The Darrington Bluegrass Festival is held for three days every July and was started in 1977 by descendants of Appalachian transplants to the area. The festival draws around 10,000 people, including visitors who use an adjacent campground and participate in communal jam sessions. Prominent Bluegrass groups, including Bill Monroe, the Gibson Brothers, and Rural Delivery, have performed at Darrington's Whitehorse Mountain Amphitheater. Since 2006, the amphitheater has also been used to host the Summer Meltdown jam festival in early August, which attracts a wide variety of musical acts. The four-day event typically draws 4,000 visitors and 40 acts, as well as art pieces that are installed around the campgrounds. Both festivals were cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.