Festival Déja Vu
Written by R. Loxley
With ticket prices higher than ever, the same familiar headliners are being trotted out again with Northern Exposure’s Rachel Brown calling recent announcements “an utter cop-out”. Major 2026 UK festival bills are leaning heavily on comfortable nostalgia and remaining cautious when it comes to new blood, leading to a dispiriting lack of female and non-binary representation towards the top of the posters.
In the ‘90s and 2000s festivals acted as kingmakers for rising bands, taking risks by giving unproven talent a shot at the big stage. When festivals take a chance on rising talent, the results can be historic with fans looking to festival lineups as a barometer of who might be the breakout stars of tomorrow. Fast forward to today, and that spirit of discovery has shifted into a risk-adverse holding pattern that leans on safe bets with guaranteed ticket-selling power recycling past glory. Festival lineups feel like they were frozen in time 20 years ago. Playing it safe isn’t just boring, it’s a failure to invest in the future.
Doubling down on nostalgia roadshows for ever-higher prices also perpetuates a stagnant gender imbalance that should have been consigned to history now. For decades rock and alternative music were male-dominated, but today that excuse no longer holds water with no shortage of female talent making waves in all directions. By continually propping up the old guard festivals are keeping the door closed to a much more diverse generation of younger headliners. Booking anything apart from the same balding indie sleaze boys of 2006 is too dangerous a gamble. How conservative.
These festivals have a duty to the music ecosystem to elevate new voices. We don’t really like posting a “female-fronted” list as we judge our favourite artists on quality not gender and don’t like to group musicians in this way at all, but this list feels like a necessary response to Northern Exposure’s article and the trend it highlights. If we were booking the major stages this summer, this is who we’d be taking a chance on in the firm knowledge that they would deliver the kind of breakthrough performance that festivals used to be famous for, catapulting them to future headliner status:
Lambrini Girls
Lambrini Girls are begging for major UK festival slots at this point. The BBC Introducing stage this year was far too modest considering they’d already broken America and built a massive international following that spans from queer teenagers to crusty anarcho-punk veterans. Deeply political, they’re a chaotic and elevating live force turning every show into a communal explosion of crowd participation with real-world urgency and cross-generational appeal.
Lambrini Girls are playing at 2000 Trees, Bearded Theory and Boardmasters 2026.
Jinjer
Jinjer have been grinding for years, sharpening themselves into one of the most distinctive metal bands on the planet. Progressive metal tends to mean endless indulgent noodling, but Jinjer have carved out a brutal groove-driven sound that’s direct and punishing with a frontwoman who shapeshifts from velvet swoons to demolishing roars.
For all their momentum and pedigree, Jinjer are not confirmed for any festival slots in the UK, but are playing a full headline UK tour in January 2026.
The Velveteers
The Velveteers are sitting on the edge of a major breakthrough. Demi Demitro handles her snarling baritone guitar with confident ease and a slinky strut, with glam-dipped charismatic songcraft that jumps effortlessly from garage-punk bite to swampy blues to glittery rock’n’roll. Performing with a twin drum kit amid homemade set pieces with retro charm, more people need to know about The Velveteers.
The Velveteers currently have no UK bookings for 2026.
Chloe Slater
Chloe Slater feels like an artist who everyone agrees is on the edge of something big. She hasn’t released her debut album yet, but her EPs and singles are climbing in quality at such a pace that it’s obvious where this is heading, and she’s got the pipes to back it up live. A sharp and emotionally attuned songwriter with diary-like verses and stadium-ready choruses, Chloe Slater is exactly the kind of artist major festivals should be getting behind early.
Chloe Slater is playing at Tramlines 2026.
Self Esteem
Self Esteem has already proven her worth on major festival stages, recently headlining End of the Road Festival and a set on the Park Stage at Glastonbury, and there are dozens of other festivals where her show would absolutely dominate. A full blown-spectacle with an eight-strong choreographed dance choir, costume changes and heart-pounding theatre.
Self Esteem is performing at Latitude Festival 2026.
Little Simz
The label rapper barely scratches the surface of what Simz does, outgrowing the box of her genre years ago with lighting-fast, emotionally incisive and effortlessly groovy rhymes. Her discography is one of the strongest in modern hip-hop balancing mass appeal with artistic depth. A magnetic and commanding powerhouse live, Simz always feels like the main event.
Little Simz curated Meltdown Festival 2025 and is headlining Cross The Tracks 2026 at Brockwell Park.
Skunk Anansie
Absolute unquestionable legends. Skin made history as the first Black woman to headline Glastonbury and remains a one-of-a-kind decades later. Skunk Anansie’s new album The Painful Truth veers through huge emotions with a level of songwriting that most bands from their era absolutely can’t touch anymore. Skunk Anansie are not a nostalgia act coasting on past glories, but a genuinely relevant, cool, and urgent band. If festivals insist on booking legacy acts, here’s one that deserves to be put in front of young fans.
Skunk Anansie are performing at Bearded Theory and The Great Estate 2026 as well as a run of outdoor headline shows with Garbage.
The Pill
The Pill are exactly the kind of noisy, chaotic and hilarious band that festivals are supposed to elevate. Their show is built around maximum joy with a total commitment to making a big, loud, ditzy racket that whips the crowd into a frenzy leaving audiences sweat-soaked, hoarse, and way happier than they arrived.
The Pill are playing an early run of shows in 2026, and it’s almost certain that some festival slots will follow.
Nova Twins
Nova Twins are exactly the kind of act that major festivals should be taking a gamble on in 2026. Their latest album expands their winning formula with soft moments that hit just as hard as the explosive ones. Amy Love is one of the most versatile vocalists in the country and there isn’t a bassist alive doing what Georgia does with her pedals, more akin to stadium-levelling dubstep than alternative metal.
Nova Twins are playing All Points East 2026.
Die Spitz
Die Spitz are destined for far bigger stages. Four high school friends from Austin TX, they hit the stage with the kind of joyful camaraderie that you can’t fake, swapping instruments with 3 of them taking turns on lead vocals. They cover the entire spectrum of heavy rock with grab-bag brilliance, and every member of this phenomenal four-piece has a totally distinct sound and personality.
Die Spitz are playing a run of UK headline shows in February.
