As we edge into January, concert goers and festival lovers will be starting to look at their calendars for 2026, anxiously planning for what their work leave or Christmas money can accommodate. No doubt some will be aiming to camp in their usual patch at Donington, or be taking deep breaths in preparation for the trauma of the Glastonbury ticket sale (it’s okay, you’ve got another year to brace for that one!). But some might be looking for a new experience or their first festival trip. This is what you can expect from the biggest festivals next year.

Glastonbury – oh have a year off will you?

Owing to the fact that the site at Worthy Farm works a day job as a dairy farm, it requires a fallow year every so often to give the fields time to recover from all the trampling. Glastonbury 2027 has been announced to fall between the 23 and 27 of June, with the first wave of acts being revealed some time in March 2027.

Download – this one’s for the Millenials

This year’s Download Festival is sure to delight fans of 00’s “nu metal”, with sets from both Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. This will be the latter’s first UK festival appearance since singer Emily Armstrong picked up the microphone from Chester Bennington, who passed away in 2017. The top billing is rounded off by Guns N’ Roses, who are very familiar to the Midlands festival. Other highlights include German party mob Electric Callboy and an unprecedented appearance from rap legends Cypress Hill. It runs from the 10 to 14 of June.

Reading and Leeds – another year of testing boundaries- and our patience?

For the uninitiated, Reading and Leeds run the same lineup on alternating days across both sites. Historically they have booked a diverse assortment of music, from the biggest names in the charts, to rock royalty, to underground hiphop and grime. In recent years however, the diversity has been sacrificed in pursuit of a younger audience, rabid for only the latest trends. One of the things they always do well is championing British music, and 2026 is a landmark year for that. In lieu of any legacy act, all but one of their 6 headliners is from the UK, with that one being Ireland’s Fontaines D.C. Expect huge performances from Raye, Charli XCX, and drum ‘n’ bass icons Chase And Status on their dual main stages, from the 27 to 30 of August.

Isle of Wight – a great all-rounder for anyone

Held by the water near Newport on the Isle of Wight, this one can often be overlooked in favour of its more extravagant competition. But the next lineup is very robust, sporting big headliners from Scotland in the ever-endearing Lewis Capaldi, electronic chart-topper Calvin Harris, and England’s darlings, The Cure. A fantastic mix of old and new for families and all ages, including Rick Astley, and current favourites The Last Dinner Party. Runs 18 to the 21 of June.

TRNSMT – who needs vowels when you’ve got big acts?

Scotland’s biggest summer festival has been making statements in recent years, and in 2026 they’re looking to draw fans to Glasgow with the promise of Richard Ashcroft, formerly of The Verve, and Kasabian. Our friend Lewis Capaldi will also be headlining in his home city. While it may not be the sunniest place in the British Isles, people won’t miss a chance to dance to the likes of Nile Rogers & Chic or CMAT. Runs 19 to 21 June.

Wireless – radio silence?

Taking place in London’s Finsbury park, Wireless Festival is typically a big deal. However there have been no confirmed dates or acts for July 2026. Watch this space if you enjoy contemporary rap and electronic music.

Reading & Leeds festival will be returning to Little John’s Farm in Reading and Bramham Park in Leeds from 27-30 August 2026.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Reading & Leeds Festival (@officialrandl)

The festival will see Fontaines D.C. play their first live show since wrapping up the campaign for their Mercury-nominated album ‘Romance’. The tour they went on kicked off with a performance at Reading & Leeds in 2024 and ended with shows that included their biggest ever headline show at London’s Finsbury Park.

Joining them as a headliner is Florence + The Machine, who have recently released their sixth album ‘Everybody Scream’. This festival appearance with mark their  fourth appearance at Reading and Leeds festival in their career. This will also follow from Florence + The Machine’s UK and Ireland arena tour, which kicks off February 2026.

Charli XCX will be making her Reading & Leeds headline debut. Next year sees her release the soundtrack to Wuthering Heights, and perform new material which she has said will take a more experimental turn.

