Hangtime Music Festival
Placerville
October 16-18, 2026
Photos by Paul Piazza
The inaugural Hangtime Music Festival made its debut at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville recently. And not surprisingly, the independent mid-October campout was a huge hit with music fans of all ages.
In fact, this festival seemed to have a hint of the old Hangtown Halloween Ball spirit.
For those of you who are not familiar, Hangtown was a legendary October costume-themed music festival that ran for 11 years. A little over 10 years into its existence, the popular Northern California festival was taken over and rebranded by another festival group and eventually failed to continue after it was moved to Grass Valley. So, for a few years, Hangtown became just another great batch of memories that people would reminisce about fondly at social gatherings.
That is, until Ryan Kronenberg stepped in again.
Kronenberg, an independent promoter, who was largely responsible for originating the Hangtown Halloween Ball, had been brainstorming a new festival idea. He had already held calendar dates at the former Placerville home of the festival, but he wasn’t quite certain how the response would be for a new festival.
Then, surprisingly, the Strawberry Music Festival, which was to take place in nearby Grass Valley, was canceled on the very same weekend he had in mind. And suddenly, a musical void in the universe opened.
Kronenberg found himself suddenly scrambling to get a lineup together. “I booked the festival in, like, 10 days, which was kind of wild,” said a still surprised Kronenberg. “I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever booked a festival in that short a time. Usually, it takes me about five months.”
Kronenberg was able to, in rapid succession, confirm headliners The Devil Makes Three, Leftover Salmon, and Elephant Revival for the three-day event. The next thing on the list was to come up with a new name, and “Hangtime” seemed to fit the bill. Then, he filled the rest of the lineup, got a surprisingly robust response when he teased the word out, and still sounds a little surprised at the response. According to Kronenberg, who has split much of his last 30 years, between being a sound engineer and a drummer, said he found the response to be “overwhelming and positive.”
Naturally, former Hangtown attendees were intrigued by the new festival, and many were in attendance. “We really enjoy the ease of navigating the fairgrounds in Placerville, and it’s an easy drive from where we live in Chico,” said Brian Fredson, who, along with his partner Marirose, had been to all but one of the Hangtown Halloween Balls. “There were definitely some bits and pieces of Hangtown here, but overall we were happy to see a lot of familiar festival faces and hear some great music.”
This year’s lineup featured 20 bands over three days, along with Halloween-themed decor and plenty of craft and clothing vendors. There were two outdoor stages, the El Dorado Main Stage and the smaller Keep Smilin’ Stage. These featured continuous music throughout the day. When one band finished on the main stage, another would immediately begin a shorter set on the nearby Keep Smilin’ stage, and this went seamlessly. There was also an indoor stage with late-night music until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
A few sets by some groups that had been relatively unknown to many fans were big hits. Bronwyn, Pixie and the Partygrass Boys, and Tejon Street Corner Thieves were bands that Kronenberg termed “discovery gems.” It’s very likely we’ll be seeing much more from all three.
There was also the return of the Dead Winter Carpenters, who had played most of the Hangtown festivals before, and the talented husband and wife duo of fiddler/vocalist Jenni Charles and guitarist/vocalist Jesse Dunn treated the crowd to a gorgeous duet of “Islands in the Stream,” the famous Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers hit. Not to be outdone, Hot Buttered Rum were joined by Hattie Craven for a rollicking cover of Parton’s “9 to 5” during their high energy set. Craven also joined her father, festival emcee Joe Craven, for a great Sunday afternoon set.
Joe Craven, who introduces each main stage act with a unique costume and embellishes each introduction with a distinctive poetic sense that praises the band’s attributes, is also an excellent musician (David Grisman Quintet, Psychograss) who plays mandolin, fiddle, percussion, and a slew of other instruments.
Other weekend standouts included the Sam Grisman Project, led by the standup bass-playing son of David Grisman. There were also excellent sets by Later Days: A Mother Hips Experience and The Golden Cadillacs, both of whom feature guitarist Jeremy Plog, who also plays with the Dead Winter Carpenters.
For those who wanted to enjoy the festivities on the clean living spectrum, the festival also featured wellness programs with yoga and a sound bath. There was a family-friendly kid zone with activities, and many young families with kids were in attendance. Each day of the festival had a costume theme day. Friday was On the Fringe, Saturday was Under the Sea, and Sunday was Storybook Sunday. There were some great costumes and outfits.
Another festival evolution that appealed to Kronenberg was the emergence of a bigger late-night jam ethos in the artist camps. “The idea at these types of festivals is to get everybody together to jam and collaborate,” said Kronenberg. “So it was great to see a lot of the festival’s artists getting together to jam, and playing in camps late into the night, and building a bigger community vibe.”
In the meantime, Kronenberg is ready to move on to the fifth year of preparing for the Golden Road Gathering, which is the springtime festival at the same venue.
As the festival wound down, one couldn’t help reflecting on the numerous similarities between the former Hangtown Halloween Ball, and the fresh, rejuvenated spirt of Hangtime Music Festival. “I wouldn’t necessarily call it a first-year event,” reflected Kronenberg, “but more like a revival year.”
Here’s to many more years of this great fall event.
