Monster Energy Up & Up Festival Announces OMNOM as Fall 2026 Headliner for College Tour - Tenth Anniversary Edition

CORONA, Calif., July 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Monster Energy Up & Up Festival, the longest-running college music tour in the country, has named OMNOM, one of the most in-demand producers in house music, as the headliner for its Fall 2026 tour. The announcement marks the festival's tenth year, a decade that has brought college students prolific acts such as Dom Dolla, Disco Lines, and now OMNOM.

"I never DJ'd any of the big parties back when I was in college. Thanks to Monster Energy Up & Up, I'm coming back to headline them instead," says OMNOM. "College crowds bring some of the best energy there is, and there's something special about seeing your music connect with the next generation of dance fans. I'd play every campus in the country if there were enough weekends in the year, but only four schools will earn the chance to throw their own Up & Up Festival with me headlining."

For the past decade, the festival's innovative structure has seen tickets routinely sell out within 48 hours, before a single date, venue, or even a guaranteed event is announced. The demand comes entirely from the ground: more than 100 student ambassador teams compete to bring the tour to their campus, rallying their schools through grassroots marketing, campus activations, bar takeovers, Greek chapter presentations, and influencer campaigns, all for the chance to co-produce the event and earn internship credit.

Each campus team runs its own Instagram handle and competes in the presale window. The top four schools by ticket sales win a stop on the tour. Winning colleges then partner with Up & Up producers to host the festival at a local venue, featuring their own DJ openers, content team, and on-site activations, culminating in the most hyped event of the semester.

Credit cards are charged only to the winning campus's teams, so there's no risk. Students can also purchase via PayPal and Venmo. This forward-thinking ticketing model has resulted in multiple sold-out hard-ticket tours in premium college venues before the dates & locations are even announced.

The result is a model where headliners only play gigs where students earn them, where those students walk away with real experience in marketing, promotion, and live event production, and where fans get a night that unites the whole campus at a price that actually makes sense.

"Applying to Up & Up has been one of the best decisions I've made in college," says Lefty Howland, a 5^th-year advertising major at the University of Oregon. "In a small town like Eugene, opportunities in the music industry felt limited, especially as an EDM lover, and Up & Up opened doors I didn't think I'd find out here. I started as an ambassador after my sophomore year and grew into bigger roles, but the best part is that none of it has ever felt like work. There's nothing like putting on an EDM festival for your friends and your whole community."

Electronic dance music has grown rapidly over the past ten years, and the Monster Energy Up & Up Festival has been at the forefront, bringing elite artists such as Dom Dolla and Disco Lines to college towns across the US.

Recent winners include Cal Poly, Miami-Ohio, San Diego State, CSU Fullerton, University of Tennessee, University of Georgia, the University of South Carolina, and the University of Oregon, which earned the Spring 2026 headliner, Ship Wrek. Other past winners include University of Alabama, University of Arizona (4x), ASU (2x), Bryant, Boulder (4x), University of Dayton (3x), Lehigh, JMU, Indiana University, LSU, Penn State (3x), Oklahoma State, Oregon State University, San Jose State (9x) UC Davis (2x), University of Virginia (2x), UT Austin, Washington State University (5x), UNCW (3x), Virginia Tech (2x), and Wake Forest.

Fresh off expanding into three new SEC schools, Up & Up will continue the Newcomers Award for colleges that haven't won since Covid, more "Road to Up & Up" events hosted at popular clubs around most colleges, along with its NATIONAL PEP RALLY. This virtual Zoom event attracts attendees from over 200 universities and features surprise artist performances, guest speakers from the music industry, educational workshops, and giveaways, all held days before the presale competition.

The Fall 2026 national competition kicks off on Sept 15th at 4 p.m. EST, with the winning festivals taking place throughout October and November.

College students seeking music industry experience or internship credit can apply at www.upandupfestival.com

ABOUT MONSTER ENERGY:

Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the hip hop lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and artists represent. More than a drink, it's the way of life lived by athletes, artists, believers and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at www.monsterenergy.com. 

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ABOUT THE MONSTER ENERGY UP & UP FESTIVAL: 

Monster Energy Up & Up is the largest national college festival promoter in the US, powered by a community of campus ambassador teams across the country. Up & Up's innovative guerrilla ticketing system is simple: students crowdsource demand on their campuses leading up to a 48-hour competition period; colleges with the most pre-sales earn the chance to work with our team to craft a music experience of-a-lifetime, while also gaining valuable industry experience. Past live headliners include Cash Cash (2016), Alan Walker (2017), GRYFFIN (2018), Two Friends (2018), Slushii (2019), Lost Kings (2019) Elephante (2019), Troyboi (2020), Loud Luxury (2021), San Holo (2022) Dom Dolla (2022) , Chris Lorenzo (Spring 2023) Dr. Fresch (Fall 2023), Disco Lines (Spring 2024) Matroda (Fall 2024) Sidepiece (Spring 2025) & Odd Mob (Fall 2025)

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ABOUT OMNOM

OMNOM has molded himself into one of the defining voices in modern house music, a producer who never chases the middle and makes no concessions in his approach. Since his debut release exactly a decade ago, the Los Angeles native has anchored his name to a style that's become instantly recognizable and impossible to ignore.

Each time an OMNOM creation gets the green light, it's almost guaranteed to land in both club and festival settings. That consistency has been recognized by an extensive roster of dance music heavyweights like Dom Dolla, Tiësto, John Summit, Martin Garrix, and many more.Meanwhile, HYPERBEAM — his joint project with Odd Mob — has only poured more fuel on the fire, with a pair of 2025 releases proving virtually inescapable.

OMNOM's ascent has been well documented across digital platforms. He has become a fixture on the Beatport charts, highlighted by a number-one record in 2023 — "Losing Control" with Odd Mob — numerous top-five placements, and his most recent HYPERBEAM offering,"Coming Up (It's Dare)." And that footing has emphatically translated to streaming platforms as well, earning him a feature on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.

That same traction has carried into the real world. In recent years, OMNOM has graduated to major rooms and marquee stages, selling out headline shows at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, The Ruins at Knockdown Center in New York, The Midway in San Francisco, and The Concourse Project in Austin, alongside festival appearances at Coachella, EDC Las Vegas, EDC Orlando, iLESONIQ and Electric Forest, among others. He has also added Las Vegas residencies in 2025 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas and in 2026 at TAO Group to his resume — aclear marker of his arrival as a household name within the dance music world.

Now, OMNOM continues to move forward on his own terms, with a clear vision of what lies ahead. New musical material is already in motion with a growing slate of forthcoming solo work and HYPERBEAM releases. With a touring schedule steadily expanding — highlighted by a run of headline dates and a coveted Do LaB slot at Coachella — OMNOM's breakout has firmly translated from momentum into staying power.

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SOURCE Monster Energy