RAYE will also make her headline debut next year following the success of ‘My 21st Century Blues’ and single ‘Where Is My Husband’. In a statement, RAYE said, “You know what listen guys, I’ve done it, I came to Reading & Leeds when I was 16 when I finished my GCSE’s, I was in the dance tent living my life…you know what I mean. I had a dream, and look at me now, it’s all possible.”

DAVE make his return to the festival after headlining back in 2022, and recently releasing ‘The Boy Who Played The Harp’.

Chase & Status have also been confirmed to headline, returning to the festival for the third time after headlining at All Points East festival earlier this year.

Completing the announced line-up so far are Skepta, Sombr, Role Model, JADE, Kneecap, Kettama, Chris Stussy, Geese, Skye Newman, ADELA, and KEO.

Earlier this year, Reading & Leeds festival was headlined by artists such as Bring Me The Horizon, Chappell Roan, Hozier, and Travis Scott, as well as seeing performances from the likes of The Kooks, AJ Tracey, Bloc Party, Royel Otis and more.

When speaking to NME about the festival earlier this year, boss Melvin Benn said he had significant plans for headliners next year, “I’ve already got headliners for two of the three nights booked already for next year, and I’m really confident about the artists. I feel like we’re in a stronger position than I can remember for an awfully long time.”

Reading & Leeds 2026 will take place next year from 27-30 August. Tickets will be on sale from December 3 at 12pm and will be available here.

The metal band from Sheffield first played this festival back in 2008, and then again in 2022 when they co-headlined alongside Arctic Monkeys, but last night they came back and headlined solo.

Despite the band starting off as an underground metal group, they have become BRIT Award winners now headlining festivals.

The haven’t performed many shows this year, but the ones they have been in terms of production, including a futuristic set design which fits the aesthetic of their album ‘POST HUMAN: NeX GEn’. 

Production included gaming-inspired animation clips throughout the performance alongside an avatar host providing commentary and appearing on the two stage monitors. They also had laser-like lighting effects, pyrotechnics and fireworks.

During their set, they did their cover of ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis which was released earlier this year.

Liam Gallagher said, “I fucking LOVE it”, after hearing the metal version when it was released. Bring Me The Horizon said, “We were expecting [Liam] to absolutely rinse us, but he said some actually nice things! It was cool and I think it went down as good as we wished it could.”

As the band left the stage last night, an encore of ‘Drown’ and ‘Throne’ was played as they bid farewell to the crowd, whilst waving Palestinian flags to show their support for Palestine.

Bring Me The Horizon wave Palestinian flags during performance at Reading & Leeds Festival.

Image credit to @sophiiieporter pic.twitter.com/XhONI8etLF

— State of the Scene (@SOTSPodcast) August 23, 2025

Leeds Festival brings in many people each year, with this year having around 75,000 people at Bramham Park, West Yorkshire.

Bring Me The Horizons’ set brought fans feelings of nostalgia and happiness with fans describing the set online as being “the best live performance” they’ve ever seen.

Bring Me The Horizon played:

‘DArkSide’
‘MANTRA’
‘Happy Song’
‘AmEN!’
‘Kool-Aid’
‘Shadow Moses’
‘Wonderwall’
‘Kingslayer’
‘Antivist’
‘Follow You’
‘LosT’
‘Can You Feel My Heart’
‘Drown’
‘Throne’

In what has been described by the festival boss Melvin Benn as the “first pure pop headliner”, all eyes were on Chappell Roan – and those eyes never left her gaze due to the enchanting and cinematic performance.

The pop sensation strutted onto stage while a haunting, atmospheric and ghastly instrumental gave the pink cowboy hat-wearing crowd a taste of the vibe for the next 90 minutes – a perfect juxtaposition.

She then burst into the anthemic ‘Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl’ which set a precedent for the rest of the show – a precedent of community within the crowd as Roan and the packed festival-goers belted out chorus after chorus, arm-in-arm, with ‘Hot To Go’ being the epitome of it all.

