News / Boomtown Fair
Boomtown 2026 lineup marks a return to form
The festival that lives up to its strapline ‘bang goes normal’ has revealed its 2026 lineup, to much excitement.
After a handful of stripped down events post-Covid that focused largely on bass music and electronica to the exclusion of live acts, Bristol-born Boomtown Fair has made noises about a return to the much-loved format of its early years.
The first wave lineup reveal serves to prove the programmers are living up to their promise, with a shift back to big name live acts, a marked diversity of genres and a winning mix of cult heritage and cutting-edge artists.
Headliners Kneecap, Scissors and Madness will take to the stage at Matterley Bowl near Winchester next August, flanked by Skrillex, Ashnikko and Eve.
View this post on Instagram
“Musically, while bass music has dominated in recent years and will always be at our core, we’re making a conscious move to keep Boomtown musically diverse and unpredictable,” said co-founder Luke Mitchell. “Expect more live bands and more cross-genre adventures. That’s where Boomtown began, and it’s what keeps us on the truest path forward.”
In what they are calling a ‘Radical Redesign’ edition the festival, which is famed for its layout comprising distinctive and immersive themed districts that represent the different elements of its ‘town’, is planning an ‘ambitious expansion’ with new stages, more districts and “space in nature to explore”.
“Our 2026 event will encapsulate everything we love: intricate film-set worlds, twisting storylines, bouncing dancefloors, and diverse expressions of music and art,” said Mitchell. “This time with more space to breathe – more nature, more woodland, more hidden places everywhere.
“Inspired by our surroundings, we are exploring how nature, science and technology can work together to improve our collective futures. Fragmentation isn’t destruction, it’s transformation. By breaking what we know, we uncover new ways of being.”
Notably, the much-loved Lion’s Den stage will return for the first time since 2019, taking its place at the heart of the festival’s amphitheatre, while the uptown Hilltop area will reclaim its position as the festival’s home of live performance, theatre and spectacle and downtown will focus exclusively on dance music.
Boomtown promise even more spectacle and theatrics for 2026 – photo: Jody Hartley
Hydro XL, the stage that last year became the first 100 per cent hydrogen-powered stage at a major festival, will double in size, invigorating the festival’s commitment to sustainability while showcasing a forward-looking lineup of techno and 4×4.
Renowned for its immersive world-building that includes long-running storylines, intricate sets, hundreds of method actors and sideshows, Boomtown is up for Best Festival Production at the UK Festival Awards 2025, an award it has won for the last three years.
It made the decision to sell a 45 per cent stake to major music promoters, including an 18 per cent share to Live Nation, in 2022, which proved controversial given the festival’s pro-independence rhetoric.
But Boomtown’s popularity has not waned and tickets for the 2026 edition are flying out in record time, with 50 per cent already sold.
Boomtown takes place at Matterley Bowl in Hampshire from August 12-16 2026. Tickets are on sale on October 30 at www.boomtownfair.co.uk/tickets
Main image: Sian Herbert
Read next:
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
