Our 2027 Theme: NEXTGEN

Building What Comes Next 

Tom Tom has always been a festival about the future — but in 2027, the future feels especially close.

New technologies are changing how we work, learn, create, and connect. We see seismic shifts in business, science, health, education, and civic life. And a new generation is coming of age in a world that feels full of possibility, but also profound uncertainty. So this year, we’re asking the question: Are we ready?

At the 15th Annual Tom Tom Festival (April 21-25 2027), we’ll gather in the public square amidst music, art, and wide-ranging ideas, to imagine the NEXTGEN of leaders and ideas. The moment we are in demands bridging emerging voices and established institutions, big ideas and practical pathways, and fresh perspectives and hard-won experience, for a stronger future.  

NEXTGEN is a theme about innovation, but it’s also about people. In tech and business circles, “next gen” often signifies major advances in innovation. Better, faster, stronger - leapfrogging the current standards. But progress also raises deeper questions: Progress toward what? For whose benefit? And who gets to shape what comes next? 

NEXTGEN is also quite literally about the next generation of leaders, artists, entrepreneurs, students, and builders who are already shaping the world around us. This connection between generations is essential. Our youth are not just “future leaders,” they are vital voices right now. And as our youth navigate digital disruption, social fragmentation, economic pressures, and deep questions of belonging and purpose, their experience may be a signal for something much larger: a society searching for new pathways forward.

The future is not inevitable. It is shaped by the choices we make now: what we build, what we preserve, who we listen to, and what we are willing to change.

NEXTGEN invites us to become active participants in that process—not simply adapting to forces beyond us, but deciding what progress could look like, and what kind of society it should serve:

• NextGen Tech: The frontiers of AI, science, health, entrepreneurship, and human-centered innovation are moving fast. As the Innovation Summit continues to grow as a major convening for Virginia and beyond, we will ask: How do we harness emerging technologies not only for growth, but for human flourishing?

• NextGen Leaders: Young people, emerging voices, and rising changemakers are already shaping schools, culture, business, and civic life. NextGen Leaders explores how we create the conditions for belonging, agency, and mentorship across generations.

• NextGen Cities: The future is not just something we imagine — it is something we build in the places we call home. NextGen Cities asks how technology, design, and civic imagination can help communities become more connected, inclusive, and alive.

This April, let’s take stock of what we have inherited, and imagine what comes next:

Help Shape NEXTGEN

Tom Tom Festival is a co-created event - we work with community members, organizations, and businesses to create a festival that celebrates our community and imagines what comes next, together.

Community Interest Meetings

Share your vision for NEXTGEN.

Community Partner Program

Bring your event to Tom Tom!

Applications open in September.

Sponsor

Make an impact in this community, and also reach key audiences.

Conference Creator

Co-create the Civic Futures and Innovation Summits. Applications open in September.

Volunteer or Join the Team

Lend a hand at Tom Tom 2027!

Applications open in October.

Perform

Share your talents!

Applications open in October.

About Tom Tom Foundation

Founded in 2012, The Tom Tom Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Charlottesville, VA, dedicated to gathering communities to envision the future. Through creativity, entrepreneurship, and civic innovation, Tom Tom’s annual programs connect leaders and citizens across sectors, backgrounds, and ideologies to imagine and shape the future together.