Louder Than Life returns to the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY September 17, 18, 19 & 20 for its 12th edition, delivering the largest lineup in the festival’s history and the biggest bill ever assembled by producer Danny Wimmer Presents.
TOOL and Limp Bizkit join previously announced headliners My Chemical Romance and Iron Maiden for an incredible four days of music at Louder Than Life 2026.
America’s Largest Rock & Metal Festival will feature nearly 200 bands spanning all rock genres across 7 stages, topped by:
Thursday, September 17: Iron Maiden, Pantera, Megadeth
Friday, September 18: My Chemical Romance, Pierce The Veil, A Day to Remember
Saturday, September 19: Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Sublime
Sunday, September 20: TOOL, Gojira, Danny Elfman
Saturday, September 19 will also feature one of the most prominent all-female-fronted stage lineups assembled at a major U.S. rock festival. The stage lineup will feature Halestorm, In This Moment, Lindsey Stirling, Orianthi, Icon For Hire, Kami Kehoe, and Diamante.
In addition, a Mystery Guest band will make their live debut at Louder Than Life and a Very Special Guest–one of the biggest heavy bands of the modern era–will be announced at a later date.
The full lineup for Louder Than Life is as follows (subject to change): My Chemical Romance, Iron Maiden, TOOL, Limp Bizkit, Pantera, Pierce The Veil, Gojira, Danny Elfman, The Prodigy, Sublime, Papa Roach, A Day To Remember, BABYMETAL, Megadeth, Danzig, Halestorm, Rise Against, Alice Cooper, Circa Survive, Ice Nine Kills, Jimmy Eat World, The Mars Volta, Mastodon, The Used, Bilmuri, Sabaton, Coheed and Cambria, The Pretty Reckless, Hot Mulligan, Taking Back Sunday, Sleeping With Sirens, In This Moment, Dance Gavin Dance, Chiodos, Black Label Society, Killswitch Engage, Anthrax, Ministry, CAVALERA, Skillet, The Warning, Nothing More, Tom Morello, Lindsey Stirling, Dethklok, Black Veil Brides, Kublai Khan TX, Underoath, Alkaline Trio, Machine Head, Suicidal Tendencies, Chad Gray, Starset, Badflower, Alexisonfire, Animals As Leaders, Thrice, LOATHE, Coal Chamber, P.O.D., The Home Team, Bowling For Soup, Thursday, We The Kings, From Ashes To New, Fit For A King, Sleep Theory, President, GWAR, Palaye Royale, L.S. Dunes, Atreyu, Lit, Get Scared, Set It Off, Blood For Blood, Sunami, Filter, Alissa White-Gluz, Soulfly, Between The Buried And Me, ERRA, Chelsea Grin, After The Burial, Lacey Sturm: The Voice of FLYLEAF, Toadies, Currents, Orianthi, Boundaries, Make Them Suffer, Metal Church, The Acacia Strain, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Holding Absence, HAYWIRE, Spite, Agnostic Front, Escape The Fate, Jutes, Emmure, ivri, Alien Ant Farm, Bodysnatcher, Scene Queen, Caskets, Rain City Drive, The Funeral Portrait, PeelingFlesh, Haste The Day, Holywatr, Locked Shut, Hail The Sun, Madball, I See Stars, Mushroomhead, Angel Du$t, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, The Word Alive, Jeff Hardy, Mac Sabbath, The Ataris, The Rasmus, Volumes, Wind Walkers, Twitching Tongues, Powerman 5000, The Barbarians of California, Emery, Maylene & The Sons of Disaster, Born of Osiris, H2O, Red, Josey Scott: The Original Voice of SALIVA, Adelitas Way, Thousand Below, Soil, Arrows in Action, Chained Saint, Zero 9:36, Elijah, Holy Wars, Butcher Babies, Nevertel, Dry Kill Logic, Icon For Hire, Kami Kehoe, Codefendants, Texas Hippie Coalition, Austin Carlile: The Original Voice of Of Mice & Men, The Pretty Wild, End It, Vana, Rivers of Nihil, Like Moths To Flames, Signs of the Swarm, Archers, KOYO, Primer 55, Emarosa, Gemini Syndrome, Shaman’s Harvest, 200 Stab Wounds, 156/Silence, Missing Link, Fox Lake, sace6, Greyhaven, King 810, Many Eyes, Tantric, The Violent Hour, Dark Divine, Sent By Ravens, Showing Teeth, Earshot, TX2, Diamante, OTHERWISE, Doobie, He Is Legend, Aviana, vianova, Future Palace, Cane Hill, Corpse Pile, 40 Below Summer, Heavy//Hitter, Bodybox, Boltcutter, Resolve, Dreamwake, Gates To Hell, Death Valley Dreams, Set For Tomorrow, and Billy McNicol.
