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BLOOMINGTON, IN – APRIL 22, 2026: In 2026, Secretly celebrates the 30th Anniversary of its founding. In the three decades since its creation, the company has grown from the Midwest basement of an infrastructure-less, nearly internet-less college town humming with energy, romanticism and seemingly endless possibilities, into a leading, international arbiter of independent music and brave, bold voices. Now encompassing record labels Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, Dead Oceans and Saddest Factory Records, Secretly has expanded and changed, but much remains the same: a tireless dedication to timeless sounds and earnest, resonant songwriting, from a mix of artists old and new.
To mark the occasion this summer, Secretly has announced What Comes After the Blues: Secretly 30 in Bloomington, Indiana. Taking place from August 27th-29th, 2026, in the city where it first began, and where it is still headquartered – amongst the basements and young weirdos in love with the idea of what music could be – the first in Secretly's year-long series of 30th Anniversary shows will feature special performances from those who have and will continue to shape its past, present and future. Presented by Secretly, Granfalloon, Buskirk-Chumley Theater and The Bluebird, each night will take over a local venue essential to the story of both Secretly and the city, with lineups as follows:
Thursday, August 27th
The Bluebird - Bloomington, IN
With performances by: Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co, Early Day Miners, June Panic
Friday, August 28th
Buskirk-Chumley Theater - Bloomington, IN
With performances by: Sharon Van Etten, Kevin Morby, Jordan Patterson
Saturday, August 29th
Granfalloon Concert Series at Switchyard Park - Bloomington, IN
Presented by IU Arts & Humanities, City of Bloomington Parks & Recreation, and Visit Bloomington
With performances by: Durand Jones & The Indications, Jensen McRae, Angela Autumn
Three-night passes for What Comes After the Blues: Secretly 30 in Bloomington, Indiana are available HERE at 10am ET on Friday, April 24th. Limited single-night tickets will be available on Friday, May 29th.
"Some of the most rewarding moments of the last 30 years have been with our artists, colleagues and community in a single room," says Secretly Canadian and Secretly Group co-founder Ben Swanson. "I couldn't be more stoked to celebrate our anniversary with old friends and new in the town we love. Our beloved Bill Fay said it best: Life is People."
Throughout 2026, Jagjaguwar will also celebrate 30 years with limited-edition reissues revisiting "The Virginia Years." At the start of this era, a blizzard shut down the city of Charlottesville, VA, forcing label founder Darius Van Arman to spend consecutive days and nights at a home for adults with developmental disabilities because no one could arrive to relieve him from his job there. As a result, he earned a windfall (or, shall we say, "a snowfall") of overtime pay, which he used to launch Jagjaguwar. Guided less by genre than by curiosity and instinct, Jagjaguwar's history and catalog have taken unexpected turns – relocating to Bloomington and partnering with Secretly Canadian in 1999, laying the groundwork for Secretly Group, and championing the likes of Bon Iver, Sharon Van Etten, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Angel Olsen, Chanel Beads, Gia Margaret, and so many others – yet the spirit that shaped those earliest releases still runs through the label today.
Titles include Jagjaguwar's second-ever album, Drunk's A Derby Spiritual, available now and pressed on vinyl for the very first time, as well as The Union of a Man and a Woman's lone album, The Sound of The Union of a Man and a Woman (1998), South 1998'sSouth (1998) and Manishevitz's Grammar Bell and the All Fall Down (1999).
"Charlottesville in the late 1990s was a special and formative time, not just for Jagjaguwar but also for me personally," says Darius Van Arman, founder of Jagjaguwar and CEO of Secretly Distribution. "I experienced many highs and lows—and everything in between—and the bonds I formed then significantly shaped who I am today. I miss those direct connections I had with the Virginia community of musicians, poets, and fellow misfits very much. The albums we are reissuing to celebrate that era are all records I often return to. It's so exciting to me that a new generation of fans can experience them for the first time."
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