Best Alternative UK Music Festivals
January 2, 2026 08:30
Happy New Year! Now that 2026 has begun, it’s time to plan for the year ahead. In this blog, we’ll be rounding up all the alternative music festivals that we’re sure you’ll want to attend. From some of the big-name festivals to the smallest, local, indie ones, we’ve curated a balanced list so you can select exactly which festival best suits your music taste. So, let’s get into the 2026 UK Festivals line-up!
Featured Products
Kicking off our festival season this year is the Manchester Folk Festival. This festival is taking place from the 19th to the 21st March (a Thursday to Saturday line-up, in case you don’t have a calendar handy) across the Northern Quarter, in this urban, multi-venue folk takeover!
For those of you who can’t make the full session, Saturday day passes have recently been announced. This is also a great way to check out the scene if you’re not sure and don’t want to fully commit. Alongside standout performances from artists, this festival also runs plenty of ‘sessions’, where hosts and musicians come together to form a memorable performance, and dancers will also take to the stages.
Up next, another March ‘festival’ to get the summer vibes flowing early. Bristol Ritual Union Festival is on for its fifth year, and reviews have been positive. This event is only taking place on Saturday, the 28th of March, but it promises to be jam-packed, with three venues all within 5 minutes walking distance of each other. After-party tickets can be bought separately for those 18 and over. Tickets are on their last release for this day festival, and are still less than £35. Find new and upcoming alternative artists with mesmerising and creative performances.
We’re heading back north for the beginning of April (Friday the 3rd to Sunday the 5th to be exact) and one of the biggest punk music festivals in the country: Manchester Punk Festival. This festival is taking place across the Easter weekend, so you have the extra bank holiday the day after to enjoy the rest of the sights in Manchester if you’re planning on travelling. With over 140 acts playing across 7 venues, this punk festival is one you won’t want to miss. Find new bands, upcomers you’re gonna want to keep an eye on, and your all-time favourites in this jam-packed lineup.
Although we may be known at Blue Banana for our collection of metal band merch, check out our full collection to discover our punk band merch. From The Clash to the iconic Sex Pistols, we have a few famous pioneers of the genre in our collection.
Breaking Bands Festival is all about the grassroots. Last year, it celebrated a decade’s worth of new music, and now it’s heading into its 11th year, with an electric mix of punk, rock, and metal music. If you love alternative rock music, why not try out this fantastic festival? With plenty of new bands to explore and small, friendly crowds, this award-winning festival just outside of Birmingham is definitely worth your consideration.
Download Music Festival is, of course, top of the list of festivals we’d love to attend in 2026. Headliners this year include Limp Bizkit, Guns N Roses, and Linkin Park. Bad Omens, Electric Callboy, Ice Nine Kills, Feeder, and more are all part of this impressive line-up attending Donington Park 10th-14th June 2026.
This festival is up for its 23rd year, and we can’t get enough. It’s become a staple festival in the metal community, with hundreds of big names crossing the stage. We have plenty of band merch available of the bands playing this year, and headliners of years passed, if you’re feeling nostalgic. Get your festival outfits sorted early and get merch of your favourite artists to rep them around the festival and before you go!
The Isle of Wight Music Festival is from the 18th to the 21st of June, with headliners Lewis Capaldi, Calvin Harris and The Cure taking to the mainstage. The Sex Pistols and Feeder hit the Big Top, bringing the raw sounds of the 70s to this iconic island festival. No longer just for dad rock, this festival now brings an eclectic and blended mix of musicians together. From the king of the ballads, Capaldi, to the new wave sound of Wet Leg, and the ferocious punk of the Sex Pistols, there’s plenty to see and hear at this festival for everyone.
Get your ‘The Cure’ T-shirt now in our 2 for £35 band T-shirt multibuy, so you’ll be festival-ready. Band t-shirts are the perfect uniform for attending concerts and festivals! Announce yourself as a music lover with the perfect band merch tee, and show support for your favourite bands. At festivals, find people with like-minded taste when you wander with a band t-shirt of your favourite artist or album!
TRNSMT Festival is also taking place from the 19th to the 21st of June next year, as festival season truly kicks off for the summer; with a more indie and alt-rock mix of artists, this line-up certainly looks like it’ll rock the north. Glasgow’s biggest music festival, TRNSMT, is a non-camping festival that takes place in the heart of the city. Huge artists such as Kasabian, Wolf Alice, Two Door Cinema Club, CMAT, Lewis Capaldi, The Last Dinner Party and more will be taking to the stage.
Discover plenty of new indie, alt, punk and rock bands at the ‘Best Medium Festival’, 2000 Trees. From the 8th to the 11th of July, new sounds will be infecting the airwaves on the outskirts of the Cotswolds. This independent music festival is renowned for its intimate atmosphere, with small enough crowds that you always feel close to the music but big enough to make it a proper party! You may not recognise a lot of the names on this line-up, but that’s what makes independent festivals so fun - discovering your new favourite bands in real-time!
Steelhouse Rock Festival, the highest festival in the UK, is returning to the Brecon Beacons with its iconic classic and hard rock lineup. All set amongst the gorgeous Welsh countryside, this hard rock festival makes for an unforgettable weekend. This small festival means that you’ll be treated to an insane and intimate experience, super close-up to your favourite bands! Bring earplugs - it’s gonna get loud.
Radar Festival, the award-winning event of progressive rock and metal, is back in Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse for the 6th year running. Taking place from the 31st of July to the 2nd of August, this festival is in the peak of summer, so you may be grateful for the indoor venue to avoid storms or burns. Featuring a wide range of new artists and sounds, this festival is great if you love to discover burgeoning new music in rock.
Bloodstock Music Festival is back for its 25th anniversary this year, celebrating with a killer line-up of metal bands and artists. Saxon and Judas Priest will be two of the headliners at Catton Park this year, and the Big Top at the Sophie Lancaster stage will be increasing in size to accommodate the larger crowds and bigger productions from the bands! From 6th to 9th August, Bloodstock is a festival you don’t want to miss if you're a big metalhead.
Our final festival recommendation for 2026 is, of course, Rebellion Festival 2026. Check the lineup for the UK’s biggest punk festival here: https://www.rebellionfestivals.com/line-up. This festival is spread across 6 stages in an indoor venue in Blackpool, taking place from the 6th to the 9th of August this year. Rebellion Fest are celebrating 30 years of bringing raw, punk sounds to Blackpool this year, with many huge names returning to be part of the lineup, so this isn’t one to miss.
Do you think we’ve missed out on any of the major alternative music festivals? If you do, let us know over on our socials which festival we missed in this lineup, and why it’s your favourite! With so many amazing music options available across the UK, don’t waste the opportunity to discover new bands you could love, or to see your favourites live. And don’t forget, we’ve got plenty of band merch here at Blue Banana, with new additions constantly being added to our collection. Check out the range now to find the perfect new band tee.
