Features
Bloodstock Announces First Wave of 2026 Bands for 25th Anniversary
Bloodstock Open Air will return to Catton Park, Derbyshire, from August 6th to 9th, 2026, and organizers marked the festival’s 25th anniversary by confirming the first 25 bands.
Bloodstock Open Air will return to Catton Park, Derbyshire, from August 6th to 9th, 2026. Organizers marked the festival’s 25th anniversary by confirming the first 25 bands, including all headliners, for the weekend.
Friday’s Ronnie James Dio main stage headliner will be groove metal titans Lamb of God, with deathcore heavyweights Slaughter to Prevail taking Saturday’s top slot, and metal legends Judas Priest closing out Sunday in celebration of more than 50 years of heavy metal history.
On the Sophie Lancaster stage, Thursday’s headliner will be Canadian tech-death icons Cryptopsy, performing a special 30th anniversary None So Vile set. Friday will feature Wednesday 13, Saturday will be led by Norwegian progressive metallers Leprous, and French synthwave act Carpenter Brut will wrap up the weekend on Sunday night.
Other main stage highlights include Sepultura on their farewell tour, crossover thrash outfit Municipal Waste, Bay Area thrashers Death Angel, metalcore acts Northlane and Bleed From Within, nu-metal upstarts Vended, Swedish melodic death band Orbit Culture, folk-metal fusionists The Scratch, symphonic outfit Imperial Age, New York alt-metal veterans Life of Agony, Of Mice & Men, and hardcore pioneers Biohazard.
The Sophie stage will also host Heavysaurus, 200 Stab Wounds, The Hell, Black Spiders, Norwegian “blackjazz” group Shining, and the long-awaited return of Nevermore.
2026 will also see the debut of the Heavy Metal Truants’ charity ride to Bloodstock, a 175-mile cycle raising funds for Teenage Cancer Trust, Nordoff & Robbins, Childline, and Save the Children.
Early bird tickets are available on site now, priced at £185 for adults (Thursday–Sunday) and £50 for children aged 4–11, with under-4s free. Wednesday early arrival tickets are £215. Online early bird sales begin 11 August, with VIP and campervan tickets available from 13 August. Further band announcements will follow in the months ahead at bloodstock.uk.com.
Bloodstock Open Air 2026 poster artwork
Europe: “We’ve always said we should stay adventurous, do things the way we want and do what feels right.”
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