Acoustic Roots Festival

The 13th annual Acoustic Roots Festival returns to Two Rivers Wildlife Park on the Mira River in Grand Mira North, Cape Breton, from September 4 to 6, 2026. One of the island's friendliest late-summer music gatherings, it celebrates acoustic roots music — folk, blues, Celtic, country and bluegrass — with a lineup built around Atlantic Canadian artists. The festival doubles as a fundraiser for the wildlife park, with proceeds supporting the 50-plus species of native and rescued animals that call the 500-acre riverside grounds home.

The 2026 bill leads with Cape Breton blues icon Matt Minglewood, soulful roots-and-soul singer-songwriter Charlie A'Court, folk-Americana quintet Pretty Archie, Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Robert Bouchard, and Mabou-born Americana songwriter Aaron MacDonald, performing with Greg Favaro. They're joined by champion fiddlers Kimberly Fraser and Dara Smith-MacDonald, acclaimed Cape Breton vocalist Delores Boudreau with Rob Wigle, Hearts of Kin, Mike McKenna Jr., Jocelyn Nicole Hynes, 2nd Generation, Ella Dubinsky, Maxim Cormier, Chad & Jan Tetford, Russell Mathews, the MacArthur Dancers and Kevalone — with more performers still to be announced.

The setting is half the show. Two Rivers Wildlife Park keeps black bears, moose, lynx and foxes in large natural enclosures along the Mira River, alongside a hands-on petting zoo, walking trails, a children's playground and a U-fish pond — all open around the music. The festival is deliberately family-friendly, and on-site camping means festival-goers can roll out of a tent straight into the afternoon sets. Performances run Friday from 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m., with the wildlife park, campsites and a relaxed riverside atmosphere filling out the weekend.

Tickets and campsites are booked directly by phone at 902-727-2483; details and the full artist roster are at acousticrootsfestival.com and on the festival's Facebook page. The park sits on Grand Mira North Road, roughly 35 minutes from Sydney and 15 minutes from Marion Bridge, making it an easy add-on to a Cape Breton Island road trip — and a fitting finale to the summer festival season before Celtic Colours takes over the island in October.

Make the most of your time in Cape Breton Island - pair Acoustic Roots Festival with our Cabot Trail Fall Colors guide, fall foliage guide, and puffin-watching guide. They're each packed with itinerary ideas, local tips, and everything you need to extend your stay.