Manor Fest 8 goes bigger in ’26, with a free weekend to cap things off

Last week, Manor Records released the lineup for Manor Fest 8, the latest installment of their long-running, multi-weekend, multi-venue music festival, taking place over two long weekends this May, and it’s a doozy.

Over the course of Wednesday, May 23, through Saturday, May 27, and again from Wednesday, May 27, through Saturday, May 30, it’s the biggest Manor Fest yet, both in terms of size and scope. Yes, local heavy hitters like indie rockers the Greeting Committee, jazz icon Bobby Watson, dark shoegaze trio Nightosphere, and rapper Paris Williams are on the bill, among many others. Yes, you can catch shows everywhere from Greenwood Social Hall to RecordBar to Hillsiders and beyond.

However, the biggest news is that the final day of the festival will be free.

Called KC Streetcar Day, Saturday, May 27, takes place at three venues along the KC Streetcar line. From 1-3 p.m., the Kemper Museum will host Kadesh Flow, True Lions, and Flare Tha Rebel. From 3:30-6 p.m., you can catch Kirstie Lynn, Fritz & Sons, and Calvin Arsenia at the Kansas City Public Library’s downtown branch. It all concludes at Current Landing from 6:30-10 p.m. for a dance party with Jamogi & The Jammers, Jass, and The Greeting Committee.

While Manor Fest has always used a mix of traditional venues and other spots like coffee shops and breweries, this seems like Manor is really trying to get out into the city proper, and Manor Records’ Shaun Crowley says that it’s always been his mission to eventually feature local artists on bigger stages in Kansas City.

They’ve already hosted showcases with the Kemper Museum over the past year and have dreamed of working with the KC Library and the KC Current.

The hard part, he says, was building a night around these venues because they try to keep events walkable by neighborhood and these three venues are somewhat standalone.

“It wasn’t until the KC Streetcar extension that I saw the potential of public transit connecting these venues [and] creating a new KC Streetcar day for the festival,” explains Crowley. “With us still being such a small non-profit, it would of been impossible for us to have the manpower to do a legit ticketing layout at these venues.”

Plus, as the Library prefers programming to be free to the public, it just made sense, he continues: “I would love to one day have enough funding to make more of this festival free to help take away another potential barrier of someone taking a chance to listen to local music.”

However, should you buy a wristband for either both weekends or the second weekend, you’ll get first entry into the Kemper Museum and KC Library showcases. Those shows may be limited by capacity, but Crowley notes the new Current Landing space is a 5000-capacity outdoor venue.

“We want everyone we can to come check it out in its early stages,” Crowley says. With a Current match against Boston Legacy FC right beforehand, your options to support Kansas City are pretty stellar.

More information on Manor Fest 8, including the full lineup and schedule, is available here. RSVP for the KC Streetcar Day of the festival on Saturday, May 30, here.