CRACK

Crack Magazine’s Festival Guide 2026

February
Festival image © Pieter Kers

Sonic Acts Biennial

Various venues, Amsterdam

Line-up: Mark Fell & Rian Treanor, KMRU & Aho Ssan, Sarah Davachi

5 February-29 March 2026

Where exactly to start with this two-month arts happening, spanning 80 events, 20 venues and 200 interdisciplinary artists? The programme features large-scale exhibitions, talks, workshops, and a frankly wild mix of live performances, audio-visual concerts and spatial sound experiences on the 60-speaker Acousmonium. Among those performing or presenting work are father-and-son duo Mark Fell and Rian Treanor, BJ Nilsen, KMRU and Aho Ssan, Sarah Davachi, Jim O’Rourke and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Get tickets here.

Festival image © Konstantin Kondrukhov

MENT

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Line-up: Heinali & Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko, Polygonia, Tristwch Y Fenywod

18-21 February

A new music showcase in one of Europe’s prettiest capitals. When you’re not learning how to break into new music markets or admiring Ljubljana’s car-free infrastructure, you’ll find an impressive line-up of 80-plus acts on stages across the city. Highlights include headsy techno traveller Polygonia, purveyor of heartbroken electronica Milan W, Leeds’ ritualistic goth trio Tristwch Y Fenywod, and Ukraine’s Heinali and Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko, interpreting the devotional music of Hildegard von Bingen in stunning, drone-assisted fashion. Get tickets here.

March
Festival image © Clara Wildberger

Elevate Festival

Graz, Austria

Line-up: gyrofield, Amnesia Scanner, Maria Somerville

5-8 March

Elevate Festival is heading back to Graz for its 22nd edition, this time exploring the theme Vital Signs, exploring the social, political, technological and cultural forces shaping the present moment. Spanning 15 venues across the city, the programme brings together music, discourse, visual art and club culture, uniting more than 150 musicians and artists alongside over 30 international speakers. From live performances and DJ sets to talks, panels, installations and interdisciplinary projects, the programme offers a wealth of unmissable moments, with the musical line-up alone featuring Maria Somerville, Polygonia, Carrier, Modeselektor, gyrofield, Darwin, Amnesia Scanner and more. Get tickets here.

Festival image © Anne Tetzlaff

Assembly

Somerset House Studios

Line-up: felicita, Mark Fell and Mohammad Reza, Laurel Halo and Hanne Lippard

26-28 March

The fifth edition of Somerset House Studios’ celebration of sonic art, featuring live performances, installations and talks in the rarefied spaces of the neoclassical New Wing. Among the cross-disciplinary collaborations is Sour Loop, an installation reflecting on how sound shapes behaviour in public spaces from Laurel Halo and Hanne Lippard; the premiere of a new piece by Ellen Arkbro; and an ecstatic rhythmic collaboration between Mark Fell and percussionist Mohammad Reza Mortazavi. Ambitious as ever. Browse tickets here.

April
Festival image © Wallis Annika

BRDCST

Brussels

Line-up: Einstürzende Neubauten, Ichiko Aoba, Stephen O’Malley

3-6 April

Sonic adventure beckons with this Brussels weekender, named after Trish Keenan’s much-missed band of the same name and inspired by their genre-blurring spirit. This year’s guest curators, filling Ancienne Belgique and various venues across Brussels with diverse sounds, include Keeley Forsyth, Ichiko Aoba and Sunn O)))’s Stephen O’Malley, who presents a showcase of his label Ideologic Organ. Xiu Xiu perform a live score to Eraserhead, while Blixa Bargeld’s industrial pioneers Einstürzende Neubauten close the festival. Get tickets here.

Festival image

Roundhouse Three Sixty

Roundhouse, London

Line-up: Kae Tempest, Femi Koleoso, Amaarae

8-29 April

The storied Camden venue that carved out space for countercultural youth movements in the 60s and 70s continues to showcase creativity in all its forms with this now-annual, month-long series. Highlights include Kae Tempest celebrating his new novel Having Spent Life Seeking, the UK premiere of Amaarae’s Black Star Experience, Imogen Heap, Carl Craig with Octave One, Femi Koleoso’s club night Situation Dance, and theatrical shows from Boy Blue and Daniel Kaluuya’s Centre 59. Find tickets here.

Festival image © Parcifal Werkman

Rewire

Various venues, The Hague

Line-up: Kim Gordon, Blawan, Oneohtrix Point Never

9-12 April

Honestly, it might be easier to list who’s not on Rewire’s latest line-up of boundary-pushing talent. Space is tight, so here are the standouts at this annual weekend of cultural expansion: Oneohtrix Point Never, Kim Gordon, Joanne Robertson with Oliver Coates, Einstürzende Neubauten, Actress with Suzanne Ciani, james K, Purelink, Los Thuthanaka… and that’s before we even mention the premiere of audio-visual projects from Supersilent and Lawrence Abu Hamdan, and Julian Charrière and Laurel Halo. Essential business, this. Get passes here.

Festival image © Adam Reid

Accidental Meetings: Saccade

Various venues, Bristol

Line-up: ML Buch, Purelink, aya

10-12 April

If it has Accidental Meetings stamped on it, chances are you’ll want a piece of whatever’s being proffered – like the second edition of Saccade, the label and club night’s own festival. An opening concert featuring sonic daydreamer ML Buch and dub-techno trio Purelink should be a hard act to follow, but day two ratchets things up with club deconstructionists Demdike Stare, avant-no-wave duo Dame Area, AD 93 affiliate Dagmar Zuniga, Carrier and Gavsborg, aya and far too many more to squeeze into this sentence. Get your tickets here.

