Our roundup of the best music festivals in London in 2026, from the start of spring till the last rays of September sunshine. Indie, dance, jazz, pop, hip-hop, flamenco — it’s all here and much more besides. Here’s how to have it large without leaving the capital.
ROUNDHOUSE THREE SIXTY: A three-week-long torrent of music, spoken word, theatre, visual arts, podcasts and club nights are promised for 2026’s Roundhouse Three Sixty festival. Imogen Heap — alongside her aliases Him Gone Ape and the AI powered ai.mogen — hosts an exclusive evening of songs, improv and chat. There are also performances from Kae Tempest and Amaarae, among a mother lode of other happenings. 8-29 April
LA LINEA: Ushering Latin colour into the oft-mizzly London springtime, La Linea features top acts — including fado singer Sara Correia and post-punk/new wave Mexican rockers Caifanes. Venues include the Jazz Cafe, Islington Assembly Hall and Barbican. 20 April-6 May
BRICK LANE JAZZ FESTIVAL: Rich Mix hosts three days of fresh jazz featuring Bibi Tanga & the Selenites, A Grime Supreme, Amanda Whiting and dozens more. New for 2026 is the Brick Lane Conference, featuring workshops, talks, mentoring sessions and more. 23-26 April
INCINERATION: Bands with names like Internal Bleeding and Tomb Mold signal the kind of ear drum-popping commotion you can expect at this Roundhouse one-day festival, which is, after all, called Incineration. 2 May
BRIXTON DISCO FESTIVAL: A disco festival gyrating away in the venues around Brixton’s Windrush Square (inc. the Ritzy, Electric and Brixton Jamm)? We’re already sold, and a juicy lineup featuring Natasha Diggs, Melvo Baptiste and Mousse T certainly doesn’t hurt either. 2 May
QUEEN’S YARD SUMMER PARTY: Over 20 hip Hackney Wick venues come alive with house, techno and disco — pumped out by crews inc. Black Wine Club, Saturn Sisters and Earthly Measures. Throw in ticker tape explosions and canal-side drinking, and you’ve got yourself a time of it. 2 May
HACKNEY MOVES: Tacking itself onto the Hackney Half Marathon, Hackney Moves is a free festival in which group exercise gurus and Pilates instructors work their thing, alongside live bands and DJs. A rare festival experience where you leave in better shape than you arrived. FREE, 16-17 May
DESERTFEST: Green Lung, Church of the Cosmic Skull and Truckfighters are on the docket at the Roundhouse’s 13th incarnation of Desertfest, a musical orgy of stoner rock, doom and psych. We are also intrigued by the hyper-porcinely named Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. 16-17 May
GALA: Dance away the second May bank holiday at GALA in Peckham Rye Park, an al fresco beano featuring house, techno, jungle, drum ‘n’ bass, jazz, disco… it goes on. 2026’s artists include DJ Seinfeld and Gilles Peterson. 22-24 May
SLAM DUNK FESTIVAL: The UK’s biggest independent rock festival, Slam Dunk returns to Hatfield Park (just outside London, but we’ll allow it). Don ankle-length shorts and mosh to a stacked lineup feat. Good Charlotte, Sublime and Knocked Loose. 23 May
FIELD DAY: Field Day is back in Brockwell Park, for a buffet of house/techno/electro acts — including Floating Points, Joy Orbison and Horse Meat Disco — spread over five stages. 23 May
CROSS THE TRACKS: Hot on the heels of Field Day, Cross The Tracks takes up the Brockwell Park baton — a bangarang of funk, jazz and classic soul with 2026 headliners including Little Simz and Joy Crookes. 24 May
CITY SPLASH: You’ve probably spotted a theme emerging here. City Splash comes to, yup, Brockwell Park the day after Cross the Tracks, embracing reggae, dancehall and Afrobeat by jampacking 60+ artists across seven stages. Beres Hammond, Aidonia and Janet Kay & Carroll Thompson are among the first of the biggies confirmed. 25 May
MIGHTY HOOPLA: Yes, yes, it’s Brockwell Park again, this time for the poptastic Mighty Hoopla, an unabashedly glittery blowout that’s as catchy as it is camp. For two days, pop pickers can feast on sunshiney performances from Lily Allen (no doubt perming tracks from 2025’s massive album West End Girl), Scissor Sisters and *checks notes* Jane MacDonald. 30-31 May
HAMPTON COURT PALACE FESTIVAL: Want a taste of pop royalty? Hampton Court Palace Festival‘s two-week shindig is back this June (it’s individual shows rather than a festival), ready to welcome you with a flute of champagne and space for a picnic, plus performances from the ilk of Nile Rodgers & CHIC, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. At time of writing, the line-up’s still being added to. From 10 June
FLAMENCO FESTIVAL: Transport yourself to the balmy climes of Andalusia, with Sadler’s Wells’ Flamenco Festival, a veritable feast of acoustic guitars and lightning-fast footwork, played out in Sadler’s Wells’ three London theatres, plus a smattering of other venues. Golpe-ing their way into London this time are ‘modern flamenco’s greatest rule breaker’ Israel Galván, and Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía, among many others. 16-29 June
