KatmanDoozie Kicks Off Its First Year This Weekend
KatmanDoozie takes over Katmandu Campground Friday, Aug. 28 and Saturday, Aug. 29. The festival is free and open to the public, with camping, RV sites and cabins available for those who want to stay for the weekend.
The festival was spearheaded by Black Hills musician Chris Cady with the folks at Katmandu, and Cady’s early descriptions of the event have consistently reached beyond putting bands on a stage. In his first call for vendors, he said the goal was to showcase “local original and diverse culture for the eyes, ears and tastebuds.”
Two Days of Black Hills Music
Music begins Friday at 5 p.m. with The Black Asters, the Spearfish power-folk and Americana trio of Emily Blair, Jake Jackson and Cady.
They’re followed by Betty Get Down, a five-woman Spearfish group that piles vocals, guitar, bass, keys, saxophone, flute, violin, banjo, ukulele and percussion into its folk and funk-influenced sound.
Maddy Ellwanger takes the third slot Friday before the Biscuit Lifters close out the night with Play Some Petty, their full-band tribute to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Saturday starts at 2 p.m. with singer-songwriter Chris Graves, followed by the country and blues stomp of Buckskin Cult.
Johnny Hastings Trio takes over in the middle of the afternoon. Hastings and Stillhouse Down have built their sound around blues and Americana, with the landscape and music of western South Dakota running through both.
Porch Swing follows before High Rise closes the festival Saturday night with reggae.
It is a lineup that moves around quite a bit without leaving the Black Hills very often. Folk, blues, country, jazz, rock, reggae and a Tom Petty tribute all end up on the same campground stage.
It Isn’t Just a Music Festival
The other half of KatmanDoozie has been taking shape alongside the lineup.
Cady has spent the weeks leading up to the festival recruiting, supporting and promoting artists, craftspeople, clothing designers, food makers and other vendors, including some names Black Hills audiences may already recognize.
Pepper Clothing Co. will bring Kori Teasley’s one-of-a-kind upcycled clothing. Stick in the Mud Wood Creations will have the work of woodturner Lalenia Hope Seifert.
The food lineup stretches from barbecue to Colombian, Mexican and Punjabi cooking. Pit 14 BBQ will be on site, Los Wichos Colombian is scheduled for Friday, Tacos Es Madres Birria for Saturday, and Ruth’s Kitchen will bring Punjabi dishes to the weekend.
Crow Peak Brewing Co. is the festival’s major beer sponsor, with beer available alongside Katmandu’s full-service bar.
Why Katmandu?
Katmandu has been a Sturgis campground since 1985, but the property has been changing since Brent and Lynette Larson took ownership in 2023.
The Larsons have publicly talked about moving Katmandu beyond its reputation as a campground people primarily associate with Rally. More events have begun showing up there throughout the season, including live music and community gatherings.
KatmanDoozie lands near the end of August, when Rally is already over and the campground can become something else for a weekend.
The festival is also free.
You don’t have to rent a campsite or cabin to come out. You can drive in, listen to music, eat, shop the vendors and spend the day at Katmandu without buying an admission ticket. Those who want the full campground-festival experience can book RV spaces, tent camping or cabins and stay.
Ten percent of lodging proceeds from the weekend will benefit Operation Combating Veteran Suicide, continuing a relationship between Katmandu and the South Dakota organization that has also been part of other events at the campground this season.
A First Year Worth Showing Up For
There is a particular kind of gamble involved in starting a festival.
Before there are annual traditions, big crowds and people asking when next year’s lineup will drop, somebody has to build the first one. Musicians have to agree to play it. Businesses have to sponsor it. Vendors have to load up their work and set up a table without knowing exactly how many people will walk past.
And people have to show up.
Black Hills Art Beat spends a lot of time looking for the people creating more places for artists to play, sell work and find an audience around here. KatmanDoozie is putting a lot of those pieces in one place, and its organizers are already calling this the inaugural festival rather than a one-off weekend.
If we want more locally built festivals in the Black Hills, the first year is a pretty good time to go see one.
KatmanDoozie
Know Before You Go
KatmanDoozie 2026
Friday, Aug. 28
Music begins at 5 p.m.
The Black Asters
Betty Get Down
Maddy Ellwanger
Biscuit Lifters: Play Some Petty
Saturday, Aug. 29
Music begins at 2 p.m.
Chris Graves
Buckskin Cult
Johnny Hastings Trio
Porch Swing
High Rise
Katmandu Campground & RV Park
Sturgis, South Dakota
Admission: Free and open to the public
Camping, RV sites and cabins are available through Katmandu.
Sponsors and supporters include: Crow Peak Brewing Co., Platinum Car Brokers, Spread the Tunes, Inc., Black Hills Federal Credit Union, Black Hills Energy, Dakota Equipment Rental, Social Butterfly Entertainment and others supporting the inaugural weekend.
Ten percent of lodging proceeds will benefit Operation Combating Veteran Suicide.