The Dinah, the legendary queer women’s music festival held annually in Palm Springs, said it would take a year off following the retirement of founder Mariah Hanson, but the event will indeed return in 2026.
When is The Dinah 2026?
The 35th anniversary of The Dinah will be held Sept. 30-Oct. 4 at the Hilton Palm Springs and Hotel Zoso.
How do I get tickets to The Dinah?
GA passes are available at $292.67, and premium passes are $658.54. Single-day passes for Friday and Saturday are also available at $168.80 to $191.32, and single-event passes are $46.04 to $113.61.
Passes are available for purchase now at thedinah.com/tickets-2026.
What artists are on The Dinah lineup for 2026?
Lineups for each day are TBA.
Who took over The Dinah from Mariah Hanson?
In a statement, The Dinah announced that its new owners are a few longtime team members: Operations Manager Bella Barkow and Latina reality TV star and Dinah emcee Rose Garcia. Hanson told The Desert Sun in 2025 that even though she loved producing the event, “it’s the end of an era and the beginning of a new dawn” for The Dinah, and it needed a “fresh voice.” She also expected to stay on as a consultant.
“Producing any festival is stressful, and when I was younger, I loved it,” Hanson said in the same interview. “Stress is a superpower for people like me, but as I get older, I’m balancing out what that means as I’m aging, and it doesn’t mean the same thing. I need to slow it down and ride my horses more often. I’d like to write a book, do some public speaking and softer things. I’m a super savvy businesswoman, and when I need to pivot, I know how to pivot. Let’s just say I’m a good dancer.”
The Dinah began in 1991 at the Palm Springs Art Museum
The Dinah, which began in 1991 at The Palm Springs Art Museum, is one of the oldest and largest lesbian events in the world. Initially, it coincided with the Colgate Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle women’s golf tournament. The Riviera Resort & Spa became a longtime host hotel of The Dinah, and the event grew as a famous “lesbian spring break” for 20,000 women for a four-day celebration during the LPGA tournament.
Over the tournament’s 50-year history at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, it was held in April and later became known as the ANA Inspiration. With the introduction of its new sponsor, Chevron U.S.A., the LPGA tournament relocated to the Houston area in 2023.
Since 2021, The Dinah has taken place in September. However, Hanson expressed her desire to see The Dinah return to its original date in April by 2027 — even though there is no longer a golf tournament in the area to coordinate the event with. Many attendees have told her they’d like to see the event return to spring, and polls taken at previous Dinahs also reflect this.
Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and more have performed at The Dinah
The Dinah has featured big-name artists such as Lady Gaga and Katy Perry on a double bill in 2009, The Pussycat Dolls, Pat Benatar and many more. But many artists, such as Lady Gaga, performed at the event long before they were headlining arenas, stadiums and festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza.
When Hanson reminisced about many of the artists who performed at The Dinah and considered the global attention that many of them have received, including Lady Gaga’s headlining performances at Coachella, she said in 2025 “it lends strength to The Dinah” when it comes to booking future hit-makers and festival headliners.
“It opened the doors for queer women. When you talk to talent agencies and you’re a gay man, the door has always been open because it’s been long-held that the gay community are hit-makers and lift artists. But lesbians … have never had that moniker,” Hanson said in 2025. “Because of The Dinah, they do now, and they’re included in that sphere of influence that belongs to the LGBT, and not just the G. That’s cool, because it means when I’m trying to book artists, my calls are returned.”
Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: The Dinah will return to Palm Springs under new leadership this fall
Reporting by Brian Blueskye, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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