The Great Escape Festival 2026 is already shaping up a weekend where your favourite playlist gets mugged in a back alley and replaced with something somewhat more relevant.

TICKETS

This batch of artists is a snapshot of where “new music” actually lives right now: in the gaps between genres, in DIY corners, and in the moments when a band decides the rules are probably optional.

If you want guitars with bite, Ain’t channel the stranger side of 90s alt rock with enough invention to keep it future-facing, while Bean Magazine blend Pixies-style snap with the melodic sensitivity of songwriter rock. Ringlets arrive from Aotearoa with sharp-edged post-punk wit and technical swagger, and Dublin trio Really Good Time add desert-rock grit plus the nervous energy of electro build-and-drop. For maximum momentum, big long sun turn the stage into a frenzied eight-piece weather system, with words-as-percussion, crooked grooves, and choruses that suddenly open the sky.

On the pop and electronic side, Annie-Dog slips through shapeshifting, self-produced pop, Au/Ra leans into dark, atmospheric genre-blending, and Sistra write emotional electronic music that feels like text messages you never sent, turned into hooks. Persia Holder brings vulnerable pop with a soulful core, while Tukki’s Tottenham-rooted R&B and afro blend hits that sweet spot where rhythm is therapy. Ngaiire’s future-soul glow adds another colour to the palette, and Sophia Thakur reminds everyone that words can headline a set as loudly as guitars.

Then there are the acts who treat music like worldbuilding. The Itch have that word-of-mouth mystique, tessellating New Romantic sheen with rave pulse. Sean Trelford crafts songs, stories, and artwork as one connected universe. Tommy WÁ stretches folk roots into something cinematic and luminous, and Yndling folds heavy guitars into big synthscapes for dream-pop bruises you can dance to.

Add Japan’s BED, fusing punk, techno and electronics into rave rock, plus Vancouver’s PISS turning punk into performance-art collage, and you’ve got a line-up that promises discovery in every direction. Come curious, wear comfortable shoes, and leave a little room in your head for new favourites. Trust the timetable, but trust your ears more, every single night.