Why Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend Is Special

When Brandi Carlile announced the 2026 lineup for her Girls Just Wanna Weekend , featuring powerhouses like The Chicks (performing their fist full set since 2023) and Sam Smith alongside her own headline slot, she wasn’t just booking another music festival. She was doubling down on what has become one of music’s most politically charged — and joyfully subversive — gatherings: a space where pleasure and resistance are inseparable, where crowdsurfing through pool water at midnight is as important as discussing radical vulnerability in afternoon workshops.

The fest, which offers Carlile fans a chance to catch the star ahead of her anticipated “The Human Tour,” will celebrate its seventh year January 15th-19th, 2026 at Mexico’s Barceló Maya Resort. Over the years, Carlile’s all-female and non-binary festival has evolved from a pointed response to mainstream festivals that exclude women headliners into something far more urgent: a four-day temporary autonomous zone where the political is poolside and the personal is performed under the Caribbean stars.

Get Girls Just Wanna Weekend 2026 Tickets

The 2026 roster includes CMAT, Joy Oladokun, Jensen McRae, Lucius, Jasmine.4.t, August Ponthier, SistaStrings, Autumn Nicholas, Arroba Nat, The Carlile Family Band, The Marshgrass Mamas, and a special Titans of Americana set, plus comedian Kristin Key. Here’s why it’s special. (Editor’s Note: You can also enter to win a festival package for two to the upcoming event here.)

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Photo by Alive Coverage for 100x Hospitality

The Brandi Bubble Meets Political Reality

Even in a normal year for Girls Just Wanna, attendees can’t wait to escape inside “the Brandi bubble.”  That feels more true than ever this year, following the swearing-in of a new administration that has not exactly placed the protection of women’s rights or LGBTQ+ freedoms at the forefront of its agenda.

At previous festivals, Carlile hasn’t shied away from the tension, telling the crowd this was “not a check your feelings at the door kind of place,” and inviting attendees to “fill up and go home and do whatever you can do for your community to make sure that next year doesn’t feel like the one we just went through.” Politics and pleasure, anxiety and joy, all swirling together in the Mexican heat.

Brandioke: Where Fans Become the Show

One of the festival’s most beloved traditions is Brandioke — karaoke hosted by Brandi herself, where Carlile hands over the mic and her band, including the Hanseroth twins, to fans and fellow artists who’ve won the chance to perform her songs.

It’s democracy in action, the musical equivalent of Carlile’s broader message: everyone deserves the spotlight. During the pool parties and afternoon sessions, Brandioke becomes less performance and more communion, with the Grammy-winning artist treating fan renditions of her catalog with the same reverence she’d give a collaboration with a musical legend. Past Brandioke sessions have featured surprise appearances — like when Holly and Jess from Lucius sang “The Story.”