After passing the milestone of 20 years since their unforgettable debut album ‘Silent Alarm’ in 2025, Bloc Party’s triumphant return to the top of the UK’s indie rock scene continues without pause. Since releasing their last album ‘Alpha Games’ in 2022, the London group received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection in 2025, and have returned to headlining major events like Brighton’s On The Beach series and this March’s BBC Radio 6 Music Festival. The announcement of the new album comes at a big time, before Bloc Party are due to tour with Muse in North America and Interpol in the UK later this year.

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‘Anatomy of A Brief Romance’ is shaping up to be an exciting album packed with heart, passion and storytelling. Lead singer and guitarist Kele Okereke has opened up about the real experiences behind the music in a statement, saying “every lyric you’re hearing on this record was something that actually happened to me. I had to tell the story, from start to finish”. According to NME, the concept of much of the material was developed following Okereke’s separation from his former partner and father of his children, when he suddenly found an unexpected new relationship. He adds “having this romance, this new thing emerge, it kept me sane, in a very dark time”.

Today’s brand new single ‘Coming On Strong’ carries these themes heavily through it. Its dark, tense vibe is filled with lyrics that tell of a new relationship that sounds ominously toxic. Okereke breaks it down as “that feeling of, I’ve had my eye on this person for a while, and then we’re finally in a situation where we can be something to each other. And that’s such a seductive feeling”, before further explaining the root of the tension – “you’re not seeing their problems, and they’re not seeing your problems. You’re just shaping up and getting ready for this ride… I like the fact that harmonically and musically, it feels dark, sinister, like something is creeping up.”

The album has been recorded with legendary producer Trevor Horn, whose previous credits include classic albums by Pet Shop Boys, Mike Oldfield and Grace Jones. ‘Coming On Strong’ is the second song on the album, with the full 14-item tracklist announced today looking like this:
1. 22.01.22
2. Coming On Strong
3. Love Bombs
4. Pigwig
5. Lagoon Blue
6. Muscleworks
7. Clark Kent
8. Worst Birthday Ever
9. Not Your Problem
10. Now We Can’t Be Friends
11. Rotherhithe
12. Stories
13. Moving On
14. Eulogy

Single ‘Coming On Strong’ is out now, and the release date for ‘Anatomy of A Brief Romance’ is the 11th of September out via label Contagious LTD. Bloc Party are supporting Muse on the July dates for their North America tour, before their co-headlining tour of the UK and Europe in November and December. Check the band’s website for dates and ticket info.

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How do you follow an album like ‘Brat’? The 2024 electropop LP was a commercial smash hit around the world, won three out of the nine Grammy Awards it was nominated for, and spawned its own cultural era with ‘Brat Summer’.

Well, Charli XCX decided to immortalise this period of her life in film, with the 2026 release of her movie ‘The Moment’, a mockumentary with her as lead star, telling a fictionalised tale of her life after the album and preparing for its massive world tour. ‘The Moment’ released in cinemas at the start of the year, around the same time as Emerald Fennell’s cinematic retelling of ‘Wuthering Heights’, which Charli XCX wrote the soundtrack for.

With her big screen break established, Charli has returned the focus to her career as a singer-songwriter. In an interview published by British Vogue in April, she made several allusions to a drastic change in style for her upcoming musical releases. Demoing a track backed by distorted guitars with a lyric “I think the dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music” led to rampant speculation that she would be reinventing herself as a full-blown rockstar. During the interview, Charli suggested whatever came next, it wouldn’t be like ‘Brat’, saying “If I’d made another album that felt more dance-leaning, it would have felt really hard, really sad. What’s interesting for me is to bend the possibilities of what my perspective on that could be.”

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For those who expected an immediate reinvention as a hard rock artist, you may be slightly disappointed – Charli took to social media last week with a behind-the-scenes studio clip and the playful caption “a video of me making a song called “rock music” that is not actually rock music which is funny because i never said i was making a rock album. love you xx”. The footage shows her at Rue Boyer Studios in Paris last October, working with frequent collaborators Finn Keane and A.G. Cook on the new track ‘Rock Music’.

