The first few bands have been announced for the next edition of the festival:
Agriculture will perform their new album The Spiritual Sound in its entirety
Coalesce will perform in Europe for the first time in 17 years
Crippling Alcoholism
Habak
Heaven In Her Arms will perform two sets, including performing their album White Halo in full
Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat will make a rare live appearance
Krallice will be both a commissioned artist and artists in residence, performing three times including one set comprising all new, original material.
Oathbreaker will perform Rheia in its entirety
Quest Master
Shearling
World Peace
Here is the announcement from Roadburn‘s own Becky Laverty, promoting the first names that will take part to next year’s edition of the festival, held in Tilburg (NL) from April 16th to April 19th:
“We’re really happy to share the first names for Roadburn 2026 with you. These first names will hopefully give you an idea of the scope of what we have in the works for the upcoming edition. There’s plenty more brewing, and we’ll continue to share these names with you in the coming weeks and months.
It’s always incredibly flattering when a band has Roadburn on their radar and wants to include us in their plans – it’s even more so the case when it’s a band like Oathbreaker. When we got word that they wanted to have Roadburn be their first show back we were immediately on board. Over the years we’ve had many reunion shows, special “comeback” performances, one-off special sets – all kinds of things that even we have only dreamed of – and we’re often asked how we convince bands to play such shows. Very rarely do we approach them to do so out of the blue; it almost always comes from the artist or as a result of an established relationship or ongoing conversation, such as in the case of Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat, or Coalesce. We like to think that these things become possible because we have created a space where artists will be respected and celebrated alongside their peers.
Sometimes special sets come about quite naturally through conversation with artists and a good example of that is the shows we just announced with Krallice. We knew that booking Krallice for one “regular” show would probably be enough to get a lot of Roadburners quite giddy, but upon talking to the band we realised there was scope for so much more. If we were to fly them in, would they perhaps want to play an album set, or put together something special just for Roadburn, we wondered. They were keen to make the most of a trip to Tilburg from the word go! As we spoke to them more it became clear that they would be ideal candidates to be artists in residence *and* commissioned artists… but why choose? So we asked them to be both.
We may have only announced eleven artists so far, but we hope there’s plenty for you to dig into. You can check the line up page for all the info, and of course if you’re yet to buy a ticket for Roadburn 2026 then we’d love to see you there. Until then you can join us on our discord server to tell us who we forgot to book, or show us a picture of your dog – whichever you prefer.
I’ll leave you with these words from Walter for now:
“Roadburn 2026 is all about bringing together the most exciting scenes and genres from our beloved underground – and everything that rises from it. We will discover thrilling new and upcoming bands, while also paying tribute to the influential artists who have shaped our vibrant universe over the years. Together, we’ll let their voices resonate. Our line up is not guided by algorithms or numbers, but entirely handpicked – because we truly believe in these artists and in the power of heaviness in all its forms.
“We can’t wait to welcome you next year, whether you’re performing or attending. We want to give you a space where hope and comfort can be felt – a safe haven in a world that can sometimes seem divided and overwhelming. Roadburn’s community exists both online and when we are together in person at the festival; wherever you find us, more than anything, we want you to feel at home.”
’Til next time,
Becky – on behalf of Roadburn”