Multiple times throughout the night, Roan spoke to the tens of thousands in attendance to exclaim just how important the night was to her: “This is a dream come true, seriously. Thank you for loving me and standing with me. I’m truly so grateful” she told the crowd before belting into ‘Kaleidoscope’.

Chappell Roan on the main stage at Reading Festival!! What a performance pic.twitter.com/tJBfpRrjar

— Nicole Mcbride (@_NicoleMcBride) August 22, 2025

Chappell Roan’s full setlist consisted of: 

‘Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl’
‘Femininomenon’
‘After Midnight’
‘Naked In Manhattan’
‘Guilty Pleasure’
‘Casual’
‘The Subway’
‘Hot To Go’
‘Barracuda’
‘Picture You’
‘Kaleidoscope’
‘The Giver’
‘Red Wine Supernova’
‘Coffee’
‘Good Luck, Babe!’
‘My Kink Is Karma’
‘Pink Pony Club’

NME gave the ‘Hot To Go’ singer a five-star review for her Reading Festival headline debut, saying: “She wraps things up with a euphoric trifecta of ‘Good Luck, Babe!’, ‘My Kink Is Karma’ and ‘Pink Pony Club’, she struts down the runway to get closer to the crowd, waving and blowing kisses to them, a big grin on her face. 

She might be getting used to seeing scenes like  the one in front of her now, but it’s clear they’ve yet to lose their impact.”

Reading and Leeds Festival boss, Melvin Benn, spoke to NME earlier this year about having Chappell Roan headline this year: “To have a weekend with historic headline moments like Chappell Roan, alongside emerging talent and influential voices, I am proud of R&L’s continued development and I can’t wait to see fans embracing it all.”

Benn also spoke about the significance of finally having a pop star headline the festivals, saying: “It’s something that I’ve talked to the team about a huge amount over the last 18 months to two years; the pre-eminence of pop now is there for all to see. There’s been a shift in the young audiences loving pop, and R&L has to take notice of that. Chappell Roan is that genuine pop headliner.”

Chappell Roan will now head north to take the main stage at Leeds Festival tonight (August 23) in what is sure to be just as enchanting and anthemic as last night.

Falling on the same night of the 2024 BRIT awards, Wunderhorse took to the stage last Saturday to rapturous applause. The legendary 700-year-old pub announced the secret set just hours before the group were scheduled to perform, causing fans to scramble to purchase last-minute tickets. Fronted by singer-songwriter Jacob Slater, his distinctive rough and ready vocals and razor-sharp lyricism are hard to shake off. Slater’s gritty on-stage persona is reminiscent of blistering American garage bands, causing him to launch into a series of rage-fuelled outbursts, only to lose him again in a 90s psychedelic fog.

The Hertfordshire-born musician had made the decision to exit his old band Dead Pretties in 2017, a path that would eventually lead him to form his next project Wunderhorse, releasing their debut, critically-acclaimed album ‘Cub‘ in October 2022, a beautiful yet bloodied catalogue of teenage misadventure. The past two years have seen Slater build up a fair amount of mileage, having scored not only glowing album reviews and international recognition, but rather ironically his first ever acting role as Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook in Danny Boyle’s tv miniseries Pistol.

A multifaceted writer and instrumentalist, Slater has also curated his own separate solo project, releasing his first ever record ‘Pinky, I Love You‘ in August 2023, another deeply personal and tender account of youth driven by a rousing, prog-rock sound. On February 5, the band announced they will be performing at Isle of Wight, TRNSMT, Boardmasters and Reading and Leeds festival this summer.

As of last weekend, they also shared they will be headlining Dot To Dot Festival in May alongside Irish electronic duo Jockstrap, and Brighton’s The Great Escape festival accompanied by other major acts such as Faye Webster and SOFTPLAY. Great Escape Fest is known for showcasing the biggest and brightest up and coming artists from around the country, with over 150 acts set to take part in different venues across the city.

Wunderhorse took to Instagram last month to lift the lid on new music, revealing they are currently in the process of recording their sophomore album, simply commenting: “Back on the road in March, new music in tow”. The four-piece will be supporting English singer-songwriter Declan McKenna on his 2024 UK tour this month, kicking things off at Cardiff University’s Student Union on March 23. You can purchase tickets here.