While ‘Rock Music’, which released on the 8th of May, does feature the electric guitars and the chorus refrain “I think the dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music”, rock music it is not. The track centres around her trademark autotuned vocals and pop energy, but with a stomping rock beat and lyrics about headbanging. The single comes with a black-and-white music video supervised by ‘The Moment’ director Aidan Zamiri, showing Charli engaging in heavy music clichés like moshing and crowd-surfing, as well chaotic band scenes with cameos from Keane, Cook, and Charli’s husband and The 1975 drummer George Daniel.

‘Rock Music’ might not be her ‘Stairway To Heaven’, but it’s a lot of fun, and Charli XCX is clearly enjoying making music right now. You can stream the song now, with new music from her as-yet untitled seventh studio album expected later in the year.

One of the peerless founding bands of British rock music, The Rolling Stones formed in London in 1962, enjoying a career spanning 7 decades, 24 studio albums, and thousands of sold-out shows. The Stones lineup since 2021 consists of frontman Mick Jagger plus guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood – the band had been active since 1993 as a four-piece with Charlie Watts on drums before his death, but released 2023’s ‘Hackney Diamonds’ as a trio using some of Watts’ recordings. ‘Hackney Diamonds’ was their first full studio album since 2005, becoming their 14th UK number one album and winning them their fourth Grammy award.

Rumours of an album began earlier this year with the mystery emergence of ‘The Cockroaches’, a new group who released single ‘Rough and Twisted’ exclusively on a limited vinyl run this April. From snippets of the song posted during its social media campaign, the band was swiftly revealed to be The Rolling Stones acting under an alias, with the single being positively received as another strong release from the group. During the furore The Times reported that ‘Rough and Twisted’ was taken from their new album, which was due for a July release.

Their next promotional move was the plastering of cryptic messages on billboards in cities around the world, containing the phrase “foreign tongues” in various languages. As this unfolded in late April, fans quickly identified that it was the name of the new Stones album, before the band themselves confirmed everything on the 5th of May with the release of lead single ‘In The Stars’.

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‘Foreign Tongues’ will release on the 10th of July, boasting 14 tracks with appearances from Sir Paul McCartney, Robert Smith of The Cure, drummer Chad Smith of Red Hot Chilli Peppers fame, and Steve Winwood. As well as singles ‘In The Stars’ and the full release of ‘Rough and Twisted’, the LP will also feature one of the last tracks recorded by Watts, ‘Hit Me In The Head’, and country song ‘Ringing Hollow’. The whole album was completed at London’s Metropolis Studios in less than a month, and was developed with returning producer Andrew Watt, who previously worked with the band on ‘Hackney Diamonds’.

Following the announcement, the trio were guests on Conan O’Brien’s US talk show to discuss the album. Reported by The Guardian, Jagger discussed the diversity of music on the record, saying “The thing about this record is – the Stones are a rock band that also has the capacity to do ballads, country music or dance music. So we don’t get stuck in one kind of style.” They also talked about their desire to keep things interesting so deep into their careers, with Richards remarking “You don’t just want to sit on what you’ve done before. We put it together, we love to do it, and there is always something more in there.” Host O’Brien enthused that the album, which he claims to have received early and listened to “25 times”, bore similarity to 1972’s iconic ‘Exile on Main St.’ in its “vibrancy” and “urgency”.

‘Rough and Twisted’ and ‘In The Stars’ are out now, with a physical release for the latter coming on the 15th of May. ‘Foreign Tongues’ releases on Polydor and Geffen on the 10th of July, with pre-order links up now. The Rolling Stones have suggested that this won’t be their last album, and they have at least 10 songs written for a future release.

