The alternative, punk festival is located at Manchester’s Bowlers Exhibition Center as of 2026. Initially it started its days at the Broomhall Centre in Sheffield. In modernity, the festival has moved between a variety of different venues and cities taking its dedicated supporters with it.

There are two legs of Outbreak occurring in 2026, the first being in Manchester and the latter being in London.  Outbreak has paired up with All Points East to bring audiences a superb lineup of acts in London this August. Set to headline the London date are Deftones, IDLES, Amyl & The Sniffers, JPEGMAFIA, Wisp, Basement and EsDeeKid, plus many additional acts to be announced. Taking full advantage of All Points East’s notoriety to deliver a stellar lineup, this day is set to be one for the books in Outbreak history.

Over its lifespan the festival has become one of the most notorious hardcore events in the UK, hosting a number of incredible sets over the past decade. Outbreak stands out from commercial festivals with its haphazard range of dates, genre fusions and locations, but this does not seem to sway its attendees. Never doubt how far a hardcore fan is willing to travel to bound around in a mosh pit to their favourite artist.

The Manchester dates are a diamond amongst the rubble of UK festival lineups this year. Kicking off the Friday date our starting platter consists of, Tigers Jaw, Free Throw, Pool Kids, Balance & Composure and the band taking Friday’s headline spot is none other than New Jersey based band, The Front Bottoms.

The Front Bottoms have amounted a cult following over their active years, and fans cannot wait to reunite with them this summer. This appearance over this side of the pond is a true rarity, especially since they are performing their wondrous album, ‘Talon Of The Hawk’ in full. For anyone that’s a fan of whiny vocals and devastating lyrics this days definitely one not to miss.

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The Saturday lineup is just as incredible with bands such as Quicksand, Pup, Truck Violence, High Vis and Alexisonfire claiming that headline spot. Canadian post-hardcore band, Alexisonfire are making their UK return for the first time since October 2022, performing their 2006 album, ‘Crisis’ in full. Best to dust off your converse and start practicing to defended yourself in the Alexisonfire crowd, it is bound to be a crazy set.

Basement are set to headline the third and final day of the festival. Accompanied by Suicidal Tendencies, Hatebreed, LA Dispute, Febuary and many more. This full lineup is simply stacked to the brim with a tear jerkingly gorgeous array of artists. Many that very rarely step foot in the UK.

If you are now desperate to get tickets, they are still available on the Outbreak website. To access tickets to the London, combinations date, those are available over on the All Points East website.

Don’t miss out on some of the coolest shows of the year!

Taking place in Victorian Park London, All Points East spans over August 22 to August 30. Starting off the highly anticipated shows, Lorde is set to headline on August 22 before Tyler The Creator takes the stage on August 28 and 29 and at long last twenty one pilots have confirmed their headline spot on August 30.

Twenty one pilots were last in the UK May 2025, once August rolls around it will be a sweet reunion that fans have been aching for all year.

The UK return of beloved Ohio boys, twenty one pilots, was cleverly marketed on walls and billboards. Lyrics from the two-piece bands notorious album, Trench were displayed throughout the city of London, leaving fans rabidly speculating online.

In August, vocalist Tyler Joseph shared a devastating post clarifying that the pair would not be touring their latest album, Breach, outside of the US. Joseph said that ‘other than maybe some festivals next year, it will be the first time in our careers we won’t know when we will tour again.’. Reading this for the first time was selfishly a punch to the gut however its now evident this was the understatement of the century.

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The boys are booked and busy for 2026, preparing for a purely insane European festival run, each show is set to be spectacular:

·      June 19, Netherlands, Pinkpop

·      June 20, Germany, Hurricane festival

·      June 21, Germany, Southside festival

·      June 26, Switzerland, Openair ST Gallen

·      June 28, Italy, La prima estate

·      July 4, Belgium, Rock Werchter

·      July 5, France, Main Square festival

·      July 9, Portugal, Nos alive

·      July 10, Spain, Mad Cool Festival

·      July 15-18, Czechia, Colours of Ostrava

·      July 16-19, Romania, Electric Castle festival

·      August 14, Poland, Bittersweet Festival

·      August 20-22, Austria, Frequency festival

·      August 30, London, All Points East

On the day of their All Points East debut, twenty one pilots are joined by a multitude of remarkable acts. Featured on the lineup are Wunderhorse, REN, BBNO$, paris, Nova Twins, Dead Pony, Kid Kapachi and LEAP, plus more TBA.

