Every summer, the UK fields a curious crop of “heritage festivals” — those one‑ or two‑day nostalgia blowouts built around acts who once ruled the charts, usually sometime between the mid‑80s and the early 00s. They’re colourful, chaotic, occasionally charming… and sometimes a little tragic. Depending on which decade you pledge allegiance to, they’re either a warm hug from your youth or a slightly desperate attempt to squeeze one more drop of relevance from a long‑retired era.

As the Prestbury Hills roll into summer, Wychwood Festival returns to Cheltenham Racecourse from Friday 29th May to Sunday 31st May 2026, marking a huge milestone — its 20th anniversary. Two decades of music, laughter, workshops, late‑night singalongs, and that unmistakable Wychwood warmth.

Multi-million streaming, UK-based PRESIDENT operates at the intersection of heavy music, electronic experimentation, and cinematic atmosphere. Refusing to conform to the traditional structures of genre or identity, PRESIDENT prioritises intent over image.

Gogol Bordello have never been a band to sit still. Across decades of border‑smashing punk, diasporic storytelling, and sweat‑drenched live shows, they’ve built a reputation for constant reinvention — a group forever mutating, forever restless, forever charging toward the next sonic frontier. With their new album We Mean It, Man! the New York‑via‑Ukraine collective double down on that instinct, emerging with their most distilled, electrified, and defiantly future‑leaning record in years.

There’s something about the Cavern on a Sunday night that feels like stepping into a parallel universe — the low ceiling, the soft amber glow, the sense that anything could happen once the first chord rings out. As I walked in, the room was already humming with familiar faces from across Exeter’s alternative scene, including members of bands and DJ’s from the Exeter Phonic FM station. It felt less like a gig and more like a reunion — the kind where everyone’s older, wiser, and still clinging proudly to the DIY spirit that the Cavern has championed for 35 years.

Shindig has always been one of those festivals that feels like a secret garden — a place where the boundaries between rave, roots, funk, family-friendly chaos, and late-night mischief blur into one long, sun‑drenched weekend. This year’s edition, running across the late May Bank Holiday, looks like its most eclectic yet. Seven stages, a sprawling creative village, a holistic sanctuary, and a lineup that swings from bass-heavy mayhem to brass-driven joy — Shindig is the kind of festival that rewards curiosity.

Below is a guided tour through the artists lighting up the weekend, plus a look at the wider world of Shindig and who it’s perfect for.

Few British bands have carved their place in the country’s musical and cultural fabric quite like Levellers. Nearly four decades on from their formation, the Brighton folk‑rock icons remain a vital, fiercely independent force — and in 2026 they’re marking a major milestone. Their seminal, platinum‑selling second album Levelling the Land turns 35, and the band are celebrating the only way they know how: by taking it back to the people.

Slam Dunk is gearing up for a landmark summer in 2026, and this time the celebrations aren’t stopping at the UK border. Fresh from announcing a stacked 20th‑anniversary edition in Hatfield and Leeds, the festival has confirmed a return to mainland Europe — with Knocked Loose topping the bill for both dates and carrying the momentum of their explosive new single with Denzel Curry.

Glasgow’s Dead Pony are gearing up for a huge run of headline shows this May and June — and if their latest single Eat My Dust! is anything to go by, these rooms are about to detonate.

They Might Be Giants have never been a band to sit still. Across four decades, John Linnell and John Flansburgh have built a catalogue that treats pop music like a giant toy box — something to rummage through, dismantle, reassemble, and occasionally set on fire just to see what happens. Their new album, The World Is to Dig, arriving April 14, feels like another chapter in that wonderfully unpredictable story.

After a decade spent fuelling dancefloors and festival fields with HENGE’s cosmic, high‑energy prog, Manchester composer Matthew C. Whitaker has taken a sharp, deliberate breath inward. His new miniature album, Songs for the Weary, is a quiet rebellion against burnout — a record built for those who need to slow the world down long enough to feel human again.

Some bands thrive on polish. Oswald Slain thrives on glorious chaos. The Bristol outfit return this spring with Hot Boys — a sleazy, tongue‑in‑cheek self‑help anthem for the delusional generation — and they’re celebrating by hopping across the Atlantic for three New York City shows in March 2026. It’s their first-ever US trip, and it couldn’t come at a better moment.

Ahead of their March 2026 UK tour, guitarist and founding member of The Brand New Heavies Sy Bartholomew sat down with us for a 90‑minute conversation about funk, surprises, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and why you should get off the sofa and go see live music.

"…it’s 1988, I’m between states, changing shape”.

Pale Blue Eyes have shared a bonus version of ‘pbe archive vol. 1’, plus shared a new track ‘Signify’ from the collection. 

Listen/Watch ‘Signify’ Here || Stream/Buy Album Here

Chas Leman is a London based singer songwriter who has a new EP, titled Repetitive Strain that is landing on February 16th. We were keen to learn more about Chas, his influences, his heroes, his songwriting process and of course, his favourite cheese. Read on to learn more about him…. 

Exeter Phoenix buzzed with an unexpected midweek electricity on Tuesday night as a sold‑out crowd packed in for ASH’s UK tour — a run so hot, it’s sitting at 99% sold out, with only Hull’s ‘Welly’ venue still clinging to a handful of tickets. But before the Northern Irish power‑trio detonated their catalogue across the room, the evening opened with a quietly dazzling set from Later Youth, a band whose classic sensibilities and understated swagger made them the perfect foil for what was to come.

Abrasive Trees are stepping into 2026 with purpose. The South West–rooted collective, long celebrated for their brooding atmospheres and immersive, slow-burning intensity, have announced a run of headline shows in Bristol, Colchester and Exeter from 26th–28th March, arriving just as they unveil their new single ‘Carved Skull’.

Every May, Slamdunk becomes the beating heart of the UK alternative scene — a weekend where nostalgia collides with the future, where sweat‑drenched tents feel like home, and where you can lose your voice three times before sunset. For Hatfield (23 May) and Leeds (24 May), the festival returns with a lineup that feels like a celebration of everything this community stands for: legacy, evolution, and the thrill of finding your next favourite band.

Indie rock may be overflowing with sound‑alike hopefuls right now, but Plymouth’s Rat Trap are clearly not interested in joining the herd. Their latest single, All the Same, is a reminder that guitar music still has teeth when a band is willing to sharpen the edges rather than sand them down.