2026 Scott Joplin Ragtime Music Festival Arrives in Sedalia

The 2026 Scott Joplin International Ragtime festival officially starts today in downtown Sedalia.

A meet & greet will commence at 5 p.m., at the Furnell Pavilion at 2nd and Ohio called a “Ragtime Reunion and Welcome Social.

A handful of performers will attend and mingle with festival goers and ragtime music lovers during the 90-minute event.

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Also on Wednesday, the first of many concerts scheduled for the music festival will begin at 7:30 p.m., called “An Evening with David Robert Thomas.”  Tickets are $35 each and required for the two-hour show and are available for purchase through scottjoplin.org.  The Wednesday night concert will take place at the Daum Museum on the State Fair Community College Campus.

A total of 44 acts are scheduled to appear at this year’s music festival.

Opening ceremony is at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Furnell Pavilion, followed by free performances at the Pavilion, the Stark Tent on East Fifth Street and the Katy Depot, 600 E. 3rd Street.

A complete list of performances for the 2026 festival can be found here.

Most of the paid venue concerts will take place at the Hayden Liberty Center, 111 West. 5th Street.

You can dine with the ragtime stars on May 28 at The Venue May 28 at 5 p.m. Tickets are $60.

A very popular Trolley Tour is being offered May 28, 29 and 30 for $30 each.

The Ragtime Dance will be held at the Fox Theatre May 30 at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $28.

A total of 14 symposia will be presented at the Liberty Center May 28-29. Tickets are $20 per day. Start times are 9, 10 and 11 a.m.  One admission ticket provides access to all three sessions for the day.

The festival will have a new Artistic Director in 2027 in Ethan Leinwand. He also served as Artist in Residence earlier this year. This will be Bryan Wright's final year as artistic director.

Note: All gallery photos were taken May 27, 2026.