When Alissa White-Gluz first joined Swedish melodic death metal group Arch Enemy in 2014, she was stepping into some big shoes – her predecessor Angela Gossow had raised the bar incredibly high for female death metal vocals. White-Gluz in turn lifted the bar higher, bringing both guttural screams and powerful clean singing in one package, providing the band a new edge to their sound across 11 years and 4 studio albums. Upon leaving Arch Enemy in November last year, White-Gluz directed her attention to her solo efforts under the simple moniker ‘Alissa’, as well as founding all-female group Blue Medusa.

DragonForce meanwhile have continued to release technical power metal albums packed with their frantic guitar noodling since breaking into the mainstream with 2006 hit ‘Through The Fire And Flames’. The song gained cult status, especially following its inclusion as one of the most difficult tracks on 2007 video game ‘Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock’, and the 2005 album ‘Inhuman Rampage’, of which it was the lead single, has been acclaimed as one of the most important power metal albums by both Metal Hammer and Loudwire. With ‘Inhuman Rampage’ marking its 20th anniversary last year, the group have been gearing up to celebrate the milestone in style.

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DragonForce announced White-Gluz’s arrival today, posting that they welcome her as “the band’s newest member and first frontwoman”. Both acts have worked together in the past, with Alissa providing guest vocals on a remixed version of DragonForce’s track ‘Burning Heart’ in 2025. She will slot in alongside their continuing lead singer Marc Hudson, her harsh growls and low singing voice complimenting his soaring melodic wails, with the post also revealing she will join them for live duties starting this week. White-Gluz’s tenure with the band begins with US shows at Welcome To Rocksville on Saturday the 9th of May, and Sonic Temple on the 17th.

In a statement, DragonForce guitarist Herman Li remarked “Alissa joining the band is an expansion of everything we’ve done up to this point. 20 years is a long time to do anything, let alone survive the music industry and still be so inspired to continue doing what we love. Together we will honour what made Inhuman Rampage matter, while showing people exactly where we’re going next. Having Alissa in the room changes everything. She doesn’t just sing, she makes all aspects of our music better. And she sounds incredible live! I can’t wait for the fans to see her and hear what we have been working on.” White-Gluz also added “I am beyond excited to be bringing such iconic music to life with these amazingly skilled musicians in such a fun and inspiring environment. It feels great to showcase all the colours of my voice and utilise all my singing styles in technically challenging, deeply energising, highly addictive songs.”

DragonForce have confirmed plans for more shows in support of ‘Inhuman Rampage’’s 20th birthday, as well as new music to be announced soon. For Alissa White-Gluz, the year is already phenomenally busy – Blue Medusa released debut single ‘Checkmate’ in March, and her first solo album is rumoured to release later this year after she dropped her debut Alissa track ‘The Room Where She Died’ last November.

The BPI recently published ‘All About The Music 2026’, a yearbook of figures, patterns and trends from the UK’s music industry based on 2025’s market. They use data from the UK Official Charts statistics to reveal the nation’s fluctuating tastes and what it means for both artists and listeners. This year’s edition found that in 2025, rock music accounted for 22.2% of overall single consumption, shy of pop’s 33.3% – a 0.8% increase over 2024 and the highest share rock has had since 2016.

The latest boon in the genre’s performance has been aided by six songs classified as rock entering the UK Top 10 this year, especially compared with only one achieving the feat in 2020. One such single from 2025 was English indie rock star Sam Fender’s BRIT Song of the Year winner ‘Rein Me In’, featuring Olivia Dean. The song broke a chart record by spending 35 weeks in the Top 40 Chart before finally clinching the number one spot this February, becoming Fender’s first UK number one single and his first entry on the US’s Billboard Hot 100.

New acts breaking through were responsible for more growth, such as British metal sensations Sleep Token, whose single ‘Caramel’ was their first in the Top 10, while American singer-songwriters Gigi Perez and sombr had chart success with tracks ‘Sailor Song’ and ‘Back To Friends’ respectively. Other big rock entries this year profited from online trends and nostalgia to climb back up, including Benson Boone’s ‘Beautiful Things’, which endured from 2024 to become the biggest rock song and 7th biggest overall chart single of 2025’s year-end list. Goo Goo Dolls’ ‘Iris’, The Killers’ ‘Mr Brightside’ and Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ all also made the Top 40 final list.