The teaser comes just a week after the Pacifier band revealed they are headlining Reading & Leeds Festival, while also teasing another upcoming show or potential tour that was announced through a photograph posted of a sheet of paper reading: “5:00pm, DOORS, 6:00pm, SHOWTIME”. Fans who are signed up to the band’s mailing list also received an email simply stating “Thursday February 22”, possibly hinting at further news surrounding live show dates and ticket releases.

Keeping their eyes peeled for further updates, fans have also spotted the same posters in and around Manchester, suggesting that the band could return to the city for a comeback show. Although the majority of posters have now been taken down, some were sighted most notably in the city’s Northern Quarter and opposite the O2 Ritz, a possible clue towards the hosting venue of the show.

This has been spotted in Manchester pic.twitter.com/IHUTiTLKzB

— The Rock Revival (@TheRockRevival_) February 12, 2024

Having not performed since September 2021, rumours began to circulate about the band’s future and whether they had split not long after their appearances at Reading & Leeds and outdoor gigs at Swansea’s Singleton Park and Neighbourhood Weekender in Warrington. Now returning as a headliner at Reading & Leeds, they will also be joined by other huge acts such as Liam Gallagher, Blink-182, Gerry Cinnamon, Fred Again... and Lana Del Rey. Blink-182 are gearing up to take the festival’s main stage after more than a decade, while Gallagher is set to perform ‘Definitely Maybe‘ in full, marking its iconic 30th anniversary.

This year’s string of live shows will be their first since the departure of guitarist Johnny “Bondy” Bond in 2022, and is expected to showcase brand new material, their first major output since their UK number two album ‘The Balance‘ in 2019, which followed their Top 10 debut 2014 platinum album ‘The Balcony‘ and their number one sophomore album ‘The Ride‘.

Following a storm of speculation, Johnny Bond released an online statement in 2022, announcing that he had in fact left the band as early as March 2021, merely playing with them as a session musician during the summer shows. He commented: ‘To put it simply, I feel that both the professional and personal relationships had become entirely dysfunctional.’

He added: ‘I certainly don’t want this post to be entirely negative … You have given me some incredible experiences that will stick with me forever … I sincerely appreciate you and feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced all of this together and met so many incredible people.’

The band is currently made up of Van McCann (vocals) and Benji Blakeway (bass), with a fresh new line-up of other members soon to be unveiled. For a chance to catch a glimpse of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s return, tickets for Reading & Leeds 2024 are on sale now.

READING & LEEDS 2023 THATS A WRAP Thank you for another incredible year

R&L 2024 pending

@slb_photo @matteachus pic.twitter.com/sqyFnaAnqH

— Reading & Leeds Fest (@OfficialRandL) August 28, 2023

The action commenced on Friday, with a career defining performance from You Me At Six (featuring a cameo appearance by Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari), which set the tone for the festival-assuring crowds that the acts preparing to hit the famous stages were ready to bring their A game.

THANK YOU READING & LEEDS Always a pleasure to play this festival x @OfficialRandL @thomaslislebrooker pic.twitter.com/4Xw4B8vLSF — You Me At Six (@youmeatsix) August 26, 2023

And the first day could be best summed up by Sam Fender’s everyman, emotional performance as Friday night’s headliner. Fender, playing the role of humble musician perfectly, perhaps best reflects the thousands of spectators gathered at Reading and Leeds-appealing to the crowd that he is merely one of them and would happily play the role of underdog. While the warm sentiment will have pleased most in front of him, chances are Fender’s career will continue to hit greater and loftier heights in the future.

Still blown away by all of the love from the weekend @OfficialRandL. Thank you pic.twitter.com/RjxV40rpWP

— Sam Fender (@samfendermusic) August 29, 2023

Saturday picked up right where the festival left off the night before with, arguably, a sneak peek of what may be to come, after Sleep Token added yet another huge notch to their gig belt with an atmospheric performance on the Festival Republic Stage. The band just seem to be gaining in status with each month that goes by and there is no telling where the band can aspire to.

