The best music festivals in the UK to book for 2026

When is a festival not a festival? When it’s a choose-your-fighter string of one-dayers, each with their own strong identities, held on the same site across successive weekends. All Points East is sort of like a social experiment to ensure London’s indie, rap and pop fans all flock to Victoria Park on the same days – but it does a great job of making sure everyone in the city wants to go to at least one of its editions every year. Alongside the usual day headliners, 2026 will mark a couple of firsts for APE: its first Outbreak fest (headlined by Deftones), and its first two-day headliner with Tyler, the Creator.

Big names: Lorde, Deftones, Tyler, The Creator, Twenty One Pilots.

Best For: Finding your tribe. 

Victoria Park, London. August 22-30 (Aug 22 headlined by Lorde, Aug 23 Outbreak Fest, Aug 28-29 Tyler, the Creator and Aug 30 Twenty One Pilots).

Now here’s a British festival institution. Held on twin sites across the country, with a shared line-up, Reading and Leeds is as much as a fixture of adolescence as rolling your eyes and slamming doors. The post-exam blow-out was once an all-out rock fest but has in recent years morphed into a multi-genre celebration of all that’s great and good about music in the here-and-now. Previously a spit-and-sawdust affair where the focus was on music and a good time, R+L now also offers top-quality grub (last year’s Korean section was a revelation), craft beer and even wellness activities. Whatever next?

Big names: Charli XCX, Dave, Florence + the Machine, Fontaines D.C.

Best for: Mainlining the zeitgeist. 

Little John’s Farm, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds. August 27-30.

This Lincolnshire knees-up is basically a mash-up of pleasant events like Wilderness and one a chic, club-focused event such as We Out Here. In addition to a line-up packed with the coolest electronic acts on the circuit, Lost Village has hot tubs by the lake and top chefs ready to banish any memories of the dodgy burgers and warm cider that were once a staple of UK festivals. Expect parties in the woods, fancy dress, enough glitter to fill a circus top and a general fairy tale vibe. The sets are lush, too, with one dance stage dubbed Airbase and designed like an aircraft hangar. You will definitely achieve lift-off.

Big names: 2manydjs, Ben UFO, DJ Koze, Horse Meat Disco.

Best for: Having a hangover in a hot tub (best place for it). 

LN6 9HN, Lincolnshire. August 27-30.

When UK festivals first became a thing in the late ’60s and early ’70s (thank you, Isle of Wight), they were wild and woolly affairs that channelled the revolutionary spirit of American predecessors such as the Monterey Pop Festival. As the whole thing has inevitably become more commercial, some corners of the circuit have retained that countercultural vibe. Take this Northamptonshire fest, where anything goes: Shambala’s organisers host genuinely radical, transgressive acts and cultivate a staunchly independent ethos with a focus on sustainability. Oh, and there’s a naked sauna, proving that you really can let it all hang out at Shambala.

Big names: Bob Vylan, Reggie Watts, Goat, Orchestra Baobab, Emma-Jean Thackray.

Best for: Sticking to the man. 

Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens, Northampton. August 27-30.

Do you find most mainstream British music festivals too corporate, too homogenised? Krankenhaus is your reset. The sub-1,500-capacity event, in the grounds of Muncaster Castle in far-flung Cumbria, feels like what you’d do with a music fest if, well, you could do whatever you wanted. It’s created and curated by arty UK rockers Sea Power but you certainly don’t have to love their stuff to enjoy Krankenhaus, which has not just live music (a range of styles, usually – but not exclusively – guitar-based but always featuring a few notable names) but talks and guided walks. In previous years there’s even been steam train trips, dog shows, bingo, heron feeding and a ‘quarry adventure playground’.

Big names: Stereolab, Sea Power (obvs), Sprints, Bill Ryder Jones.

Best for: Testing the limits of what a music festival can be… and going on a gig hike.

Muncaster Castle, Cumbria. August 28-30.

The first two editions of RALLY succeeded despite battling two full-blooded, actually-named storms – but even tempestuous weather couldn’t dampen the spirits of this day event in south London’s Southwark Park. Created by top promoter Bird on the Wire and GALA (an earlier-in-the-year inclusion on this list), RALLY features on-the-pulse names and community artist installations in a boutique-y 10,000 capacity event. This year’s event – the fourth RALLY – marks the first time that it has been curated by a single artist, with Blood Orange’s Dev Hyne’s putting together the (as yet unannounced) lineup.

Big names: Blood Orange (we presume).

Best for: Hyper trendy Hackney types… with actual taste.

Southwark Park, London. August 29.

We love a newcomer. Several years back there was talk about the festival bubble bursting – with so many to choose from, how could there be room for any more? Despite launching in 2022, Bristol’s fittingly named Forwards has carved itself a corner of the legendary music city’s market. With eclectic lineups spanning R&B, indie, pop and much more, Forwards notably bags a range of truly massive headliners: Aphex Twin, Barry Can’t Swim, LCD Soundsystem, Jorja Smith, Jessie Ware and Erykah Badu have all topped the bill since ’22.  

Big names: Little Simz, Tems, Self Esteem, Wet Leg, Amyl & The Sniffers, Viagra Boys, Maribou State, Tricky, Goldie (Live), Joy Crookes.

Best for: One of the most packed lineups around.

Clifton Downs, Bristol. August 29-30

More than just a scaled-down All Points East – though it uses the same festival site in Victoria Park, minus the main stage – LIDO sets itself apart by being curated by its headliners. Each day’s headliner chooses who supports them, often leading to a fascinating bill of influences, friends and collaborators. LIDO burst out of the gates in 2025 with all-star headliners Charli xcx, Jamie xx, Massive Attack and London Grammar, The 2026 has been scaled down, apparently so that the ground can recover (after last year’s dusty APE), though Maribou State will still top the bill.

