Rolling Stone UK’s 2026 summer festival guide
Plan a season of live music with Rolling Stone UK’s hand-picked selection of the finest festivals in the UK and Europe
Summer is nearly here, and that means it’s time to start planning everyone’s favourite season: festival. Whether you’re craving sun-soaked beats on a Mediterranean beach, iconic headline sets under British skies, or exploring emerging artists at intimate city festivals, we have you covered.
From underground electronic gems to legendary rock line-ups, we’ve curated a selection of the very best festivals happening across the UK and Europe in 2026. Here’s your essential guide to making this a summer to remember.
Wychwood
29–31 May – Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire
Over the past 20 years, Wychwood festival has become an adored fixture on the UK festival calendar. It kicks off every summer at the Cheltenham Racecourse with a nos-talgic hit of your teenage favourites and new discoveries. Kaiser Chiefs, Craig David, Feeder, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and more lead 2026’s stellar line-up, with plenty of workshops and activ-ities for children, making it a festival that caters to all.
Confirmed artists:
Kaiser Chiefs, Craig David presents TS5, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Adult DVD
Insider tip:
Wychwood is expanding to four days for 2026 – make the most of the weekend and enjoy a chilled extra night of camping on the Thursday evening.
Primavera Sound
3–7 June – Parc del Fòrum, Barcelona, Spain
Long a top-tier destination on the continent for British festivalgoers hoping for some sun alongside their summer fix of music, Primavera Sound has outdone itself once again in 2026. The Cure, The xx, Gorillaz, Doja Cat and more make up the dazzling line-up, with all manner of electronic artists also heading to the picturesque seafront location of the Parc del Fòrum for a party that rages on till sunrise.
Confirmed artists:
Gorillaz, The xx, The Cure, Massive Attack
Insider tip:
If you’re hoping to extend your trip beyond the festival weekend, Primavera hosts a series of Cuitat gigs in Barcelona’s best venues before and after the main event.
Download
10–14 June – Donington Park, Leicestershire
The UK’s best rock and metal festival is back for 2026 with a mammoth set of headliners. US heavyweights Guns N’ Roses, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park top the bill in a trio of UK exclusive performances. Backing them up is a bill of the best heavy music the UK has to offer right now, including Architects, Bad Omens and Pendulum.
Confirmed artists:
Guns N’ Roses, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Architects
Insider tip:
Fans can join the Download Family, an exclusive fan club offering merch discounts, presale tickets and an opportunity to feel like a proper part of the family.
Gottwood
11–14 June – Carreglwyd Estate, Anglesey, Wales
Gottwood has long been a raver’s paradise on the northern tip of Wales in Anglesey’s picturesque, forested Carreglwyd Estate. This year, the party will (literally) never stop, with Gottwood being granted their first 24-hour licence. As such, expect sunsets and sunrises in the woods, with an eclectic line-up of electronic music’s best throughout the day and night.
Confirmed artists:
Call Super, Eris Drew b2b Octo Octa, John Talabot
Insider tip:
At a 24-hour festival, you might need some downtime – Gottwood has you covered with hot tubs, wellness sessions and yoga classes.
Rock in Rio Lisboa
20–21, 27–28 June – Parque Tejo, Lisbon, Portugal
Rock in Rio, one of the world’s most famous festivals, has been hosting a sister edition in Lisbon for over 20 years. Set in the gorgeous seafront Parque Tejo, the festival is a wonderland of pop, rock and experimental music with an exploratory nature. Alongside the music, the festival hosts the Smart City of Rock, aiming to bring in local startups and businesses and become “the world’s largest global experimentation platform” for two weekends.
Confirmed artists:
Katy Perry, Linkin Park, Rod Stewart, Kaiser Chiefs
Insider tip:
Keep your eyes on the skies at the festival, with a new synchronised “aerial ballet” from the Portuguese-Spanish flying team Yakstars set to take place every evening.
