Your guide to the UK's music festival season for summer 2026

After warm sunshine beamed down on large parts of the UK this week, it's easy to picture the summer festival season that awaits.

Glastonbury is a notable absence this year as the Somerset extravaganza has a fallow year, but festival fans shouldn't worry as there's plenty else on the calendar.

We have bumper line-ups for the likes of Reading and Leeds, Parklife and the Isle of Wight Festival to look forward to - and a chance for new festivals to flourish.

One big event returns this year after a seven-year hiatus, and you can probably find your match whatever genre of music you like.

First let's have a look at what's around this summer if you want to make a weekend of it; sleeping bag and tent at the ready.

Taking place between 27 and 30 August is Reading and Leeds Festival, which has a bumper six headliners who are all British and Irish.

Charli XCX, Chase & Status, Dave, Florence + The Machine, Fontaines D.C. and Raye all top the bill, while Leeds also gets a Thursday night exclusive in the form of Kasabian.

If you like the sound of sets from Lewis Capaldi, The Cure and Teddy Swims then the Isle of Wight Festival might be worth checking out between 18 and 21 June.

There will also be a performance from local indie rockers Wet Leg, which is sure to be a weekend highlight.

Keeping it coastal is Boardmasters, with the Cornwall festival playing host to Fatboy Slim, Lily Allen and The Kooks for 5-9 August.

If you want the full festival experience without the camping then this year's TRNSMT festival in Glasgow has an impressive three day line-up, including CMAT, Wolf Alice and Two Door Cinema Club, taking place between 19 and 21 June.

And BBC Radio 1 is taking Big Weekend to Sunderland this year - bringing Olivia Dean, Zara Larsson and Niall Horan to the north-east from 22-24 May.

We all have different priorities when it comes to how we want to enjoy a festival and if yours involve a shower and a proper bed at the end of the day then a single day event might be right for you.

BST Hyde Park is staged on several dates in late June and early July in central London, with headliners including Maroon 5, Mumford & Sons and Garth Brooks.

All Points East also has some impressive names coming to London's Victoria Park in late August, including Jorja Smith, Lorde and Twenty One Pilots.

Meanwhile a new festival series is coming to Leeds this summer - Roundhay has announced its first shows for July with headline performances from Pitbull and Lewis Capaldi.

Alternative and dance festivals

There really is a festival for every musical taste - with Download Festival perhaps the most notable among fans of rock and alternative music.

This year's event in the East Midlands will be headlined by Limp Bizkit, Guns N' Roses and Linkin Park between 12 and 14 June.

And if you're looking for an Indie laden weekend in the Lake District then Kendal Calling - with sets from Biffy Clyro, Wolf Alice and The Libertines - is offering exactly that between 30 July and 2 August.

Truck Festival has announced its headliners, which include The Maccabees, The Wombats and Kaiser Chiefs in Oxfordshire from 23 to 26 July.

Dance music events are a staple of the UK summer festival calendar - this year's Creamfields has an impressive set of names coming to Cheshire, including Swedish House Mafia, Martin Garrix and Armin van Buuren from 27 to 30 August.

Sticking in the north-west of England, there's an equally exciting line-up at Parklife, with Calvin Harris, Skepta and Sammy Virji headlining Manchester's Heaton Park on 20 and 21 June.

This year's Boomtown will host dance names including Skrillex, Four Tet and Faithless at its Hampshire site between 12 and 16 August.

Lovebox also makes its return after a seven year hiatus - moving to a new location in Margate, Kent. Its dance-themed line-up includes Rudimental, Armand Van Helden and Groove Armada on 29 and 30 May.

New festivals are often intriguing to music fans, especially if they have an interesting location.

Silverworks Island in East London has quickly become a dance music fan favourite because of its picturesque location on the River Thames. This year, it hosts events headlined by Pendulum, Fisher and Tiesto in June and July.

Another event which debuted last year was Labyrinth on the Thames, which quickly went viral with its backdrop of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

This year it features headliners such as Dom Dolla, Peggy Gou and Michael Bibi on various dates in August.

Also new for 2026 is State Fayre, a festival for rock, country and folk fans taking place in Chelmsford, Essex between 26 June and 28 June. Headliners include Kings of Leon, Alanis Morissette and The Lumineers.

Another new festival coming to Wales is Blackbird - a rock event at Cardiff Castle on 27 June, with acts including Skindred, Alter Bridge and Cardinal Black.

If you're not necessarily looking for music as the main part of your festival experience, there are several options to still give you the buzz of being in a field surrounded by thousands of people.

Latitude in Suffolk not only offers music, but also comedy performances from Jack Dee, Lenny Henry and Sara Pascoe and talks on science, literature and poetry between 23 and 26 July.

The UK's biggest literature festival, Hay Festival, returns to Powys in Wales this summer with headline speakers Emma Thompson, Malala Yousafzai and Gisèle Pelicot from 21 to 31 May.

If you're into podcasts there's also Crossed Wires, a Sheffield festival from 2 to 5 July hosting the likes of Alice Levine, Elizabeth Day and Greg James.

And if your festival experience wouldn't be complete without a yoga class or cold water swimming, The Big Retreat Festival, set in Pembrokeshire between 22 and 25 May, could be for you.