Sacred moments in time, captured at @OfficialRandL Reading by @adamrosssi Tonight, Leeds shall gather in Worship. pic.twitter.com/wuzwvmnZ6y — Sleep Token (@Sleep_Token) August 27, 2023

But the Main Stage West was treated to something special indeed when the disappointment of Lewis Capaldi was assuaged by the nostalgia inducing set of his replacement, The 1975. The band opted to perform their 2013 eponymous record in full, transporting the audience back 10 years when the band had the world beckoning. The 1975 proved that even a decade removed, the self-titled album still resonates, with even the newly initiated finding something to nod their heads along to.

Reading Festival
Reading, UK
August 26th 2023 #The1975 pic.twitter.com/CyqQaMq2QN

— The 1975 (@the1975) August 29, 2023

Of course, not to be outdone, The Killers delivered a set to remember, even at one point featuring a young teen playing drums on “For Reasons Unknown.” The band have long been indie rock’s crown jewel and the band proved their credentials with a headlining set that all but cements them as one of the greatest of their generation.

Reading rocked again tonight! pic.twitter.com/SLXAvjN42l — The Killers (@thekillers) August 26, 2023

The final day for the festival promised to be one of the most defining of the weekend and with Imagine Dragons headlining Main Stage West, it certainly got off to the right start. Delivering pure, feel good vibes, the band set the excitement up perfectly for Sunday night’s headliner.

It is simply stunning that Billie Eilish is the youngest performer ever to headline the Main Stage at only 21 years old, but the singer graced the stage like the conquering hero she is. Featuring her hit song from the Barbie soundtrack, “What Was I Made For?” Eilish’s proven success was laid bare for all to see, as her staggering 20 song setlist delivered exactly what festival-goers were craving, marking a thrilling and satisfying end to one of the UK’s most beloved festival experiences.

Eilish shares headlining company with Sam Fender, whose album, Seventeen Down Under, was released earlier this year to resounding acclaim, landing him the Brit Award for Best British Alternative/ Rock Act.

Saturday’s Reading headliners, Imagine Dragons, have already accrued musical fame since the pop-rockers released “Radioactive”, a song that has clocked a grand total of 87 weeks on the Billboard music charts since its debut.

Also playing at the festivals are Wet Leg, Slowthai, Steve Lacey, Muna, Baby Queen, Yung Lean, Loyle Carner, Bicep and more, with many other names still to be announced.

Tickets for the festivals went on sale at 9am on Monday, 12th December.

2022’s Leeds festival lineup played host to the likes of Dave, Little Simz, Halsey, Run the Jewels and many others, with Reading, as always, providing a venue for the same list of artists on different days to Leeds.

The Reading Festival will be held on Little John’s Farm on Richfield Avenue, central Reading, whilst the Leeds event takes place in the historic grounds of Bramham Park near Wetherby.  Weekend tickets, including camping, are available, along with standard day tickets.

The Reading Festival itself boasts the claim of being one of the oldest still-existing pop music festivals in the world, and was initially conceived as the National Jazz Festival in 1961.  Since the late nineties, however, the festival has focused heavily around rock, alternative, indie, punk and metal, with an increasing hip hop presence (past headliners have included the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Post Malone).

In addition to its

Tickets for Reading Festival are now on sale here.  Alternatively, you can get tickets for the Leeds event here.

Earlier this month, Eurovision stars Måneskin announced that due to “scheduling conflicts” they had to cancel their appearance at the festival. “We love and miss the UK and all of our beloved UK fans and we’re absolutely gutted to no longer be able to play these shows,” they wrote in a post on their social media. The festival organisers then followed up by posting “We are saddened to hear that Jack Harlow and Måneskin have decided to perform at an award show the same weekend they were confirmed to play Reading and Leeds,” on their Instagram story.

