Author: Jack Needham

It’s just a big disco. This is a humble mantra that’s guided Bugged Out for three decades. What began as intimate night at the Sankeys Soap nightclub in a shady part of mid-90s Manchester is today one of the most iconic names in UK dance music. While it was born in the electronic music boom, it’s survived by sticking to its roots. It’s hosted everyone from The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk and Fatboy Slim to Daniel Avery, Erol Alkan and hundreds more along the way. It enjoys a fanbase that has followed them since day one. Dancers have spent hours…

Between the Trees festival, held at Candleston Woods, south Wales from 26-30 August, has announced its line-up for 2026. Celebrating trad-folk, indie-folk and Acoustic music, Between the Trees will welcome Skerryvore, Valtos and Seafret as its headliners. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Between The Trees (@betweenthetreesfestival) Folk-rock band Rusty Shackle, indie act Bertie Newman, dub-folk duo An Dannsa Dub and more also join the line-up. Each year, the festival introduces a new theme. For 2026, Between the Trees will celebrate ‘The Elements’, which it says “invites us to celebrate nature in all its forms and the…

Scotland’s Terminal V festival has announced the final acts for its 2026 edition. Showcasing what the festival describes as “a mix of new school disrupters and legends” across house, trance and techno, the new additions include Biianco, Natte Vistick, Patrick Topping and Prunk. View this post on Instagram A post shared by TERMINAL V (@terminalvfest) Terminal V will also present The Lab, a stage dedicated to emerging Scottish talent. The line-up for The Lab will be announced soon. Terminal V says it will welcome over 100 artists across six stages in 2026, bringing 40,000 attendees to its home at the…

The DnB label Hospital Records will return to Bristol in 2026 with HOSPITAL30 ON THE HARBOUR. Taking place on 25 July at the Lloyds Amphitheatre, the one-day festival will host main stage performances from Hybrid Minds, High Contrast, Fred V, Hoax, Pola & Bryson, Ryda and more. View this post on Instagram A post shared by HospitalityDNB (@hospitalitydnb) Area 2 will be hosted by Nu:Tone’s The Deep End, which the festival says will act as an “intimate space curated for true heads” that will be “dedicated to the deeper side of D&B.” Acts performing on the stage will be London Elektricity, Bryan Gee, Nu:Tone & Makoto, Gabriella Bongo and Bassi b2b Charli Brix.  HOSPITAL30…

A new music festival is heading to Stockport. Launching in 2026 with a specific date to be confirmed, Sidelines will “celebrate the town’s creative spirit and reimagining its spaces through contemporary live music, discovery, and culture,” the festival said in its announcement. The festival is produced by members from the Manchester-based promoters Now Wave, production and creative company From The Other and the YES venue, found near Manchester’s Oxford Road. Now Wave bring us the yearly Manchester Psych Festival, while From The Other are the team behind the annual Sounds From The Other City and View this post on Instagram…

Two Door Cinema Club, Biffy Clyro, Wolf Alice and The Kooks will headline Kendal Calling 2026. Set in the rolling hills of the Lake District, Kendal Calling will also play host to Scissor Sisters, The Libertines, Doves, Groove Armada and more from 30 July to 2 August. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kendal Calling (@kendalcalling) The Cribs, Crazy P, The Vaccines, Jamie Webster, Gabrielle and The Hunna also join the stacked line-up, Kendal Calling takes place from 30 July to 2 August. Tickets are available from 17 December here.

The Scottish four-day weekender HebCelt, held on the Isle of Lewis, generated £4.4million for the local economy in 2025, says the festival. The celebration of Gaelic and traditional music welcomed 72 performances and 255 artists in 2025. Over 7000 hours of volunteer work was also donated to the festival, it says. View this post on Instagram A post shared by HebCelt Festival (@hebcelt) HebCelt, which has welcomed over 50,000 to the Scottish island over the past three years, says it owes its success to greater infrastructure inclusions such as new look bars and tap and go technology, alongside improved family…

Ticket Fairy is expanding its global financing initiative, which the company says will “unlock funding of up to £5M in the UK, €3M across Europe and $3M in the US, for venues, festivals and events promoters.”Ticket Fairy will now be able to provide funding to festivals, events and venues of up to £5 million per client in the UK, up to €3 million per client in Spain, Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland, and up to $3 million per client in the United States, says the company. Alongside this new round of funding, Ticket Fairy has also announced its Revolving Line of…

Discovering the next big thing is a multi-billion pound industry. The CMATs of this world don’t come overnight. They are born through countless meetings, focus groups and dozens of executives all bringing their two cents to the table. It’s largely remained that way since The Beatles proved there’s big money to be made in boy bands. But Michael Adex and the global dance brand Cream may have found an alternative way to do it. And it’s through music festivals (sort of). Michael Adex is the founder and CEO of NQ, the Manchester-based talent management company that’s home to artists such…

The iconic DnB label Hospitality has announced the first line-up of acts for its Hospitality on the Beach festival, held in Tisno, Croatia from 1-6 July 2026. The headline acts for next year’s edition are Sub Focus, Andy C, Metrik, Kings of the Rollers and A.M.C. They are joined by global acts such as Dillinja, Calibre, Flava D, Lens, Hazard, Simula, Ed Rush & Optical, and more. View this post on Instagram A post shared by HospitalityDNB (@hospitalitydnb) The five-day 2026 festival dedicated to bass music will also welcome HOSPITAL30, which will act as a celebration for the label’s 30 year anniversary. Hospitality On The Beach takes…