Rock also cemented its place as the biggest genre for album consumption, increasing from a 35.3% share of stats in 2024 to 36.0% last year, handily beating out pop’s 28.9%. Of the four albums they class as rock to make the year’s Top 10 Album Chart, two were a by-product of Oasis’s reunion and their enormously-successful world tour. Their 1995 LP ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory’ and 2010 greatest hits compilation ‘Time Flies… 1994-2009’ both re-entered the charts, alongside Fleetwood Mac’s 2018 compendium ‘50 Years – Don’t Stop’.

The biggest rock album released last year was Sam Fender’s ‘People Watching’ which won the 2025 Mercury Prize, and had the highest first-week sales of any album for the year. Of the 17 rock albums to top the charts throughout 2025, 15 were by British artists, coming from Aerosmith and Yungblud’s collaborative release ‘One More Time’, Pulp’s comeback album ‘More’, and Sleep Token’s ‘Even In Arcadia’ among others. The news, which the BPI published on the 29th of April, comes in a week where Welsh metal group Skindred have just achieved their first Number One Album after 30 years with ‘You Got This’. Further statistics from the research show that rock accounted for a commanding 54.9% of vinyl sales in the UK, bolstered by modern pressings as well as genre-defining classics such as Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumors’ and Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’.

The BPI’s Chief Executive, Dr Jo Twist OBE, says “For decades, rock has played a critical role in maintaining and enhancing the UK’s status as a global music superpower. This was truer than ever in 2025. Rock has long flourished thanks to its incredible foundations built on a deep, exceptional and still-cherished back catalogue. We can now add to that contemporary stars such as Sam Fender, Sleep Token, Wolf Alice, and Yungblud, who hail from across the UK and who are breathing new life into this much-loved genre both at home and around the world.”

You can explore these findings and more in ‘All About The Music 2026’, which is free for BPI members and available for purchase now on their website. The institute is also planning a live ‘insight session’ titled ‘The Long Play: UK Rock in the Age of Streaming’. The event will be a deep-dive into rock’s enduring popularity and where it goes from here, featuring panels of industry experts. The event is today, the 30th of April, held at Liverpool Sound City – click here for more info.

Loathe formed in Liverpool in 2014, and were put on the radar of many after debut album ‘The Cold Sun’ earned them best new band nominations at both the Metal Hammer Golden Gods and Heavy Music Awards in 2018. From there, they perfected their adventurous spin on metalcore, nu metal and djent on ‘I Let It In and It Took Everything’, an album which shot Loathe straight to the upper echelons of the UK’s alternative music scene. Inspired by bands like Deftones, Korn and Slipknot, whose unorthodox approach to heavy music led the nu metal culture in the 2000s, the album has already inspired droves of new bands in the 2020s.

Since the release of ‘I Let It In and It Took Everything’, the band followed it up with ambient companion LP ‘The Things They Believe’ in 2021, and concert recording ‘Audiotree from Nothing’ in 2023 which showcased the energy of their live performances. The last studio update came when they cancelled their 2022 tour dates to concentrate on writing their fourth album, leaving fans rabid for updates. In 2024, Loathe confirmed the album would be out in 2025, and when single ‘Gifted Every Strength’ dropped last May alongside live performances of a then-unknown song, speculation became rife that the album was just around the corner – however a solid announcement didn’t come until this Monday, the 27th of April 2026.

New single ‘Revenant’ was the first thing to be revealed, confirmed to be the mystery song the band was playing live last year. Featuring Eric Balderose and Jami Morgan of US alt-metallers Code Orange, performing here under their new side project NOWHERE2RUN, ‘Revenant’ is a harsh, noisy blast of overdriven bassy grooves, a blistering attack on the ears. While other Loathe tracks ease up the pace with atmospheric interludes and melodic clean vocals, this one revels in being as brutal and dissonant as it can be.

