Summer in Walla Walla is a season of abundance: bountiful sunshine, rolling hills covered with leafy green grapevines, wine galore, and a packed calendar’s worth of live music to set the tone.

From gentle acoustic tunes at local wineries to an all-out brutal festival of heavy metal, a month’s worth of intimate classical concerts to good old rock and roll, the “town so nice they named it twice” offers a magical setting for a relaxing and music-filled vacation.

June 2025

Since 2007, the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival assembles musicians from across North America to play at wineries and on stages throughout the valley. Pieces range from the familiar to the obscure, in expected and unexpected settings, and often, via the most creative arrangements you can imagine. “Think beatboxing flute and hip-hop trio,” says festival founder and violist, Timothy Christie. Through June 28. Times, venues, and prices vary. wwcmf.org 

Also the frontman for nu metal rock band, Staind, Aaron Lewis returns to Walla Walla Amphitheater after his first 2022 appearance, this time with his twangy, steel guitar-studded band, the Stateliners, in tow. Friday, June 13th. 7:00 p.m. Wine Country Amphitheater, 201 E Rees Ave., $130.

Local singer-songwriters Mari Gisele and McKenzie Lindsey (who performs as Calico Bones with her sister, Madison) co-founded this year’s first Freya Fair as a showcase for female artists. The family-friendly, all-day event features music from female artists and women-centric bands from across the Northwest, as well as women-owned food vendors and Dragon’s Gate beloved farmhouse-style ales. Sunday, June 22nd. 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Dragon’s Gate Brewery, 52288 Sunquist Rd, Milton Freewater, freyafair.org. $60 and up. Kids 5 and under free.

July 2025

Now in its 4th year, the Blood of the Gods Merrymaking heavy metal music and wine festival is always a blast of decibel-shredding fresh air. This year, a “no holds barred speaking panel featuring wine and music luminaries” precedes the main merrymaking grand wine tasting, while the afterparty show featuring Seattle’s metalcore act Heiress and headliner, Oxygen Destroyer, is sure to wrap things up on a hard and heavy note. Saturday, July 19. Times, venues, and prices vary. Tickets and details here. 

Fiddle virtuoso and angel-voiced Alison Krauss closes out the summer lineup at the Walla Walla Amphitheater, reunited with a version of her longtime band, Union Station, for the first time since 2011 when they recorded their last album (Paper Airplane) together. With Willie Watson. Tuesday, July 22. Wine Country Amphitheater, 201 E Rees Ave., $72.50.

For a true hometown experience, head to Washington state’s oldest state fair, the Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days. At the fairgrounds, see show animals and produce exhibits, a rodeo, carnival rides, a parade, demolition derby, and of course, a marquee concert—this year Foreigner, a 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee whose hits include "I Want To Know What Love Is," "Waiting for a Girl Like You," and "Urgent" —fill the schedule at this annual end-of-summer blowout.

Ongoing

When warm weekend evenings officially arrive, you’ll find a sizable slice of locals sprawled on picnic blankets and enjoying dinner and wine alfresco on the green, grassy lawn at Tranche. Local and regional bands, solo performers, and acts from more distant locales regularly take the stage most Fridays and Saturdays from April through October, playing every genre imaginable. Fridays and Saturdays, April through October. Times vary. Tranche, 705 Berney Dr., tranche.wine. Free.

Downtown Walla Walla comes alive in the summer as buskers play on street corners, music wafts from street-side tasting rooms, and local parks bustle with activity. On Saturday nights, head to Heritage Square for the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation’s Summer Concert Series for two sets of live music featuring local and regional acts performing music of all styles, from rock to pop to cover songs. Saturdays, July–September. 5–7 p.m and 8–10 p.m. Heritage Square, 116 E Main, downtownww.com/summer-concert-series. Free.

See the Visit Walla Walla event calendar for a comprehensive list of all music events in the area, including many local wineries that host performances.