This blow came after headliners Rage Against The Machine pulled out due to frontman Zack de la Rocha’s leg injury. A statement on Twitter was released saying: “Per medical guidance, Zack de la Rocha has been advised that the August and September 2022 UK and European leg of the Rage Against The Machine tour cannot proceed. It is with great disappoint that we announce this cancellation.” Soon after, The 1975 were announced as their replacement. This will mark their second appearance as headliners after their 2019 set. 

@OfficialRandL
Its not easy to find a headline festival act in short period of time but the replacement you have are not on the scale of RATM and are not even of the same genre of music. If you are not offering refund for sunday ticket holders that is absolutely unacceptable.

— Ryan Arthurton (@RyanArt9119) August 12, 2022

The changes to the line up have garnered mixed responses from ticket holders with one Twitter user describing The 1975 as a “downgrade”  and another saying that The 1975 were “not even of the same genre of music”.  The festivals’ refund policy states money can only be returned for a “material alteration which, in Festival Republic’s opinion, makes the event materially different to the event that ticket purchasers expected”, but it also mentions that “changes to the line-up” or “changes to a band” does not make consumers entitled to a refund. 

The announcement of the latest additions, Charlie XCX and AJ Tracey has also got some festival-goers feeling let down with on saying Reading and Leeds has “lost its identity” and another asking why there wasn’t a rockbound replacing Måneskin. A lot of the disappointment seems to be from those who had booked tickets to see bands more associated with the rock and indie genre; something which Reading and Leeds has been synonymous with since its inception. 

Founding member and clothing line owner Syke completed the athletic feat by swimming, running and cycling, three features which make up a traditional triathlon. The 35-year-old singer took to social media to announce his participation and shared pictures from the event. Within the post, Syke stated, “We did it! Thank u so much to everyone that sponsored us in our first triathlon 4 @ukraine.pride means the world. I’m going to leave up the donation page til tomorrow would be sick to double our goal (link in bio) but yeah sick thank u!”

Fellow founding member Nicholls also posted about the triathlon via social media, the 36-year-old musician said, “Had a great time today doing this. All for a good cause. Thanks to everyone that donated, me and Ol are dead chuffed to have smashed the target we set for the fundraising.”

Sykes and Nicholl’s band, Bring Me The Horizon, have shown support for the people of Ukraine before. On March 2nd 2022, the metal group took to the stage of O2 Brixton Academy to perform at this year’s BandLab NME Awards. Whilst displaying the Ukrainian flag upon the drumkit, they dedicated their six-song set to those affected by the current conflict in Ukraine. Before closing their show with “Throne”, Sykes addressed the audience, “I guess it’s better being here in a room full of influential people: they need to use their voice every single day until this crisis is over, If Kyiv does not survive, international peace will not survive,”

UKRAINEPRIDE took part in this year’s London Pride event, the charity took to the streets in the capital with a 50-strong group. A statement on the organisation’s website describes the cause, “UKRAINEPRIDE is a propatriotic queer movement. We nurture our cultural identity and defend it to share it with our soulmates from various countries, who belong to different nationalities and ethnicities, who have diverse complexions or practice varied religions. We preserve and protect our culture to tell the entire world about it.”

The mission statement continues, “Due to the opposite direction from imperial Russia chosen 8 years ago, currently we have the opportunity to attain equal rights for the LGBTQ community as well as all discriminated groups. We are not afraid of anything. We are defending our land. Glory to Ukraine, Glory to our Heroes!”

Bring Me The Horizon are set to perform in Finland on 13th August 2022 for Knotfest, the band will next appear at German Highfield Festival on 19-21 August 2022. The “Mantra” rockers are scheduled to perform at two more European festivals this month before heading home for their set at Reading Festival. The band will take the stage at the festival on 27th August 2022 and will make their appearance at the festival’s Leeds campus on 28th August 2022. On 22nd September 2022, Bring Me The Horizon will perform at Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville, USA, the group will then embark on an extensive tour consisting of the US, Australia and Europe.

Click here to make a donation to Oliver Sykes Justgiving.

Bring Me The Horizon Uk tour dates

27/08/2022 – Reading Festival – Reading
28/08 – Leeds Festival – Leeds

Click here to purchase tickets.