Bloodstock Open Air will return to Catton Park, Derbyshire, from August 6th to 9th, 2026. Following up on the recent announcement, which saw 25 bands announced for the festival’s 25th anniversary, organisers have now released the names of 27 new acts joining the bill, including the first-ever Thursday night main stage headliner.
Headlining the opening night on the Ronnie James Dio main stage are none other than British heavy metal legends Saxon. Also joining Thursday’s main stage are Bloodstock favourites Evil Scarecrow, who bring their eccentric, theatrical brand of tongue-in-cheek metal mayhem, and Heavysaurus, the dinosaur-costumed heroes delivering family-friendly metal fun.
Friday will see the true crime-inspired, industrial sounds of Skynd, the outrageous, brutal slamming, death metal riot of Party Cannon, and the serpentine heavy rock theatrics of Battlesnake appear on the RJD stage. The Sophie Lancaster Stage will see German grindcore absurdists Excrementory Grindfuckers, Australian thrash squad Hidden Intent, UK medieval power metallers Sellsword, Danish death metal beasts Neckbreakker, electro nu-core party-starters Seething Akira, and rising Scottish extreme metal outfit Hammer, all appearing.
Saturday sees RJD Stage thrash-fuelled crossover aggression come courtesy of London’s Inhuman Nature, while the Sophie Stage will see UK hardcore institution Stampin Ground, genre-bending heavy hitters Urne, death metal purists Celestial Sanctuary, swaggering stoner rock bruisers Viking Skull, down-tempo brutality from Bound In Fear, technical groove maestros Imperium, and amphibian doom oddballs Froglord joining the line-up.
Closing the weekend in ferocious style, Canadian alt-metal pioneers Kittie make their debut on the RJD stage. Joining them are occult doom bringers Castle Rat, boundary-smashing modern hardcore crew Graphic Nature, and Wild West metal rabble rousers Bootyard Bandits. The Sophie Lancaster stage will see the masked industrial spectacle of Mushroomhead, soaring alt-rockers Dream State, and blackened extremists Trivax round things off.
Further additions to the line-up, and on-site entertainment will be announced over the coming months. For ticket details and all package offers, head over to the Official Bloodstock Website at bloodstock.uk.com.