Festival season has arrived in Baltimore, and it’s coming in hot. It jumped off this past weekend at Artscape 2026 with The Roots, Stephanie Mills, Kindred The Family Soul and a few more live acts setting it off despite some unpredictable weather. Next up — and right on time for Black Music Month and Juneteenth — is AFRAM 2026 with a forecast of 100% Black musical excellence.
Touted as the largest free African American-focused festival on the East Coast, this year marks AFRAM’s 50th anniversary. The annual event returns for a three-day celebration from Friday, June 19th through Sunday, June 21st in Baltimore’s historic Druid Hill Park, and the impressive lineup of talent is fitting for the occasion.
Helping to celebrate AFRAM 50 will be festival headliner Charlie Wilson. Uncle Charlie will be coming through in a sparkly suit with his deep catalog of R&B, soul and funk favorites from his Gap Band days to his solo and collabo hits. Elsewhere at the top of the lineup is ’90s R&B group SWV, the trio The Lox bringing hip-hop heat to the stage and Bmore’s own R&B sensation Mario.
In addition to the aforementioned R&B artists, the genre will be coming on strong at AFRAM 2026. Tamia will be there to perform, so be sure to practice the line dance to “Can’t Get Enough” for when she sings it, and be ready to bust a move. The Live Show Killer PJ Morton will bring new music from his double album Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, which drops on Juneteenth, before he heads out on his Saturday Night, Sunday Morning Tour in July. Contemporary R&B girlies Normani and Chlöe Bailey will clock in energetic sets with lots of singing, dancing and carrying on. While smooth crooner J Brown will bring his mellow soul vibes.
Several artists with roots in or ties to Baltimore will join Mario on the bill. There’ll be R&B diva Lil Mo, dance music legend Ultra Naté, singer Paula Campbell and multi-instrumentalist Brandon Woody with a touch of jazz. More local up-and-coming artists from Bmore and throughout the DMV will also round out the daily performance schedule.
As always, AFRAM 2026 will be free of charge to attend, open to all ages and have something for the entire family — or AFRAMily as attendees are affectionately known. Having been to AFRAM multiple times over the years, we can assure that this festival is always a great time and worth attending.
Make plans to be in Baltimore at AFRAM 2026 this Juneteenth weekend. Visit the AFRAM website to plan your visit and for additional information.