The All Points East festival appearance is notably special as it is the bands only UK exclusive show for 2026. Not only are we expecting an incredible performance, but the show is also set to be excitingly interactive. They band are bringing along their fan premier exhibit (FPE) and their Bandito Camp from the Breach tour. The FPE is a museum like walk through of the bands history and tickets can be brought separately. Bandito camp is not your usual campsite, it invites individuals into the world of the concept album, Trench. Fans can sign the flag that Josh Dun, waves on stage. The entire show is very lore heavy however it is guaranteed fun for everybody involved.

To put its simply if you are a twenty one pilots fan this is definitely not the show to miss!

Tickets are available now via the All Points East website and twenty one pilots’ tour site.

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The event saw amazing indie acts such as Bloc Party, Nothing But Thieves, Kasabian and even Courteneers. Nothing But Thieves saw themselves perform their first UK exclusive headline slot with a huge show accompanied by lasers, lights and confettis whilst Bloc Party kicked things off with music from their debut album ‘Silent Alarm’. Iconic indie band Kasabian saw themselves perform some of their most famous songs and were hailed one of the greatest acts of the festival and Courteneers were the closing act of the whole weekend with a huge performance ending with their famous song ‘Not Nineteen Forever’ whilst fireworks exploded all around the stage.

Other performances saw acts such Blossoms, The Last Dinner Party and Wunderhorse, the latter bringing one of the largest crowds in Truck history from a non-headliner act. Superstar CMAT brought her amazing songs and dance moves to the Main Stage, leaving the best feeling surrounding the crowds. Franz Ferdinand had the crowd bouncing and moving whilst The Reytons, Fat Dog and Sports Team ignited the craziest mosh pits.

The festival, true to itself, also showcased up-and-coming artists, from Luvcat to Courting. They also provided the crowds with singalongs with Natasha Bedingfield, Scouting For Girls and more.

Festival Manager Lily Brimble and Head of Marketing Sam Harris thanked the “Truckers” for embodying the festival’s spirit and making 2025 “truly unforgettable.”

Truck Festival will return from July 23 to 26 2026. Super Early Bird tickets go on sale this Friday, August 1st, 2025, with pre-sale beginning at 10 AM and general release at 11 AM on the festival’s official website.

Grimshaw was then joined by Glasto’s organiser Emily Eavis, who couldn’t contain her excitement: “Do you know what, really good, we’ve come from the gates, which was very exciting. Me and my dad today just opened the gates, and it was so lovely. Welcoming everyone in, full of joy, excitement, anticipation… It was a really joyous occasion.” The opening staff was made out of Emily and her dad as well as Sudanese volunteers from Oxfam. There was also a countdown and a band, making a truly memorable welcome. Grimshaw noted hearing the “amazing roar” of the crowd from across the site, a sound Eavis described as the “most joy filled city in the whole of the United Kingdom for the next five days.”

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For the family, Glastonbury’s first day and gates opening is always an emotional moment: “It’s the best and most exciting, lovely, heart-warming feeling actually. I think it’s one of my favourite moments of the whole weekend. It’s all about these people having the best time over the next five days. It’s sort of quite moving when you think about the lengths that people go to make it good. The volunteers are really dedicated, they’ve been picking up stones in the arena or sewing crochet hearts onto branches, or painting bins and posts and making everything beautiful.”

She also shared her excitement about the exciting new opening ceremony for the Pyramid Stage: “We’re using a choir and some drummers, the refugee choir, and we’re going to scatter them through the crowd, and we’ve got some amazing artists who are going to be doing all kinds of trapeze. It’s not really about big names and all these headlines, it’s about celebrating the arts in all its forms.”

Emily Eavis wants one thing and one thing only for the crowd of music lovers and it’s to go home with a heart full of “optimism, hope, love, joy and peace”.

You can catch more of MXDWN’s coverage on Glastonbury here.

A pre-sale for Three customers begins at 12pm on Monday (Feb 17), and other customers can sign up to the Wireless pre-sale for 12pm on Tuesday (Feb 18). General sale will open at 12pm on Wednesday (Feb 19) – tickets can be seen here.