Festival image © Giulia Spadafora

Bristol New Music

Various venues, Bristol

Line-up: KMRU, emptyset, claire rousay

22-26 April

Bristol New Music returns this April, taking over venues across the city including Arnolfini, Bristol Beacon, Strange Brew, The Cube, Kit Form, St George’s Bristol, and Victoria Rooms. Spanning five packed days and nights, the sixth edition brings together artists from four continents and dives into the more adventurous edges of contemporary music, sound and visual art. Expect a wide mix of concerts, performances, installations, audiovisual works and special projects across the programme, with appearances from claire rousay, emptyset, KMRU, Cara Tolmie and Rian Treanor, Eliana Glass, and Saint Abdullah with Eomac and Rebecca Salvadori. Get your festival pass here.

May
Festival image © Juliette Valero

Nuits sonores

Lyon

Line-up: Carrier, Lila Tirando a Violeta, DJ gyrofield

13-17 May

Festival image © Maryan Sayd

Horst Arts and Music

Asiat Park, Vilvoorde, Belgium

Line-up: Daphni, OK Williams & Tasha, Barker

14-16 May

Festival image © Sienna Lorraine Gray

GALA

Peckham Rye Park

Line-up: D Double E, Peach, Djrum

22-24 May

Festival image © Luke Dyson

Field Day

Brockwell Park

Line-up: Floating Points (live), Joy Orbison, Honey Dijon

23 May

Festival image © Jeremy John

blechsonne

Galenbeck, a village two hours from Berlin

Line-up: Mark William Lewis, Snuggle, GiGi Girls

28–31 May

June
Festival image © Sergio Albert

Primavera Sound

Parc del Fòrum, Barcelona

Line-up: Massive Attack, Addison Rae, The Cure

3-7 June

Festival image © Patrick Gunning

LIDO

Victoria Park, London

Line-up: CMAT, Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory, Maribou State, Theo Parrish b2b Moodymann, more TBA

12-14 June, more TBA

Festival image © Anna Ikäheimonen

Solstice

Ruka, northern Finland

Line-up: Verraco, OK Williams, Skee Mask

18-20 June

Festival image © Nemanja Knežević

Surf Festival

Medane Beach, Punat, Otok Krk, Croatia

Line-up: OMOLOKO, DJ Python, James Massiah

25 June

July
Festival image © Maciek Czyżewski

Open'er Festival

Gdynia-Kosakowo Airfield, Poland

Line-up: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, David Byrne, Ethel Cain

1-4 July

Festival image © Domaine de Gayfié

memòri

Saint-Jean-de-Laur, a village in southern France

Line-up: Shackleton (live), Mia Koden, CCL

2-5 July

Festival image © Joe singh

2000trees

Upcote Farm, near Cheltenham

Line-up: High Vis, Lambrini Girls, Alkaline Trio

8-11 July

Festival image © Sander van de Ven

Stone Tecnho

Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site, Essen

Line-up: Verraco, upsammy, Skee Mask

10-12 July

Festival image © Yannick Tréguier

Dour Festival

Dour, Belgium

Line-up: Oklou, Caribou, High Vis

15-19 July

Festival image © Laura Dominguez

SOUNDIT

Parc Nou, El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona

Line-up: Blawan, CCL b2b Verraco, Bitter Babe

17-18 July

Festival image

Paléo

Plaine de l'Asse in Nyon, Switzerland

Line-up: TBA

21-26 July

Festival image © Llum Collettivo

Polifonic Puglia

Valle d'Itria, Puglia, Italy

Line-up: Donato Dozzy, Shackleton, Ben UFO

22-26 July

Festival image © Mike Massaro

WOMAD

Neston Park, Wiltshire

Line-up: Ganavya, Greentea Peng, Mohammad Reza Mortazavi

23-26 July

Festival image

Peep

Great Fulford, Exeter

Line-up: Facta, Surusinghe, Pariah

23-26 July

August
Festival image © Andrea de la Puente

Brunch Electronik

Parc del Fòrum, Barcelona

Line-up: Floating Points, Shanti Celeste, Chaos In The CBD

7-8 August

Festival image © Joe singh

ArcTanGent Festival

Fernhill Farm, near Bristol

Line-up: Chelsea Wolfe, Napalm Death, Maruja

19-22 August

Festival image © Khroma Collective

We Out Here

Wimborne St Giles, Dorset

Line-up: TBA

20-23 August

Festival image © Celine Antal

Field Maneuvers

A secret location in Norfolk

Line-up: TBA

21-23 August

Festival image © Bethan Miller-Carey

All Points East

Victoria Park, London

Line-up: Tyler, the Creator, Lorde, Deftones, more TBA

22-23 & 28-30 August, more TBA

Festival image © Eljay Briss

Forwards

The Downs, Bristol

Line-up: TBA

29-30 August

September
Festival image

Omana Festival

Kalamitsi, Northern Greece

Line-up: Salamita, Dr Banana, PARAMIDA

30 September to 6 October

October
Festival image © Ferreira Borges / Semibreve

Semibreve

Various venues, Braga

Line-up: TBA

22-25 October

Festival image © llum collettivo

C2C

Turin

Line-up: Arca, Oklou, Yung Lean & Bladee

29 October-1 November

November
Festival image © Tess Janssen

Le Guess Who?

Various venues, Utrecht

Line-up: TBA

5-8 November

Festival image © Khali Ackford

Simple Things

Various venues, Bristol

Line-up: TBA

7 November

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