START OF THE LINE: A newbie for 2026, the council-organised Start of the Line Festival plays out in Morden Park for one day in June, featuring Soul II Soul, The Hoosiers and Billy Nomates. Earlybird tickets are just £15. 20 June
BST HYDE PARK: On line-up for 2026’s BST Hyde Park are Mumford & Sons, Maroon 5 and Pitbull, plus Lewis Capaldi doing two shows (one of which is already sold out). From 27 June
MELTDOWN: Little Simz got to pick 2025’s Meltdown line-up, featuring The Streets, Jon Batiste and Mahalia. At time of writing, we’re waiting to see who’ll helm the Southbank Centre’s 2026 edition. But it never disappoints, and 2026 is Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary so we’re expecting something rather special. June 2026
SILVERWORKS ISLAND: Electroheads will swarm to Silverworks Island this July, for a series of mini-festivals thrown in the shadows of the O2, and headlined by Above & Beyond (3 July), Worried About Henry (5 July) and FISHER (11 July). 3-11 July
KALEIDOSCOPE FESTIVAL: The grounds of Ally Pally explode into life with the sounds of Rudimental, Groove Armada and Black Grape at this year’s Kaleidoscope Festival. The comedy offering is tasty too, including Russell Kane, Olga Koch, Emmanuel Sonubi and Bella Hull. 11 July
PROMS: If you count the BBC Proms as a music festival, then it’s surely the swishest of the lot. It sees nigh-on two full months of live performances at the Royal Albert Hall and a few other participating venues. Though the focus is on classical music, there’s an increasing number of shows celebrating modern and contemporary sounds. 2026’s line-up should be announced in April. 17 July-12 September
FOLK BY THE OAK: Travel a few miles outside London to find yourself at the sylvan Folk by the Oak festival in Hatfield Park. Embrace music from Seasick Steve, Jessie Reid and — one of the best acts we saw in 2025 — Black Country, New Road. A proper chill festival, but not without its thrills. 19 July
JUNCTION 2: Many dance music festivals grace London this summer, but Junction 2 in Boston Manor Park is the only London festival we’re aware of where you party beneath a flyover. Acts include Nina Kraviz and I Hate Models. Note: it takes place over three days, not all contiguous. 25-26 July and 2 August
KISSTORY ON BLACKHEATH: The bill for 2026’s old skool one-dayer is yet to drop, but in 2025 it featured DJ AG, Oxide & Neutrino, DJ Luck & MC Neat, Baby D, and Lisa Maffia & MC Romeo. 25 July
UPTOWN FESTIVAL: Taking over from Kisstory the following day, Uptown Festival bills itself as ‘London’s #1 Family Festival’. The line-up is pending at time of writing. 26 July
WIRELESS: We expect three-day Wireless Festival to swagger into Finsbury Park once again this year, hitting you left, right and centre with on-fleek rap and hip-hop stars. It’s just that, right now, we don’t know which stars. July 2026
SOMERSET HOUSE: All we know so far about the Somerset House Summer Series is that it will return in July 2026. Last year, acts included north London star Freya Ridings, hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks and singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun. July 2026
EASTERN ELECTRICS: The Martinez Brothers, Skream b2b Patrick Topping, Mau P b2b Dennis Cruz, and East End Dubs are spinning the choons at Eastern Electrics, which settles into a new home at Peckham’s Burgess Park for 2026. 9 August
ALL POINTS EAST: All Points East returns with no less than five days of curated music in east London’s Victoria Park this August, headed respectively by Lorde; Deftones; Tyler, The Creator; and Twenty One Pilots. It’s really four mini-festivals tacked together (Tyler, The Creator headlines two dates). 22-30 August
RALLY: Rally festival attendees are encouraged to immerse themselves in collaborative art installations, interactive workshops and dedicated spaces for dialogue — as well, of course, as dance the day away to live acts — in Southwark Park. No news yet on specifics for 2026. 29 August
SOUL TOWN: The Commodores, Wet Wet Wet, The Spinners and The Sugarhill Gang top the bill at this laid-back one-dayer in Beckenham. 5 September
WATERWORKS: Gunnersbury Park plays host to dance music beano Waterworks, with various stages — Water Tower, Orbit, Cedar — showcasing acts. We don’t know who said acts are for 2026, although to give you an idea, SGT Pokes and Mad Professor performed in 2025. 12-13 September
POLYGON: In May 2025, Polygon landed on the festival circuit, inviting us to forget everything we know about festivals, aboard their ‘360º spaceship’ in Crystal Palace Park. Performances included Arooj Aftab, Gold Panda and Nitin Sawhney. We’re told Polygon returns in September 2026, with more details TBC. September 2026
Any big ones we’ve missed? Tell us the comments below or email hello@londonist.com. We’ll update this article as more events are announced.