Every night will see him perform a different setlist and bring out different guests – on the Friday (11 July), he’ll be accompanied by long-time collaborator PartyNextDoor and R&B star Summer Walker. This night could see him cater to the R&B crowd – he’s always incorporated R&B/soul sounds into his music since his first mixtapes, carving out his lane as one of the first rappers to really popularize the melodic style that’s prevalent today.

On the Saturday (12 July), there’s been no confirmed guests yet, only ‘Drake & The Mandem’. It’s a good guess that this will see a set tailored to UK rap fans. Drake’s been a long-time admirer of British emcees, since his ‘More Life’ tape where he took influence from UK grime and hip-hop, featuring artists like Giggs on ‘KMT‘ and Skepta on ‘Skepta’s Interlude‘. Recent years have seen him collaborate with newer names like Dave, Headie One, and Central Cee.

And lastly, on Sunday (13 July), Burna Boy and Vybz Kartel are confirmed as special guests. Perhaps this night will see Drake showcase some more international sounds. On ‘Views’, he started experimenting with West Indian and African styles, with dancehall song ‘Controlla’ and the afrobeat-inspired track ‘One Dance’ becoming big hits.

Last week on Valentine’s day, Drake and PartyNextDoor teamed up to release a joint album, titled ‘Some Sexy Songs 4 U’. A 21-track release that features both collaborative and solo songs from the Canadian pair, it swayed further into slow-jam/R&B territory than the hip-hop/rap style fans might have expected from Drake. The two of them have collaborated previously on classic songs like ‘Recognize‘ and ‘Come And See Me‘.

On Spotify, the album earned 56.6 million first-day streams on the global chart, becoming the second-biggest album debut of 2025 so far. It’s also broken the record for the biggest R&B/soul album in Apple Music’s history by first-day streams worldwide.

While a commercial success for the two OVO artists, the project has garnered mixed reviews. The Hollywood Reporter said: “The intention seems to have been to make a record to sleep with someone to. In practice, it’s more like a record to put you to sleep.” Clash Magazine wrote: “On first listen, ‘$ome $sexy $ongs 4 U’ isn’t terrible, but it equally isn’t a vintage release for either artist.”

So far, Drake and his guests are the only confirmed acts for Wireless Festival 2025. More info on the event can be found here.

Boardmasters Festival is a popular annual music and surfing festival, typically combining live music performances with surfing and skateboarding competitions. The event is held in two main locations: the music part of the festival occurs on the cliffs overlooking Watergate Bay, while the surfing competitions are hosted at Fistral Beach in Newquay, a town known for its surfing culture.

The festival features a wide range of music genres, including rock, indie, electronic, and hip-hop, attracting both major international artists and emerging talent. Alongside the music, the festival celebrates beach culture, with activities such as surf lessons, yoga sessions, and skateboarding.

This year, however, the festival experienced large crowds that threatened the safety of attendees. Following a crowd surge during Sam Fender’s performance, the festival confirmed that 7 individuals were hospitalised for minor injuries who have all since been discharged.

An update: pic.twitter.com/nUxVBwM0YS

— Boardmasters (@boardmasters) August 10, 2024

One 16-year-old who was near the front told Sky news: “When loads of people came in, I was pushed and fell on my back, with my leg twisted. It was hyperextended. It was incredibly painful, and I couldn’t get up. There were people on top of me, and I was on top of other people.”

In response to the crowd surge, Sam Fender’s performance had to be paused so that the individual’s could receive necessary medical attention.

 While the festival has not commented on contributing factors or causes of the crowd surge, overpopulated spaces are a common cause. Indeed, Boardmasters increased the size of the festival by 5000 people this year after the county council approved a licence application, meaning the event was attended by 58,000 in total.

Crowdsurges are not a new phenomena, and in April of 2024, UK Crowd Management Association, Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), LIVE, and the UK Door Security Association collaborated to produce a “groundbreaking” new crowd safety guide for venues. The guide was created in response to a number of high profile incidents resulting in injury or death, such as the death of two individuals at London’s O2 Acadamy Brixton in 2022 and Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in 2021 where 10 people died and thousands were left injured in a crowd crush.

The safety guide outlines that its purpose is to:  “suggest a framework for the safety, security and optimal experience of attendees in indoor spaces that are smaller than arenas.”

Through the use of this guide, it is hoped that venues, festivals, music events and other performance spaces can reduce the likelihood of crowd surges from occurring.