Big names: Maribou State, Folamour, Kelis.

Best for: Finding your favourite artist’s fave band.

Victoria Park, London. August 31.

What began as a folksy, homespun affair in 2006 has morphed into one of the best places in the country for new music discovery. End of the Road founder Simon Taffe sold his house to cover its costs in the early days – a gamble that, remarkably, paid off. End of The Road is one of those festivals where it doesn’t matter who’s headlining, you’re bound to stumble across something amazing further down the bill anyway. That said, the line-up looks incredibly strong this year – a perfect meeting point of its folksy beginnings and ambitious, broadly alternative current identity. 

Big names: Pulp, CMAT, Mac DeMarco.

Best for: Getting a snap with the resident peacocks knocking about the grounds. 

Larmer Tree Gardens, Wiltshire, September 3-6.  

Psychedelic music ain’t all optical illusions and mind-altering substances: to get a taste of the true breadth of psychedelia’s styles and influence, see the lineups of Manchester Psych Fest. In 2026 this one-day, multi-venue event – which has films, art, talks and food from local legends like Bundobust as well as music – will feature musicians ranging in style from dinky avant-pop and raunchy noise rock to tempestuous neoclassical darkwave (all of which, in some form, have been informed in some way by psych). Not only that, it’s a fabulous showcase for Manchester, taking place at some of the city’s greatest venues like YES, Gorilla and Deaf Institute.

Big names: The Beta Band, Stereolab, Ty Segall and Anna Von Hausswolff.

Best for: Loving psych, loving Manchester.

Various venues, Manchester. September 5.

Founded in Belfast in 2015, AVA (Audio, Visual, Arts) has since expanded with another edition in London. Focused on electronic music and visual arts, the event is yet to confirm its musical or conference headliners for 2026 but it’s always a feast of talent. You’ll find fresh local acts among legendary global names, with styles ranging from techno, house and DnB to IDM, electropop, glitch and more. This year the Belfast AVA took place May, and it will be followed by the London fest in September.

Big names: Kneecap, Kettama, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U, Annie Mac and Honey Dijon.

Best for: The trendiest of on-trend electro-musos.

Titanic Slipways, Belfast. May 29-30. Venues TBC, London. September 24-26.

Multi-venue city festivals are nothing new, but few do it quite like No Bounds. Across Sheffield and Rotherham, in basements and clubs, chapels and art galleries, from the Institute of Arts to the city cathedral, No Bounds’ events are truly all over the place. And the lineup is fittingly broad: there’s always a solid amount of dance music, sure (the headliners in particular tend to be electronic superstars), but the rest strays into improvised chamber music, gothic folk, alternative rock and much more. Expect to be challenged and thrilled in equal measure.

Big names: 2026 lineup yet to be announced.

Best for: Dancing among South Yorkshire’s greatest landmarks

Various venues, Sheffield. October 9-11.

If Forwards is Bristol’s star-power festival, Simple Things is the one for its audial explorers, showing yet another side to this city’s substantial musical pedigree. Simple Things blazed past its 10th anniversary in 2024 and continues to be one of the UK’s great celebrations of independent spirit: everything thrilling about modern music showcased in Bristol’s finest indie venues. The lineup is fantastically broad, featuring all kinds of left-field and experimental artists alongside globally renowned names (last year had deadpan indie rockers Dry Cleaning and cosmic jazzist Nala Sinephro). Don’t know anyone on the lineup? If anything, that’s even more exciting. Simple Things’ curation is so extraordinarily good that you can go to any show and it’ll be fantastic.

Big names: Shabaka, Squid, caroline, Chanel Beads, KAVARI, Moor Mother, PVA, Panda Bear and Sonic Boom

Best for: Ditching a schedule and embracing reckless musical discovery.

Various venues, Bristol. Dates TBC.

Whether you’re a diehard reader of Pitchfork or give the influential online music mag a middling 6.3, there’s no denying that Pitchfork Festival London has quickly become one of the country’s finest music events. It’s set to return for its sixth edition in 2026, with a mix of household names and artists that the publication is backing for greatness. Rather than a single ticket event, Pitchfork is a curated series of gigs, each individually ticketed. The highlight, however, is the only more conventional festival-type event – the Dalston Takeover, where one ticket gets you into a bunch of sets across Dalston and Stoke Newington on one day. If you’re pernickety about sound, Pitchfork also always gets the production right. Would you expect anything less from such sonic connoisseurs?

Big names: Actress, The Avalanches, Noname.

Best for: Millennial music nerds, sound nerds, trend-chasing nerds… all the music nerds, basically.

Various venues, London. November 2-8.

Whatever your taste in jazz, you’ll find it at EFG London Jazz Festival. And we really mean it when we say this event really does cater to all jazz tastes. Easy-listening radio pop jazz? Check. The jazzier tinges of soul, hip-hop and orchestral music? Aye. Experimental fry-your-brain free stuff and freak-out avant-garde Japanese legends? Yep, even all that. London Jazz Fest isn’t just an opportunity to hear all the jazzes; you get to experience the capital’s most legendary venues, too, with previous editions held in the likes of the Roundhouse, Barbican, Royal Festival Hall and Ronnie Scott’s.

Big names: Ben Folds, Fatoumata Diawara, Samara Joy, Morcheeba, Emma-Jean Thackray, Branford Marsalis, Kronos Quartet

Best for: Jazz cats and all their finger clicking, toe-tapping admirers.

Various venues, London, November 13-22.