Author: Jack Needham

Festival Insights | Head of Content

Oslo’s Øya Festival has unveiled the first wave of artists for its 2026 edition, which will see The Cure as headliners alongside support from Australian act Amyl & The Sniffers. Taking place from 12–15 August at Oslo’s Tøyen Park, The Cure return to the festival after last performing there seven years ago. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Øyafestivalen (@oyafestivalen) Claes Olsen, Founder of Øya Festival, said: “Super excited with this first announcement, as The Cure has been one of my favourite bands since I was a teenager, and they keep on delivering mesmerising shows. Amyl and…

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Lewis Capaldi, The Cure and Calvin Harris have been announced as headliners for next year’s Isle of Wight Festival. The annual festival, which takes place 18-21 June, will also welcome the Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Wet Leg, The Last Dinner Party, Tom Grennan, The Kooks, Rick Astley and many more yet to be announced acts to the island. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Isle of Wight Festival (@isleofwightfest) Anastacia, KT Tunstall, David Gray, Shed Seven and Teddy Swims will also be appearing over the weekend. Lewis Capaldi was recently announced headline Leeds’ Roundhay Festival in…

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Rockstar Energy presents Creamfields has announced Underworld for its 20 year edition. Held at Daresbury, near. Liverpool, Creamfields will take place on August Bank Holiday weekend 2026 between 28-30 August, and will welcome 80,000 people to the field. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Creamfields (@creamfieldsofficial) Underworld first made their debut at the festival in 2002, and the band’s Creamfield’s performance will mark the 30 year anniversary since the release of their breakthrough track Born Slippy was released. The announcement of Underworld comes after fellow headliners Calvin Harris and Sonny Fodera were also confirmed for the 2026 edition. Tickets for Creamfield 2026 are available…

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For decades, Pitchfork has acted as a music tastemaker for generations of fans. Whether it’s breaking rap acts that became megastars to forcing apologies from pop stars over, let’s say, misguided tweets, Pitchfork has influence over the music buying public that’s both unique and unrivalled. But how does this influence translate to a music festival? As Festival Director and Booker at Pitchfork London, as well as Co-Founder of the UK-based live music promoters FORM, it’s Dan Monsell’s job to make it work. Pitchfork London began in 2021. It was a not quite post-COVID time, but post-COVID enough for UK venues…

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Ticketmaster has agreed to changes highlighted by a UK watchdog investigation which found that the ticketing company needed to adopt greater transparency in how tickets are priced and sold. The decision comes after a year-long investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into how Ticketmaster operated its Oasis ticket sales and its dynamic pricing model. Dynamic pricing refers to the process of how ticket price is directly related to fan demand. The CMA found no evidence that ticket prices were adjusted in real time through algorithmic dynamic pricing during the Oasis ticket sale. Following the investigation, the ticketing company has also…

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Uganda’s Nyege Nyege Festival is returning to its Kalagala Falls site in 2025 in what will be a 10 year anniversary for the event. The festival, which takes place 20-23 November, has announced it will host a continuous 24-hour programme of music, which will bring “over 300 artists, collectives, and cultural innovators from across Africa, the diaspora, and beyond” to the East African nation, says the festival. The line-up for 2025 will include Kampire, DJ Travella, DJ Diaki, Arsenal Mikebe, Sisso & Maiko and Catu Diosis, as well as over 15 continental collectives such as Group Therapy and Ile Ijo, Fabrika,…

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The longstanding rock festival Slam Dunk has announced its 2026 return with the unveiling of headline acts Good Charlotte and Sublime, plus dozens more artists spanning the best in pop-punk, emo, ska, metal and beyond.  The festival, founded in Leeds, UK, will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2026. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Slam Dunk Festival (@slamdunkmusic) The festival will act as Good Charlotte’s only European performance through the summer, while the ska-punk band Sublime will be playing their first-ever UK show at the festival. Also joining the first wave of acts for Slam Dunk 2026 include British alt-rock act A, metalcore…

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The xx, Doja Cat, The Cure, Gorillaz and dozens more have been announced for Primavera Sound 2026. The Barcelona-based event, which will take place from 3-7 June 2026, will also welcome the likes of Massive Attack, PinkPantheress, Mac DeMarco, My Bloody Valentine, Kneecap, Wet Leg, Jade and many more to the shores of the Spanish city. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Primavera Sound (@primavera_sound) The 2026 line-up also sees Viagra Boys, Ben UFO, Bad Gyal, Slowdive, Role Model and MARINA perform at the longstanding festival, which will also host a second event in Porto from 11-13…

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The 18th edition of the Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI18) is returning to the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on Tuesday, 24 February 2026.  With a core focus on event sustainability, the GEI brings together the “brightest minds” to “tackle the most poignant and pressing topics relating to event sustainability, climate change, and social action,” says the event. The conference hosts a number of talks, panels, discussions, and case studies from both music and sporting events. Topics for the 2026 event include discussions on extreme weather and operational impacts, energy, clean water and air, green touring; culture for social…

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Africa Rising Music Conference is returning to Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, on 22–23 May 2026. The conference, billed as the equivalent to Amsterdam Dance Event on the African continent, welcomed over 1000 attendees to its 2025 event, and aims to act as a platform for underrepresented voices and innovation in the global music ecosystem. The conference will take place between 22-23 May 2025. Africa Rising Music Conference said that its 2025 edition welcomed attendees from across South Africa, the UK, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden, Switzerland and the US, and hosted 76 speakers from 7 countries. It also said the event created over 140 jobs during…

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