RT16 Rally & Music Festival Rolls Into Tazewell, Virginia
There are weekends when a town feels like it opens its doors a little wider.
June 5-7, 2026, Tazewell, Virginia will welcome riders, drivers, music lovers, travelers, and hometown folks for the RT16 Rally & Music Festival, a high-energy Appalachian weekend built around live music, motorsports, mountain culture, and the legendary road we all know as the Back of the Dragon.
For Wayfarer Appalachia, this event feels right at home. Good music. Good food. Good people. A Main Street full of movement. That is the kind of thing we believe in.
A Festival Built Around the Road, the Music, and the Mountains
The RT16 Rally & Music Festival brings together the pieces that make this corner of Southwest Virginia so special.
You have the road itself, Route 16, winding through the mountains with 32 miles, 438 curves, and views that remind you to keep both hands steady and your eyes open. You have motorcycles, cars, trucks, custom builds, stunt shows, bike games, and group rides. Then you have the music carrying through town from afternoon into the night.
It is a rally, a music festival, and a mountain-town gathering all rolled into one.
Live Music Across Tazewell
Music will be a major part of the weekend, with performances happening across multiple stages, including Wayfarer’s own festival stages.
The 2026 lineup includes:
Parker Diffie
Alabaster Boxer
Black Lillies
American Darling
Jake & Chloe Angeles
Brooke Foster
Sean Blackwell
Ryan Moran
Joey Davis
Nothing Noble
From full-band sets to acoustic moments, the weekend is packed with the kind of live music that belongs in a mountain town. The kind you feel in your chest before you even know the words.
Wayfarer Appalachia in the Heart of the Festival
Wayfarer Appalachia will be right in the middle of the RT16 Rally & Music Festival experience.
Our stages will help carry the music through the weekend, including the Wayfarer Starlight Porch Stage and the Wayfarer Street Stage. Guests can stop in, settle in, grab something good to eat or drink, and take in the energy of a town alive with music and motion.
Wayfarer will also be part of the official Thursday kickoff at Cole Harley-Davidson in Bluefield, with food provided by Wayfarer as the weekend gets started.
For us, this is what Wayfarer was built for. A place where travelers and locals meet. A place where music has room to breathe. A place where Tazewell can show people who we are.
Motorsports, Parade, Stunt Shows, and the Spirit of the Open Road
The RT16 Rally & Music Festival is not only for music fans. It is built for people who love the road.
Festival weekend activities include motorcycle and ATV test rides, stunt shows, bike games, a car and bike show, poker runs, group rides and drives, vendors, food, cornhole, and plenty of time to take in the sights and sounds of downtown Tazewell.
Saturday morning will bring the rally parade through town, with motorcycles, classic cars, trucks, and custom builds rolling through Main Street. It is one of those moments that makes a small town feel big in all the best ways.
Come Hungry, Come Ready, Come Stay Awhile
A weekend like this is made for wandering.
Catch a set. Grab a bite. Walk through the vendors. Watch the bikes roll in. Step inside Wayfarer for food, drinks, music, and a little break from the road. Then head back out and follow the sound of the next stage.
Visitors will also find nearby lodging, campgrounds, Airbnbs, and places to explore throughout Tazewell County. For folks coming in from out of town, this is a perfect excuse to make a full Southwest Virginia weekend of it.
Why This Weekend Matters
Events like RT16 Rally & Music Festival matter because they bring people into the heart of town.
They fill the streets. They support small businesses. They introduce travelers to Tazewell, maybe for the first time. They give locals a reason to gather, listen, dance, eat, laugh, and feel proud of the place we call home.
That is the beauty of a weekend like this. It is not polished-up Appalachian culture from somewhere else. It is happening right here, on our roads, on our stages, around our tables, and along Main Street.
Join Us for RT16 Rally & Music Festival
The RT16 Rally & Music Festival takes place June 5-7, 2026 in Tazewell, Virginia, with a kickoff event on Thursday, June 4 at Cole Harley-Davidson in Bluefield.
Come for the curves. Stay for the music. Pull up a chair at Wayfarer and make yourself part of the story.
We will see you in Tazewell.