The festival typically features a variety of activities including music performances, food stalls, craft vendors, and family-friendly entertainment. The festival is organised to bring together local residents and visitors, celebrate community spirit, and raise funds for local causes or charities.

The festival, previously known as Witcombe Cider Festival, was first held in 2012 at Witcombe Cricket Club with only a small marque, a stage, and around 200 attendees, with X-Factor finalist Kitty Brucknell as the headliner.

Since then, Witcombe Festival has gained more acclaim as it was nominated for Best Small Festival Awards in 2022.

However, on Monday the 5th of August, the festival released an official statement on their website, stating the cost of living crisis as the main cause to their limited budget:

It is with great disappointment that we announce the cancellation of Witcombe Festival 2024. Today, we were supposed to get the keys to the fields from the farmer and begin building the festival for a celebration of music, dancing, and togetherness on the August Bank Holiday. Unfortunately, the ongoing cost of living crisis has significantly impacted our ticket sales and overall planning.

The Witcombe festival is not the only festival to suffer from the cost of living crisis. According to the Association of Independent Festivals, 53 festivals have had to postpone, cancel, or completely close in 2024. Since Covid began in 2019, the total number of UK festivals to have disappeared is 182.

In response to the rising number of cancellations, the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) launched a new campaign asking for a temporary VAT reduction on festival tickets that would save many event promoters from closure.

The 5% for Festivals Campaign is an initiative that encourages people to donate 5% of their time, money, or resources to support local arts and culture festivals. This campaign aims to promote the sustainability and growth of festivals, which often rely heavily on community support and volunteerism.

The campaign also seeks to raise awareness among festival-goers about the challenges music festival promoters have encountered over the past five years. It encourages individuals to reach out to their MPs and advocate for a crucial reduction in VAT on tickets.

AIF CEO John Rostron said:

This is a regrettable landmark for the UK’s festival sector. This is the most challenging time for independent festivals who desperately need an intervention from the incoming government before more events inevitably fall.

The full list of festivals lost in 2024 can be found here.

Despite the cancellation, the festival remains “committed to returning with a more spectacular event.”

This year it will be headlined by the Hull dream pop band BDRMM, with the lineup including other independent artists like indie rock band Fever, ska punk and hip hop fusion group Counting Coins, among many others.

The festival was founded out of Hull’s rich music scene and was developed from a weekly music night at the Linnet and Lark pub in West Hull. According to the BBC, the festival director, Mark Page, attributes the success of the festival to Hull’s vibrant music scene which has helped the festival’s meteoric rise in popularity. He stated:

When we first started we thought maybe 1,000 people would attend, so we were pleasantly surprised when 10,000 turned up. The second year, we had 40,000, so we put a cap on it [the size of the crowd].

Due to developments within the area, limits have been placed on the number of people able to attend the festival, but Page notes that it remains well supported.

The festival will take place on Saturday the 3^rd of August at the Hull Marina from midday to 11pm, with around 18,000 music fans attending. Tickets cost £20 plus a £2 handling fee and are available for purchase from in-person select retailers, the locations of which can be found online.

Alongside the wide range of independent artists, the festival also boasts a variety of street food options. These include food trucks serving artisan coffee, Greek street food, and Punjabi street food, to name just a few.

The festival also offers various arts and activities to bring fun and captivating entertainment to the festival goers, all thanks to their sponsors J’ONeill & Co Ltd, Hull Business Angels, and Hull City Wide Partnership. The entertainment includes flash mobs, graffiti artists, and puppet hand parades.

Hull Trains is also sponsoring the festival for the 5th time, providing free travel for ticket holders between Doncaster and Hull. To access the free travel, festival goers must show their wrist bands to on-board transport staff.

Lou Mendham, the service delivery director of Hull Trains, explained the motive for offering their services free of charge, aside from supporting the local community. She said:

Our offer of free travel for those heading to the festival is our way of supporting the team in making it an even greener event.

Both Hull Trains and the Humber Street Sesh are part of the Oh Yes! Net Zero campaign which aims to reduce carbon emissions in local areas. In addition to cleaner transport links, this also includes the use of solar powered stages, environmentally-conscious waste disposal, and powering all stages, bars, and lighting with renewable green fuel (HVO).

Showcasing so many performing artists and food and entertainment options, coupled with an environmentally-conscious ethos, gives the festival a sense of exciting longevity as it runs for the 14th year.