p.m. closing sets.
Saturday’s Main Stage schedule opens at noon with Blues Explosion, a lineup featuring The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol, Fillmore Slim, Lady Bianca and Alvon Johnson. Ruthie Foster follows from 2 to 3:15 p.m., Joanne Shaw Taylor is scheduled from 4 to 5:15 p.m., and Gales closes the day.
Sunday’s Main Stage lineup starts at noon with Ben Rice & The PDX Hustle. Marc Broussard is scheduled for 2 to 3:15 p.m., Southern Avenue is set for 4 to 5:15 p.m., and Brooks closes the festival from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
The festival also lists a Poor House Bistro Stage focused on local blues acts. Saturday’s slate includes The Turnarounds, Legally Blue, Carmen Ratti Band featuring Jill Dineen and Terry Hiatt. Sunday’s schedule includes Actual Proof, Grace and The Grit, Anthony Cullins Band and Chrome Deluxe.
For the beer-and-brews side of the event, the organizer says the beer garden will offer more than 40 styles of craft beer and cider, along with wine and pre-mixed cocktails. The listed brewery lineup includes Allagash, Altamont, Bare Bottle, Bear Republic, Bottle Logic, Del Cielo, Drake’s, East Brother, Elysian, Fort Point, Gordon Biersch, HenHouse, Lost Coast, North Coast, Original Pattern and several others.
Food vendors listed for the 2026 festival include Cousins Maine Lobster, La Marquesita, Fire and Slice Pizza, Valley Toffee, Olde Tyme Kettle Korn, Saigon Street 2, Gardino’s Ristorante Italiano, Cool Hawaiian Shave Ice, Uncle Papa’s BBQ, Me Oi, 3 Hermanos Mexican Grill, Angelicakes and The Coffee Shack.
The festival footprint is also expected to include artisan booths and family-friendly activities. Visit San Jose describes the event as including Artisan Alley, an instrument petting zoo and community activities for all ages.
Ticket prices currently listed by the organizer show general admission at $45 for a single day and $90 for a two-day pass during the two-weeks-before and gate pricing period. VIP is listed at $140 for one day and $280 for a two-day VIP pass in that same period.
VIP tickets are described by the organizer as including shaded reserved seating near the stage, access to a private bar, flushable restrooms, two drink vouchers and a festival T-shirt. The organizer notes that there is no reserved seating for general admission, and also says there is no reserved seating in the VIP area.
Children 12 and under are admitted free with a paid adult, according to the organizer. Low-back folding chairs and blankets are allowed, while the event rules say ticket holders should expect wristbands and bag checks before entering.
The organizer lists several downtown transportation notes for attendees, including nearby ParkSJ garages and VTA service on bus lines 522, 523, 66 and 68, plus the Green and Blue light rail lines. The event page also says beer and wine sales booths close at 7 p.m., with pouring booths closing at 7:30 p.m.
The festival is produced by the Fountain Blues Foundation, according to the organizer, which says the San Jose event dates back to 1981 and began on the San Jose State University campus before growing into a downtown summer event.