Some of the special appearances and reunions at Louder Than Life 2026 will include:
● Pantera’s only U.S. show of 2026
● Danny Elfman’s first show in the Eastern half of the U.S. in nearly a decade
● One of Megadeth’s final farewell performances
● Reunion sets from Circa Survive, Get Scared, Blood For Blood, Metal Church, Primer 55, Sent By Ravens and 40 Below Summer
● Jimmy Eat World celebrating the 25th anniversary of Bleed American
● Sleeping With Sirens celebrating the 15th anniversary of Let’s Cheers To This
● Cavalera with an exclusive performance of the iconic Sepultura album Roots live for the first time in nearly a decade
● A special pyrotechnic performance from Skillet
● Chad Gray, the voice of Mudvayne and Hellyeah in a “30 Years of Madness” solo performance
● Loathe in an exclusive Midwest performance
● Alissa White-Gluz, the former voice of Arch Enemy & The Agonist in a debut show with her all-new band
● The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus celebrating the 20th anniversary of Don’t You Fake It
● Alien Ant Farm celebrating the 25th anniversary of ANThology
● Red celebrating the 20th anniversary of End of Silence
● Rare sets from Dry Kill Logic and Earshot
● A comeback set from Gemini Syndrome
● Hometown shows from Emarosa, Greyhaven, Tantric, Showing Teeth, Gates To Hell and Billy McNicol
“Last year, we took over Kentucky Kingdom and broke rock festival records. This year, we’re back to deliver the ultimate rock escape,” says Danny Wimmer of DWP. “Louder Than Life is your playground — ride the coasters, catch legendary and emerging bands, enjoy incredible food and bourbon, and dive headfirst into the rock experience you’ve been waiting for. It’s time to let loose and have fun. We’ll see you soon.”
“Year after year, Louder Than Life raises the bar for what a rock festival can be,” added David S. Beck, President & CEO of Kentucky Venues. “Bringing the festival grounds to the heart of the Kentucky Exposition Center last year demonstrated what’s possible when a world-class venue and a visionary festival producer share a commitment to the ultimate fan experience.”
In addition to the music, all Louder Than Life passholders will receive FREE access to amusement rides inside Kentucky Kingdom, which became part of the festival footprint in 2025 and will be open exclusively to festival attendees.
New this year, Danny Wimmer Presents is also organizing the Louder Than Life Battle for the Big Stage competition, kicking off on March 1, 2026. Bands can submit entries through March 31, 2026 using the link HERE. Leading up to the festival, viewers will be able to vote for who they want to see play Louder Than Life during Sunday episodes of the Space Zebra Show, airing at 6:30 PM ET / 3:30 PM PT on the DWP Twitch channel.
Fans in the Louisville area can celebrate the Louder Than Life lineupat the Official Lineup Announcement Party on Monday, February 23 from 5PM-9PM at The Fox Den. Presented by Blackcraft and hosted by Bobby Schubenski and Josh Balz of Space Zebra, the event will feature live sets by SoulKiller, Nailwound, Actus Reus, and Wave Painter, custom cocktails, photo opps, vintage merch, giveaways and service fee free passes. All who attend will have a chance to win two GA passes.
Passes are on sale now at https://louderthanlifefestival.com/passes starting at $1 down. Options include:
● 4-Day GA
● 4-Day VIP
● 4-Day Angel’s Envy Top Shelf VIP
● Single Day GA
● Single Day VIP
● Single Day Angel’s Envy Top Shelf VIP
A very limited supply of Single and 4-Day Angel’s Envy Top Shelf VIP passes are available for the most exclusive access and rockstar luxury amenities. And for fans who want to celebrate the biggest eight days of music in the United States, an Exacta Pass offers entry to back-to-back weekends in Louisville at both Louder Than Life and Bourbon & Beyond. Starting at $700 plus fees, an Exacta Pass is less than $88 per festival day. Find more info here.
A Louder Than Life Student Pass is also available, allowing those with a valid .edu email address access to a $125 (all-in, fees included) Single-Day GA Pass via FEVO. Find more details here.
Also new this year is the LoudINK Pass offering entry to both Louder Than Life in Louisville and Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival in Mansfield, Ohio July 17-19, 2026. Find more details here. And for fans that want the most music ever, there’s the new Traveler’s Pass that offers entry to Louder Than Life, Inkcarceration and Sonic Temple Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival in Columbus, Ohio May 14-17, 2026. Find more details here.
For a fully immersive weekend experience, fans are encouraged to explore the Louder Than Life Home Bass Tent and RV glamping options; regular Car + Tent and RV camping passes are currently on a waitlist. Onsite parking for Louder Than Life at Kentucky Exposition Center will be available for purchase in advance of the festival.
DWP has partnered with GOVX to offer exclusively-priced Louder Than Life passes for 4-Day GA and Single Day GA for military, nurse, firefighter, and police personnel. Find more info here.
All details on festival passes, including Jampack hotel packages, camping and parking passes can be found here.
The DWP Foundation will be supporting the following nonprofits in 2026: Dare to Care and Preston Area Business Alliance, plus more to be announced.
Louder Than Life draws fans from every state and many countries around the world, so fans are encouraged to buy early to reserve their spot. The 11th edition of Louder Than Life in 2025 brought together over 240,000 fans and continues to retain its title of America’s Largest Rock & Metal Festival more thana decade after debuting in Louisville in 2014, marking a dedicated and ongoing partnership between the city and festival producer Danny Wimmer Presents.
Louder Than Life and DWP’s Louisville companion festival Bourbon & Beyond, which take place on back to back weekends, generated over $43 million in combined local economic impact in 2025 and drew more than 450,000 attendees booking over 60,000 hotel room nights and creating a visitor boom at local restaurants and other businesses, including bourbon distilleries along the Urban Bourbon Trail.
Los Angeles-based Danny Wimmer Presents, one of the largest independent producers of destination music festivals in America, produces Louder Than Life.