After the release of the single Loathe wasted little time in presenting ‘A Stranger To You’ to the fans. According to news site Lambgoat, the album has been produced and engineered by the band alongside Ed Al-Shakarchi, who has previously worked with acts like Action Bronson and Imogen Heap. The full track listing including ‘Revenant’, ‘Gifted Every Strength’ and another unreleased track they’ve played live named ‘اثينا’, looks like this:
 
1. Entrance
2. Block Of Flats
3. Fortress Down
4. Gemini
5. Nothing Like The Knife
6. Harder To Pretend
7. اثينا
8. Revenant
9. The Way It Breaks
10. Meet My Maker
11. Fangs
12. The Ladder
13. Gifted Every Strength
14. No Stranger To You…

‘A Stranger To You’ releases via Sharptone Records on the 17th of July, with streaming pre-save links here and official pre-orders here. Loathe are playing live across Australia through May, before returning to Europe for a festival tour in June including Manchester’s Outbreak Fest. Earlier today, they announced a run of US dates for this September and October, with tickets for that on sale on Friday the 1st of May.

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The series will open with the First Night of the Proms on the 17th of July, hosting 86 concerts in the Royal Albert Hall and other venues around the country, before closing with the showstopping Last Night on the 12th of September. This year marks the 131st edition of the Proms bringing together composers, musicians and attendees from across the globe, with a special occasion planned for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The 2026 Proms will welcome The Met Orchestra from New York for the first time, as well as the return of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, plus a cohort of American composers and soloists. Other anniversaries celebrated this Proms season include the centenaries of the birth of historic figures including jazz pioneers John Coltrane and Miles Davis, and a concert celebrating 40 years of Paul Simon’s landmark album ‘Graceland’ with its featured stars Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

One of the most exciting nights comes early in Proms season, in the shape of ‘Prog Rock: A Fanfare For The Common Man’. The show will rifle through classic progressive rock songs by the genre’s most prominent names, including Genesis, Jethro Tull, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The selection of tracks has been curated by BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Stuart Maconie, whose 2023 Northern Soul night has become a massive part of the Proms legacy in recent memory. Robert Ames, co-principal conductor of the London Contemporary Orchestra, will be conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra for this one on Saturday the 18th of July. Ames posted on Facebook about the announcement, saying “I grew up listening to prog rock with my dad, and I still do. Some of my earliest musical memories are of car journeys to school, moving between Pink Floyd, Berlioz, Genesis and Mussorgsky learning without really knowing it that music could be huge, emotional, strange, theatrical and completely transporting. That world left a big mark on me, so being part of this feels deeply personal — and very special.”

One to watch will certainly be ‘Bond and Beyond’, a deep-dive into the music and epic themes that have made the James Bond film franchise so unforgettable. From the timeless main theme, to older classics like those by Shirley Bassey or Paul McCartney and Wings, and modern ones by Chris Cornell or Billie Eillish, this show will have it all for the Bond fans. So far confirmed for the night is Carly Simon’s ‘Nobody Does It Better’ from ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ and Adele’s ‘Skyfall’ from the film of the same name. Canadian Daniel Bartholemew-Poyser will be guest conductor with the BBC Concert Orchestra on Tuesday the 25th of August.

August’s leg of the event will conclude with a special tribute to Alan Menken, whose Disney soundtracks have been an irreplaceable part of life for millions of children worldwide. Menken is one of 22 EGOT winners, proud owners of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award across disciplines of TV, music, film and theatre respectively. His scores include many of Disney’s biggest animated films, such as ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘Hercules’, and ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Performances will be by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, with special guests from the National Youth Music Theatre, live on Monday the 31st of August.

The First Night of the Proms kicks off across BBC TV, radio, iPlayer and BBC Sounds on Friday the 17th of July. Currently, the lineup for the Last Night of the Proms on Saturday the 12th of September has not been finalised, with the BBC suggesting room for another show to rival last year’s closing set of Queen’s surviving members playing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. The BBC estimates more than 300,000 tickets will be available over the full eight-week duration, with a quarter of them costing only £8. General booking opens on Saturday the 16th of May from the Royal Albert Hall’s website.