Runway
26–28 June – secret location, Gloucestershire
Those looking for an alternative to the sadly absent Glastonbury in 2026 should look no further than Runway. The new festival, the first LGBTQ+ camping festival of its kind in the UK, is the brainchild of the team behind lauded London-based queer party Adonis, and will come to a disused airfield in the south of England in late June. Expect a ‘Runway Boulevard’, inspired by iconic queer neighbourhoods across the globe, and an expansive, immersive world that takes the vibe of Adonis to a huge new scale.
Confirmed artists:
Gabrielle Kwarteng, Peach,
OK Williams, Aurora Halal
Insider tip:
If you’re unfamiliar with the world of Adonis, get into festival prep mode by listening to its residents, including Gideön, Hannah Holland and Grace Sands..
State Fayre
26–28 June – Hylands Park, Chelmsford
New for 2026 on the UK festival calendar is State Fayre, billed as “the UK’s biggest music and BBQ festival”. Americana is the theme for the new Chelmsford-based event, which has Kings of Leon and Alanis Morissette among its headliners. Organisers have promised the “authen-tic food, activities and big open skies of an American state fair” at the inaugural event, and its music line-up speaks for itself.
Confirmed artists:
Kings of Leon, Alanis Morissette, The Lumineers, Skunk Anansie
Insider tip:
Hylands Park is the home of plenty of rock ’n’ roll history as the former site for V Festival, which welcomed the likes of Oasis, Radiohead and Coldplay across more than two decades of the event.
Open’er Festival
1–4 July – Gdynia-Kosakowo Airfield, Gydnia, Poland
On the wide-open plains of the Gdynia-Kosakowo Airfield in northern Poland, Open’er has become one of Europe’s biggest and best summer festivals across its 25-year history. The enormous EDM of Martin Garrix and Calvin Harris meets mainstream pop (Addison Rae, JADE) and alt favourites (The xx, David Byrne, Ethel Cain) on one of the summer’s best and most varied line-ups. It’s the dream summer holiday by the sea-side.
Confirmed artists:
The xx, Calvin Harris, David Byrne, Addison Rae
Insider tip:
Sample the best of Polish cuisine with the festival’s extensive range of local and organic produce on site.
NOS Alive
9–11 July – Passeio Marítimo de Algés, Lisbon, Portugal
Each and every July, NOS Alive turns the coast just outside Lisbon into a paradise filled with some of the world’s biggest and best artists. Across three days, the likes of Nick Cave, Florence + the Machine and Wolf Alice and more will bring a striking spectacle to one of the jewels in the crown of the European festival circuit.
Confirmed artists:
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Foo Fighters, Florence + the Machine, Wolf Alice, Lorde, Twenty One Pilots
Insider tip:
Don’t miss the authentic Portuguese music on the festival’s smaller stages, giving a true taste of the country’s musical heritage.
Untold
6–9 August – Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Electronic music and pop blend perfectly at this wonderland of a festival in Romania’s Cluj-Napoca. Consistently ranked as one of the world’s best dance festivals, Untold puts some of the world’s biggest and best DJs on stages with extraordinary visual accompaniment, for a festival experience that also feels like a stadium show and is as magical as they come.
Confirmed artists:
Zara Larsson, Lewis Capaldi, Sting, The Chainsmokers
Insider tip:
Make sure to visit the Tram Stage, an intimate corner of the festival with a dance floor inside a repurposed tram carriage.
Green Man
20–23 August – Bannau Brycheiniog, Wales
One of the UK’s most magical festivals returns to the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) this August. Described by Rolling Stone UK as “a victory and a blueprint for independence and community”, Green Man – which now routinely sells out in hours, before a single name on the line-up has been revealed – brings huge-scale artists like Wolf Alice to cosy and intimate surroundings, in front of the most knowledgeable and passionate crowd around.
Confirmed artists:
Wolf Alice, Four Tet, Wilco, Mogwai
Insider tip:
For those really wanting to immerse themselves in the Black Mountains, you can buy Settlers passes to spend the week pre-festival on site.
Sold out.
