Rogue Festival 2026 Preview: Fresno’s whirlwind of weird and wonderful returns for its 25th go-round
By Heather Parish
Only at the Rogue Festival can one enjoy the cognitive dissonance of “Janice Noga Sings: For Love of Country” and “My Dead Uncle’s Porn Collection” sitting side by side in the program.
But mash-ups of sentiment and shock are to be expected at San Joaquin Valley’s fringe festival of unrestrained and uncensored performance, which returns for its 25th go-round Feb. 27 through March 7, 2026 in Fresno’s Tower District. You can get the sample platter of offerings at the Rogue Teaser Show on Thurs., Feb. 26, at 6 p.m. at Summer Fox Brewing Company (the former Audie’s Olympic space on N. Van Ness).
Rogue Festival 411
This year, the Rogue presents over 200 independent, original, and off-beat performances from over 50 different performing groups in 10 different venues for six days. The fact that you can see a theater performance and run to a music show then to a literary reading in a single afternoon is part of the charm. The festival also includes dance, improv, comedy, storytelling, performance art, magic, cabaret, burlesque, and more—the way the festival crams together so many performers of differing styles and subjects is an impressive feat. There’s something for (almost) everyone at the Rogue.
Each show is an hour long (or less) and there are 30 minutes between shows to run off and catch the next. But the number of options can be overwhelming. Below, I offer a smattering (so don’t @ me) of possibilities for your consideration. Keep in mind that the festival welcomes the weird and offbeat right alongside the wholesome and heartfelt, so be ready to experience anything, try something new, and enjoy the ride!
Trends this year:
There are always a few unexpected trends each year, and once you see them, you can’t unsee them.
Trend #1: Naming Conventions
1.a. What’s in a name?
Some are attention-grabbing and straightforward (*ahem*“My Dead Uncle’s Porn Collection”*ahem*), but others have an “I see but do not recognize” quality. To wit:
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Andre’s Cabaway Day Majeek!!! (three exclamation points!!!) – A magic show from Rogue-famous oddball Christopher Bange.
Charming Disaster’s Musical Oracle—Goth-folk music and tarot from Brooklyn, NY. Second weekend only, so don’t depend upon the stars to guide your way. Plan in advance.
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Spilled Dictators—A satirical play of totalitarian proportions presented by Fresno’s URHere.
The Osteotones—Cello and guitar acoustic/classical/folk from Fresno. (Yes, one of the musicians is a local orthopaedic surgeon.)
The Osteotones
1.b. Thus the title: hence the name
Requirements for this category: 1) full name in the title 2) the presence of a colon
Bloody Fairytales: Paul Strickland—Master storyteller Strickland offers up tales that are strange, darkly funny, unsettling, and occasionally feral.
Erika MacDonald: TeaTIME—Emotionally theatrical, MacDonald’s 2025 solo show “The Barn Identity” swept audiences into her fanciful world. Expect this one to do the same, but with swearing.
Jon Bennett: This Will Only Ever Happen Once—Jon has offered Fresno his particular brand of Australian comedic storytelling with shows like “Fire in the Meth Lab,” “Pretending Things are a C*ck,” and “AMERICAN’T.” He’s immensely popular with Rogue audiences, so plan in advance.
Jaguar Bennett: Sweetness and Light—Also immensely popular, Fresno’s Jaguar Bennett specializes in comedic rants-on-a-theme Chautaqua shows that tend to sell out early, especially at Veni Vidi Vici, where folks can drink while Jaguar skewers the darker, unseemly side of American culture.
Jaguar Bennett: Sweetness and Light
Trend #2: Fresno Music
There are fewer music acts than typical on the Rogue lineup this year, but Fresno acoustic is always well-repped.
David Spencer: Life Reflection Songs—guitar, vocals and harmonica from Fresno
What You Lifted – Scott Bentley—original compositions from Clovis
Infinite Garden and Bountiful Harvest—Americana from Fresno
Infinite Garden and Bountiful Harvest
Trend #3: ICYMI
These shows, or versions of them, have appeared at the Rogue or in the Fresno area before. This is a chance to catch it if you missed it or see how it has evolved.
Shanties and Stories with Strangely—The peripatetic Strangely is back with his accordion and distinctive essence.
Martin Dockery: Wanderlust returns, bringing the original Dockery existential adventure back to the Rogue Festival after 16 years.
Man Cave—Tim Mooney’s “one-man sci-fi climate change tragicomedy” returns in two parts. Volume one and volume two play on different days, so adjust your schedule accordingly.
DYSFUNCTION—An original musical by Ke’lea Flowers transfers to Rogue from a run last spring at the Selma Arts Center. Donald Munro called it “meaningful and inspirational.”
Real Black Swann: Confessions of America’s First Black Drag Queen—Les Kurkendall returns with a solo show he debuted here four years ago. It has since undergone workshopping and several runs in Los Angeles and Dublin, Ireland.
The Real Black Swann by Les Kurkendall-Barrett
Heather’s picks
The Review, a new two-person play featuring Martin Dockery and a guy who isn’t Martin Dockery (okay, his name is Andrew Broaddus). One of the three (yes, three!) shows Dockery performs this year.
Inner Child Museum by Kadie Kelly. A new performer at the Rogue Festival, I am intrigued by what sounds like a philosophical exploration of listening, growing, and becoming. But then, it could be something entirely different.
Bloody Fairytales: Paul Strickland (see above).
Hot Flash Gospel by LadyK & Madeline Minx Cabaret by Noemi Ziegler. Both performers are also new to me, and I’m always interested in women’s voices at the Rogue.
Madeline Minx Cabaret by Noemi Ziegler.
A Bennett Double Header: Jon and Jaguar (no relation to each other). I’ve never actually seen a Jon Bennett (“This Will Only Ever Happen Once”) show at the Rogue Festival, so it is time I rectified that. I see far too much of Jaguar Bennett (“Sweetness and Light”) who is related to me, and I am obligated by marital vows to mention him here. After all, I did pick him.
You can snap up print copies of the Rogue program at the Teaser Show, at any venue during the festival, or preview it in PDF here. Tickets are on sale now via links on the Rogue website and are $7.00-$15.00 per show with a Rogue Wristband ($6, one-time purchase). The Rogue Festival runs Feb. 27, 28, and March 1, 5, 6, and 7 at various venues in Fresno’s Tower District.
Heather Parish is a former executive producer of the Rogue Festival who now writes for TMR. She also has a show at the Rogue called “As It Happens and Other Fairy Tales” with Elastic Ink Writers Circle sharing essays, vignettes, and poetry celebrating stories—true, half-true, and lovingly misremembered—on Fri. Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. and Sat. Feb 28 at 6:30 p.m. Warm beverages will be provided.