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In one corner, we have Duran Duran, one of the biggest British pop and new wave acts of the 80s – in the other, American guitarist and producer Nile Rogers, founding member of Chic, an iconic figure in the history of funk and disco music. While both acts had their heydays in the 20th century, neither have been remotely quiet in the 2000s – Duran Duran have consistently released quality albums, while Rogers has enjoyed immense success with his Chic-revival live shows and chart-conquering singles like those with French house duo Daft Punk.

Duran Duran have worked extensively with Rogers, since both parties met at a Blondie concert in 1982. Rogers said of it “From the moment we met, we loved each other, we were running around the venue like little kids.” Rogers remixed the band’s 1984 song ‘The Reflex’, which shot to the top of the charts in the UK and US, becoming Duran Duran’s first American number one single. Rogers later produced and played guitar on their 1986 album ‘Notorious’, as well as contributing to their 2015 single ‘Pressure Off’, and has described Duran Duran as his “second band”.

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In a news bulletin on their website last June, Duran Duran shared that they had entered London’s famed Abbey Road Studios to record new music with Rogers. Last week, they began teasing the project, revealing the song would be called ‘Free To Love’ and would premiere on BBC Radio 2 at 7:30 this morning, the 23rd of April. The promotional material hinted at the music video being inspired by the BBC’s famous-but-retired chart show Top Of The Pops, a TV programme remembered fondly for the aesthetic style of its 70s and 80s designs. Both the music video and song are certainly a throwback. The video, which is produced by Grammy-winning director Jonas Åkerlund, is a beautiful pastiche of Top Of The Pops, starring DJ Clara Amfo as a presenter, while the song itself captures Duran Duran’s timeless pop sound within a sexy, disco groove driven by Roger’s signature funk guitar playing.

Duran Duran’s members write about the single on their site, with singer Simon Le Bon saying “Free To Love is disco for the 2020s. It’s up-beat and up-tempo; it’s about freedom; it’s about loving the modern world instead of hating it, and that is something we need right now. Be free! Be free to love!” Keyboardist Nick Rhodes mentions their joy at working with Rogers again, adding “Every time we plug in and play with Nile, the electricity he generates could light up a whole city. We share a common belief that music is a force for good and something that brings positive energy into the world. ‘Free To Love’ is our call to all the people out there who want peace, hope and understanding to prevail.” Their post also includes a quote from Nile Rogers, who says “True love is free and unconditional. My love for Duran Duran and what our music together has always been about, is the love we share for our song’s deepest meanings. Whatever chaos is going on outside, inside the studio we’re free to love our peace.”

‘Free To Love’ is out now on streaming platforms, ahead of Duran Duran’s blockbuster BST Hyde Park show on the 5th of July. Scissor Sisters have been announced as special guests on the bill, with further acts to be announced. Nile Rogers is playing in the UK this June and August, with full dates and tickets on his website.

Prince Rogers Nelson, known by various names but chief among them, Prince, was an enigmatic artist. An unparalleled savant and polymath, he was regaled for playing numerous instruments with a natural flair, as well as his ability to write music in nearly any genre with ease. Since 1978, he released a staggering 39 albums across numerous projects, as well as 5 films including 1984 multimedia-sensation ‘Purple Rain’, which won him an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. His accolades count 7 BRIT Awards, 11 Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, and a 2004 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

His passing in 2016 due to an accidental fentanyl overdose, with no signs of foul play, shocked the world of music. Since his death however, Prince’s musical releases have not let up – his unrelenting genius yielded a vault of previously-unheard songs, albums and live footage, as well as fully produced music videos that have still yet to see the light of day. While some items have been leaked as raw bootleg versions, others like 2021’s ‘Welcome 2 America’ received a full studio release through NPG.

