StrangeForms 2026 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
It has been, I think, one of the best StrangeForms fests ever. If not the best ever festival, then possibly the best ever single day. . . The wildly varied line-up has been most excellent, curated to near perfection. . . I’m going home tired but happy, and my life is just that little bit better for having been here.
Supersonic Festival 2026
Supersonic is not in the business of making its promoters wealthy, it’s about the life-enriching power of art and music. It gets ever more difficult to make events like these happen but they are not going to lay down, once again delivering an amazing weekend, a victory in the face of adversity.
Supersonic Festival 2026
Weekends like this are a beacon of light in darkening times. . . Supersonic is a gem, don’t take it for granted.
Roadburn Festival 2026
Roadburn’s real magic isn’t always the obvious picks — it’s the under-the-radar sets: strange, heavy, danceable, confrontational, and impossible to neatly label. Show up curious, roam freely, and let a random room change your weekend.
Ripcord Fest – Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow
Ripcord Fest comes to an end on an undeniable high. As a celebration of the label and of British heavy music as a whole, it’s a triumph; but even beyond that, it’s been a joyful occasion. People have undoubtedly discovered new bands, plenty have made new friends, and it feels like an entire community has chipped in to make the day worth remembering.
Rockaway Beach 2026
What this festival has grown in terms of community and open-to-anything gig-goers is bigger than any line-up, subjective opinions on music and new-year fatigue. It is a music-lovers’ event in the truest sense of the word and needs commending for that – we need more festivals like it.
Festival Review: Cosmic Vibration Festival 2025
Do yourself a favour: make space for Cosmic Vibration in your own plans for 2026.
Bear Stone Festival 2025 – Part Two
Bear Stone is a liminal zone where only the best values of the outside world still apply. When the sun’s out, it’s beach vibes all day; when it goes down, the trees seem to close in and create a fairy glade where real magic and pleasant madness can occur.
An A–Z of ATG (well, almost)
More so than any other festival I’ve been to, ATG feels like a big old party. But one where everyone is lovely and on the same wavelength, and I’m not going to spend most of it riffling through the host’s bookshelf waiting for it to end. And a party where you can legit listen to weird prog one minute, ultra-dissonant hardcore the next, and still get away with “dancing”.
ArcTanGent Festival 2025
My first-ever music festival was Download 2016, affectionately known as “#Drownload.” With memories of the apocalyptic weather of that event fresh in my mind, I was somewhat apprehensive about attending ArcTanGent (ATG) 2025. Fortunately, I need not have worried. . .
