Most summer concert series in the White Mountains ask you to pick a night. Arts Jubilee asks for a season. The 2026 schedule at Cranmore Mountain Resort runs weekly Thursday nights from July 16 through August 13 at the North Slope Base of Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway, and the smarter move for anyone who lives here is to treat those five dates as a standing plan rather than five separate ticket decisions. The pricing, the location, and the way the evening is timed all reward a routine.
Five Thursdays, One Rhythm
This is Arts Jubilee's 43rd year of presenting live music in the Mount Washington Valley. The lineup is deliberately mixed: two tribute acts bracketing the run, a New Orleans road band, an Americana headliner, and a Grateful Dead night in the middle. If you buy one ticket a week for the whole series, you spend less than a single tank of gas would cost you driving to a comparable outdoor venue in Boston or Portland.
| Date | Headliner | Style | Opener |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, July 16 | The Masterstroke Queen Experience | Queen tribute | Dan Aldrich |
| Thu, July 23 | Glen David Andrews Band | New Orleans rock | Rek'Lis Trio |
| Thu, July 30 | Not Fade Away Band | Grateful Dead tribute | The DellaValla Trio |
| Thu, Aug 6 | Caitlin Canty | Americana singer/songwriter | (per organizers) |
| Thu, Aug 13 | Changes in Latitudes | Jimmy Buffett tribute | (per organizers) |
The lineup is confirmed by Arts Jubilee's 2026 concert lineup featuring the Masterstroke Queen Experience (Queen Tribute) on July 16, the Glen David Andrews Band (New Orleans Rock) on July 23, the Not Fade Away Band (Grateful Dead Tribute) on July 30, Caitlin Canty (Americana Singer/Songwriter) on Aug. 6, and Changes in Latitudes (Jimmy Buffett Tribute) on Aug. 13.
If you have never gone, the Caitlin Canty date on August 6 is the outlier worth circling. A working singer-songwriter on this bill is a different animal than the tribute acts that pull the crowds, and a lawn chair on a mid-August evening at the North Slope is a fair setting for that kind of listening.
What the Ticket Actually Buys
Cranmore is not a stadium. It is a ski hill in July, and the concert lives at the base of one slope. The organizers publish the ticket structure plainly: Adults $20, Seniors 65+ $15, Students $5, Kids 12 & under free. Buy the whole series for two adults and you are at $200 for five nights of live music, which lands closer to the cost of a single decent dinner in the valley than the cost of a night out in most metros.
A few practical points to know before you go, especially if you are used to indoor venues:
- The venue sits at 1 Skimobile Road in North Conway, at the base of the North Slope at Cranmore Mountain Resort.
- The front gate opens at 5:30 on the night of each show. Seating is not provided at the venue, so concertgoers are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs, blankets, etc.
- The opener plays at 6, the headliner at 7, and the night is wound down by roughly 8:30.
- Alcoholic beverages are not permitted on the property. Select beers are available for purchase in a designated area.
- Cranmore Mountain has a "No Dogs Except Leashed Service Dogs" policy.
- Concerts are 'rain or shine' with the exception of rare circumstances, so concertgoers are advised to come prepared as they would to any outdoor event.
The 5:30 gate is the number to pay attention to. A 6 p.m. opener means dinner has to end by 5:15 if you want to be settled with a chair on the lawn, and that constraint is really what shapes the pre-show question below.
The Pre-Show Dinner Rotation
Here is where a series ticket earns its keep. Five Thursdays is enough runway to rotate through the valley's dining without going twice to the same place, and the choice depends on how much time you want to give the meal.
If you want to eat close and get to the gate fast
Barley & Salt is the obvious first stop. It sits at 1699 White Mountain Highway with outdoor seating and reservations available, offering a wider beer selection than most full-service restaurants and a kitchen that holds its own. Pairs well with a same-day stop at Settlers Green. The address puts it a short drive from Skimobile Road, which is the entire point on a Thursday when the clock is against you.
Moat Mountain Smokehouse & Brewing is the other quick answer. It is a local institution and reliable enough that on a Thursday in July, when Route 16 is thick with visitors, the kitchen still turns out plates on a schedule that respects a 5:30 gate.
If you want the meal to be the whole point
May Kelly's is the choice for the nights you would rather skip the concert than rush the dinner. May Kelly's at 3002 White Mountain Highway leans into a cozy, rustic Irish-cottage atmosphere with a full bar. The catch: open Thursday through Sunday only, so it's a destination meal, not a weekday option. Thursday happens to be one of those four nights it is open, which lines up cleanly with the Arts Jubilee calendar. Book early for a 5 p.m. table and skip the opener without regret.
Chef's Bistro sits right in the heart of North Conway and works if you would rather stay in the village and drive up Skimobile Road at the last minute.
If you want something you have not tried yet
The valley's dining has quietly shifted this year. Casamigos Mexican, in North Conway at 603-447-5050, opened in April 2026 and is the newest name on the strip worth trying before the summer visitors discover it. Bar Kosho, which shows up on regional roundups near the valley, is technically in Bridgton across the Maine line, so it is a different Thursday plan entirely.
If you want food that keeps on off nights
Off the main highway at 2840 West Side Road, Lobster Trap is the closest you'll get to coastal-Maine seafood without crossing the state line. Casual, takeout-friendly, and consistent across more than a thousand reviews. Open seven days a week, which makes it a useful Monday or Tuesday option when other top picks are closed. Lobster Trap is also the answer to the Wednesday-night question of what you feed a house full of visitors the day before the concert.
A Thursday That Does Not End at 8:30
The show is over by around 8:30. In July that leaves you real daylight, and in August it leaves you a long twilight down Route 16. The routine most locals settle into is a short drive back into North Conway village for dessert or a drink at a bar with a late kitchen, or a straight shot home with the windows down.
If the group still has energy, the Muddy Moose is the volume answer — the most-reviewed restaurant in North Conway by a wide margin, which means a Thursday-night table is at least available even if it is not quiet. For something calmer, several of the higher-end dining rooms in Jackson and Bretton Woods are quiet enough after 8:30 to feel like an actual date rather than a schedule.
The Real Argument for a Series Pass
A single Arts Jubilee ticket is a nice evening. Five of them, spaced a week apart from mid-July through mid-August, is something more useful: a built-in reason to leave the house on a specific day, a rotating excuse to try the restaurants you keep meaning to get to, and a fixed point on the calendar that will bring the same neighbors back to the same lawn five weeks running. For $100 per adult across the whole run, that is one of the more sensible deals summer in Carroll County still offers.
Print the schedule. Put it on the fridge. Pick a first restaurant. The first ducks drop at Cranmore on July 16.
If your summer plans include a longer look at what living in the Mount Washington Valley actually feels like on a Thursday in July, or if you are curious how the North Conway and Jackson markets are shaping up this season, Kimberly Freeman is happy to walk the valley with you. Contact Kim when you are ready.
