Pig & Whiskey announced Thursday that the 2026 edition of the music-and-barbecue festival is moving from downtown Ferndale to Corktown, July 31 to August 2. Organizers made the relocation public on social media on April 30. The specific Corktown venue address has not been disclosed.
Reverend Horton Heat headlines Friday, July 31. Goober and the Peas play Saturday, August 1. The Verve Pipe closes Sunday, August 2. Reverend Horton Heat is the Texas rockabilly trio, on the road since 1985. Goober and the Peas is the Detroit country band fronted by Jack White's brother Jack Lawrence Eddy White, originally active in the early 1990s and still cycling through reunion runs. The Verve Pipe is the East Lansing alt-rock band that put "The Freshmen" on radio in 1996.
Pig & Whiskey ran in downtown Ferndale for years as a Metro Times-co-sponsored festival. The publication is no longer involved in the 2026 event, per its own coverage of the announcement. Organizers retained the brand and moved the footprint.
Corktown is the move on the table because Corktown has the room. The Roosevelt Park reopening, Michigan Central's full operational return, and the buildout along Trumbull and Bagley have given the neighborhood a usable footprint for a three-day outdoor festival in a way it didn't have a decade ago. Ferndale's downtown Nine Mile footprint had grown tight.
Tickets start at $10 general admission. VIP packages add whiskey tastings and premium stage access. Bands and food trucks are still being accepted through pigandwhiskeycorktown.com.
The math the organizers are running is straightforward. Move into a neighborhood that has more square footage and more national attention, keep the format the festival built across two decades in Ferndale, and see if the audience follows. Most of it will. Some won't.
The 2026 dates are locked. The venue announcement is next.