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Today, in memory of 10 years since Prince’s death, his estate have released ‘With This Tear’ as part of their annual ‘A Day 2 Reflect | A Night 2 Remember’ observation of his life. The track was recorded in November 1991 at his Paisley Park home studio in Minnesota. It was originally written, recorded and mixed by himself, but has been remixed and mastered by former collaborator Grammy-nominated producer and engineer Chris James, best known for his work with Frank Ocean and Janelle Monáe. Prince gave the song to singer Celine Dion, which appeared on her 1992 self-titled album as a non-single track.

The music video is an emotional tribute to the great man, opening with a short clip of him saying “when I was younger I always said that, one day, I was going to play all kinds of music, and not be judged for the colour of my skin, but the quality of my work. And hopefully that’ll continue.” Footage of his vast career plays behind the gentle ballad, a reminder of how storied his time on his planet was and the still-growing trove of material he has left behind.

‘With This Tear’ is out now on NPG Records in association with Sony’s Legacy Records. It comes ahead of ‘Prince Celebration, 10th Anniversary Celebration of Life’, a vigil which will see 5 days of gathering and remembrance in Prince’s home of Paisley Park in Minneapolis, including performances by his former backing groups New Power Generation and The Revolution. More unreleased recordings by Prince are due to make their emergence later this year in an as-yet unnamed album project.

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The festival has been running at the South Downs site since 2011, located just outside Winchester in Hampshire. It stands out from other festivals with its curated storylines and lore which tells of aliens and dystopian megacorporations, the unique design of its stages and festival grounds, and its culture of inclusiveness. They draw all manner of alternative acts, primarily electronic, ska and reggae, with past headlining alumni including Gorillaz, Wu Tang Clan and The Specials.

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The atmosphere can only exist within the beautiful scenery of the South Downs woodland, which was designated national park status in 2010 and has been an Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty since the 1960s. As such, the environmental impacts of a large-scale annual music festival in the region has attracted widespread criticism from conservation groups, as well as local residents who suffer from the noise pollution and traffic congestion.

 
The BBC heard from local Alisson Mathews, who lives 2 miles from the festival grounds, about her experience every August. She said she could hear the pounding bass and drum beats from Boomtown “almost constantly in our house and garden” and added “by Sunday night we are exhausted from the lack of sleep. I find it particularly disappointing to see the park authority failing its residents by ignoring its first purpose and doing nothing to encourage Boomtown to find an alternative venue outside the protected landscape.” The BBC’s article also quotes complaints from Christopher Langford, who objects to the use of the national park for the purpose, saying “national parks should be havens for nature, not environments damaged by large-scale music festivals.”

 
In order to continue their activity, Boomtown’s organisers have had to pledge to several new rules to protect the environment. A new meadow spanning 4.2 acres must be created to foster biodiversity at the site by South Downs Way, with protection for bats, barn owls, and other bird species native to the area. Additionally, they will be subject to independent ecological surveys every year to monitor impacts on wildlife like badgers, butterflies, birds and reptiles. NME referenced Councillor Janet Duncton, who spoke positively of Boomtown’s footprint in the region, saying “I’ve visited the site before, during and after the festival, and in my view it has been well managed. A lot of people get a great deal of pleasure from this, and don’t we all need a bit of that? I think five years is a perfectly reasonable time to allow them to continue.” Boomtown’s Director Shula Rael says “The people behind the festival understand the purpose of this park. We take those responsibilities seriously, and we deliver against them.”  

 

 

 

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Permission to hold the festival in its current state until 2030 was granted by South Downs National Park Authority, the body responsible for the park. It allows one Boomtown Festival event a year at Matterley Estate, up to a maximum of 75,999 attendants, and a further 1,000 for their Sunday. Boomtown’s co-founder Luke Mitchell has described this year’s festival as one that will “encapsulate everything we love: intricate film-set worlds, twisting storylines, bouncing dancefloors, and diverse expressions of music and art”

Boomtown Festival: Chapter Five runs from the 12th to the 16th of August 2026 in the South Downs National Park, with top-billing acts Kneecap, Scissor Sisters, Madness and Skrillex. Tickets are sold out, but fear not – the festival will return in 2027.