Empire Music Festival (EMF) held its 2026 edition on Friday May 1 and Saturday May 2, 2026, at Finca El Jocotillo, Km 37.5 on the road to El Salvador. The 2027 date is not announced (checked September 25, 2026). Everything below comes from the organizer’s site, empiremusicfestival.com, read on September 25, 2026, unless another source is named.
The 2026 edition
| Dates | Friday May 1 and Saturday May 2, 2026 |
| Gates | Open 1:00 PM, close 1:00 AM, both days |
| Venue | Finca El Jocotillo, KM 37.5 Carretera a El Salvador |
| Tickets | Eticket (eticket.gt) |
| Payment inside | Cashless system |
| Edition | 11th (Guatemala.com; the organizer counted 10 editions before 2026) |
The official site carries an Insomniac Holdings, LLC copyright in its footer and tells visitors to download the Insomniac app and look for Empire Music Festival there. Guatemala.com’s 2026 listing names three stages: Luna, Sol and Perdidos.
The 2026 headliners, by day
The organizer’s homepage headlines nine acts. Its lineup page splits them by day:
- Friday, May 1: Cloonee, DJ Snake, Myke Towers, Subtronics
- Saturday, May 2: Amelie Lens, Galantis, Grupo Frontera, Illenium, Kapo
The full 2026 lineup page lists 41 acts across the two days, including Alexis y Fido, Caloncho and Bohemia Suburbana on Saturday and Jesse Baez on Friday.
Tickets and prices
The organizer’s FAQ is short on this: tickets are sold on Eticket, and on the festival days only if stock remains, at Eticket’s box office. You can upgrade a Dancefloor ticket to VIP at the information kiosk, or before the festival by writing to info@empiremusicfestival.com. The FAQ describes VIP as a limited-capacity area with its own entrance, a raised platform facing the two main stages (Luna Stage and Sol Stage), waiter service, exclusive toilets and unlimited drinks.
The organizer’s tickets and FAQ pages carry no prices (checked September 25, 2026). Prensa Libre published the 2026 Eticket prices on April 24, 2026, one week before the festival. Its second-phase prices were:
| Ticket (phase 2, 2026) | Price | Service fee |
|---|---|---|
| Dancefloor, 1 day | Q710.00 | Q75.00 |
| Dancefloor, 2 days | Q970.00 | Q100.00 |
| VIP all inclusive, 1 day | Q1,755.00 | Q185.00 |
| VIP all inclusive, 2 days | Q2,505.00 | Q270.00 |
| Camping (tent not included) | Q240.00 |
The same article gives first-phase one-day prices of Q630.00 for Dancefloor and Q1,560.00 for VIP, plus parking at Q80 per day for cars, motorbikes and buses. These were the 2026 prices; a 2027 price list is not published (checked September 25, 2026). For how Eticket handles refunds, pickup and copied QR codes, see our guide to buying tickets safely in Guatemala.
Festival rules
From the organizer’s information page and FAQ:
- No same-day re-entry. If you leave, you can only come back the next day.
- Bags: small or medium backpacks only, no larger than 30 cm high by 30 cm wide.
- Not allowed: umbrellas, vapes, professional cameras (detachable lens), drones, food or drink bought outside, aerosols, fireworks and weapons. Medicine needs a doctor’s prescription.
- Allowed: non-professional cameras, blankets to sit on, sunscreen and cosmetics up to 3 oz (90 ml), a sealed pack of cigarettes and lighters, empty water bottles and empty Camelbaks.
- Refunds: the information page says anyone who does not follow the rules is refused entry without a refund, and that if the organizer has to change the schedule or lineup, the ticket stays valid and is neither exchangeable nor refundable.
- Parking: the FAQ gives about 5,000 spaces in a car park next to the festival, and suggests carpooling, yellow taxis or Uber.
Every past edition, as the organizer lists it
The organizer’s history page counts the festival from 2014 and lists the headliners of each edition. There was no festival in 2020 or 2021; the page describes two years of enforced pause because of the pandemic before the 2022 return.
| Year | Where / what changed | Headliners: history-page order, first six where its list is longer (2026: homepage headliners, grouped by day) |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | First edition, on the road to Puerto San José | Calle 13, Alesso, Afrojack, Capital Cities |
| 2015 | Same venue near Puerto San José | Calvin Harris, J Balvin, Tiësto |
| 2016 | Moved to El Jocotillo | Incubus, Skrillex, Zedd, Cafe Tacvba |
| 2017 | Two nights | Wiz Khalifa, Fifth Harmony, DJ Snake, Juanes, Caloncho, Amigos Invisibles |
| 2018 | More reggaeton | Steve Aoki, Zion & Lennox, Deorro, Don Diablo, Matisyahu, Dubfire |
| 2019 | Diplo’s first time in Guatemala | Diplo, J Balvin, Borgore, Juan Magan, Loco Dice, Reik |
| 2022 | Return after the pandemic pause | Jhay Cortez, Sech, Manuel Turizo, Thomas Jack, Sam Feldt, Stefan Noferini |
| 2023 | First three-day edition | Natanael Cano, Young Miko, Jowell y Randy, Alan Walker, Nicky Romero, Mora |
| 2024 | Fuerza Regida, Afrojack, Gordo, Latin Mafia, Yandel, Tokischa | |
| 2026 | 11th edition, May 1-2 | Cloonee, DJ Snake, Myke Towers, Subtronics, Amelie Lens, Galantis, Grupo Frontera, Illenium, Kapo |
The history page stops at 2024. The site has a 2025 photo gallery, and Guatemala.com’s 2026 listing links to its own article on the 2025 lineup, but the organizer’s history page does not list 2025 headliners, so we leave that row out.
Still to be announced (as of September 25, 2026)
- 2027 dates, lineup and prices. On September 25, 2026 the tickets page was headed “Tickets 2027”, showed the Pioneros tier as sold out and asked visitors to register for #EMF12 news. Guatemala.com describes Pioneros, for 2026, as a tier with lower prices, VIP parking, an exclusive entry line, a commemorative wristband and cup, and its own bar.
- Shuttles. The FAQ’s shuttle answer refers to the 2024 edition, so we do not repeat it.
For every concert currently on sale in Guatemala, see concerts and live events in Guatemala. For the other recurring music festivals, see the Guatemala Jazz Festival and the Festival de la Luz in Antigua.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Empire Music Festival 2027?
Not announced. On September 25, 2026 the organizer’s tickets page was headed ‘Tickets 2027’, said the Pioneros tier was sold out and invited visitors to register for news of #EMF12, but it gave no date. The 2026 edition was held on Friday May 1 and Saturday May 2, 2026.
Where is Empire Music Festival held?
At Finca El Jocotillo, which the organizer’s information page gives as KM 37.5 Carretera a El Salvador. The organizer’s history page says the festival moved there in 2016; the 2014 and 2015 editions were on the road to Puerto San José. The organizer’s FAQ says you can find it in Waze as ‘Empire Music Festival’.
Where do you buy Empire Music Festival tickets?
The organizer’s FAQ says tickets are sold on Eticket (eticket.gt). On festival days, tickets are only sold if any remain, at the Eticket box office. The FAQ lists three types: Dancefloor for two days, Dancefloor for one day (Friday or Saturday) and VIP for two days.
Is there an age limit at Empire Music Festival?
The organizer’s FAQ answers the age question with ‘No hay edad mínima’ (no minimum age), but anyone under 16 must go with an adult, and children under 7 get in free. To buy alcohol, adults pick up an age wristband at the information kiosk inside the festival.