All Points East
22–30 August – Victoria Park, London
Now a firm fixture on the London festival calendar, All Points East returns to Victoria Park this August with its most exciting and eclectic line-up yet. Leading the way is a two-day extravaganza headlined by Tyler, the Creator, with the likes of Dijon and Turnstile also on board. Lorde will also play her biggest UK gig to date, while hardcore mecca Outbreak Festival returns with headliners Deftones. With free events in the park around the main shows, it’s a full festival that takes over Hackney to end the summer.
Confirmed artists:
Tyler, the Creator,
Lorde, Deftones, Twenty One Pilots
Insider tip:
The festival’s In the NBHD programming sees a host of free events being hosted in Victoria Park around the All Points East shows.
Reading & Leeds
27–30 August – Richfield Avenue, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds
Once again, Reading & Leeds is moving with the times and remaining the most zeitgeist-y festival for adolescents in the UK. This year’s headlin-ers reflect the genre-less tastes of young fans in 2026, with Chase & Status sharing the top of the bill with Florence + the Machine, RAYE, Charli XCX, Dave and Fontaines D.C. With an expanded dance offering and a campsite revamp, it’s a new era for the bank holiday double-header that keeps them at the centre of culture.
Confirmed artists:
Charli XCX, Dave, RAYE, Fontaines D.C.
Insider tip:
As introduced in 2025, festivalgoers can now choose specific camping tickets tailored to the type of camping experience they want.
Buy tickets for Reading here, and Leeds here.
Victorious
28–30 August – Southsea Common, Portsmouth
The sprawling Southsea Common sits on the tip of Portsea Island, with the Solent and Isle of Wight in the near distance. Each August bank holiday weekend, it hosts Victorious, one of the UK’s best family-friendly festivals that brings the best in rock and indie music from around the world. A particularly special set during the 2026 edition will come from The Streets, performing the legendary A Grand Don’t Come for Free in its entirety. It’s unmissable.
Confirmed artists:
Richard Ashcroft, Kasabian, The Black Keys, The Streets
Insider tip:
Pick up a vinyl after your favourite festival set from the excellent Pie & Vinyl, just around the corner.
Rally
29 August – Southwark Park, London
Over the years since its launch in 2023, RALLY has become a key fixture on the London festival calendar for experimental music fans. This year, the keys have been given to Blood Orange, who headline the festival and curate its most eclectic line-up yet. Daniel Avery, Smerz and more will all play on some of the festival calendar’s most creatively constructed stages, with Southwark Park annually turned into an industrial playground.
Confirmed artists:
Blood Orange, Daniel Avery, YHWH Nailgun, Smerz
Insider tip:
Don’t let the party stop here – RALLY host a number of afterparties at some of south London’s best independent venues.
Body Movements
30 August – Southwark Park, London
Body Movements has grown from a grassroots DIY effort in Hackney Wick by Little Gay Brother and Saoirse into a day-long celebration of queer and trans joy. On one of the final weekends of the summer, it will turn south London’s Southwark Park into a thrilling, transgressive dance floor with inclusion and community at its heart. With takeovers from London queer institutions as well as sets from scene heroes Romy and Eris Drew and Octo Octa, it’s the perfect way to see off the summer with an almighty bang.
Confirmed artists:
Romy, Eris Drew and Octo Octa, Hannah Holland
Insider tip:
Connoisseurs of London’s queer nightlife will particularly enjoy takeovers from the likes of Adonis and Dalston Superstore.
End of the Road
3–6 September – Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset
Each September, the gorgeous Larmer Tree Gardens in Dorset hosts End of the Road, one of the UK’s most beloved boutique festivals. Over its 20 years, the festival has grown from tiny beginnings to attracting global stars – Pulp and CMAT are among 2026’s headliners – while keeping its independent nature and curious spirit. Don’t miss the chance for a late-night walk in the woods to have a crack at karaoke or catch a set from a comedian.
Confirmed artists:
Pulp, CMAT, Super Furry Animals, caroline
Insider tip:
Keep your ear to the ground, as the festival often hosts late-night secret sets only announced on site. There’s also a secret 2026 headliner still to come too!