LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS: TAKEDOWN FESTIVAL 2026

On a chaotic Easter bank holiday weekend as Storm Dave bears down on the UK it would be a fair cop to say that 2026 festival season hasn't quite started yet. Although we may be a little while away from fields and camping (and mud) the start of April is the perfect time for the Guildhall in Portsmouth to get everyone warmed up for a summer of debauchery and play host to a few dozen raucous bands across two days and three stages.

The initial day of the festival kept the energy geared towards classic genres, with a whole load of Glam Rock, Metal and Grunge on offer. Welsh wonders Kill The Lights got the weekend going on the Phil Campbell stage, renamed this year in honour of the intended headliner- Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons. Pulling out of the festival only a month prior due to medical issues, a shockwave was sent through the Takedown family the following week as the news of Campbell's passing came to light.

Like many bands over the weekend, Kill The Lights performed in the shadow of the legendry Motorhead guitarist. 'Scapegoat', a song that perfectly blends the sounds of all the band members previous outfits- Bullet For My Valentine's relentless riffs, Throw The Fight's dreamy vocals and Lokust's larger than life sound all on show for the ultimate main room warm up.

"We are The Fear from Manchester and here on this stage right now is our chemical reaction." Vocalist Micky Satiar introduced a track from the band's most recent album Falling Forward. Leaning into theatrics and glam metal vibes, the northern quartet delivered a confident and enthralling set on the Metal For Good stage.

Over on the Total Rock stage, King Kraken, decked out in Phil Campbell merch blasted their way through a riff heavy hard-rock set sounding far more like an arena band. Plenty of appreciative headbanging commenced for 'Chainsaw Saviour' and the dirty shredding from guitarist Adam Healey.

Back on the Phil Campbell stage, fast and furious rock 'n' roll was delivered by veteran outfit Asomvel. Harnessing the Motorhead vibes perfectly, no nonsense tracks like 'Born to Rock 'n' Roll' do exactly what it says on the tin and the party vibes were amped up in the main room as the day really got going.

South of Salem followed with just as much gusto but with a more glam-rock vibe in look and sound. Decked out in leopard print and leather jackets leaping around in front of a graveyard backdrop then joined on stage by black-clad cheerleaders, the Bournemouth five piece delivered the whole package- a feast for the eyes as well as the ears. 'Vultures' a real highlight in an already strong set.

At 8pm a scheduled 'One minute of noise for Phil Campbell' was the heart-breaking/heart-warming moment of the day, with festival organisers Kai and Sarah Harris taking to the stage to deliver a beautiful tribute before a video montage played and the room hollered their appreciation for a full minute.

The Wildhearts, next up continued the legendry line up with frontman Ginger giving it his all despite his recent cancer diagnosis that the geordie has refused treatment for, choosing instead to live his remaining time to the fullest. The Wildhearts set certainly achieved this with no lack of riffs, energy and enthusiasm.

Closing out the Total Rock stage, Belgium enigmas Gnome donned their red pointed hats and got down to business with a keen cohort of fans, also decked out in the signature headwear. A slight outlier on the Friday bill, Gnome lean towards the more modern math rock genre and hit the stage hard, introducing 'The Duke' to a curious and boisterous crowd.

Finally for the night, Therapy? took on the mantle of standing in for Phil Campbell and drew the first half of Takedown Festival to a close. The Northern Irish band, formed in 1989, are a group that had endured as a three piece with a back catalogue of 14 albums, most notably 1994's Troublegum.

"We are happy and sad to be filling in for wonderful Phil Campbell, we are going to make as much noise as possible, lets fill this room with positivity" singer Andy Cairns requested before dedicating 'Die Laughing' to Campbell, a song usually promised to Kirk Cobain. Therapy? music isn't famously positive but the band's ethos personally is more upbeat and punk, with Cairn's slipping in a quick 'Fuck Donald Trump' for good measure.

Day two at The Guildhall brought with it a different crowd. Gone were the battle jackets, bald heads and beards, replaced with skinny jeans, brightly coloured hair and hunger for the newer bands of the day.

Artio started the proceeding buy asking the gathered fans to 'spin it like a cyclone'. The young band from Leeds making a mark on the day with a full on set of party bangers. With a special appearance from Patty Walters of As It Is for their collaboration song 'Full On Fights For Fun' Artio proved that opening a stage is sometimes exactly where it's at.

Steering it down a pop punk route on The Total Rock stage, Slackrr gave everyone a great reason to bounce around to their relentlessly positive brand of optimistic, down to earth garage band vibes. This, a group that has boundless potential based purely on their stage presence and crowd work, never mind their infectious pop-rock set.

Dark Industrial duo Zetra made an impression on the Kerrang! stage, raised up on two platforms with soaring vocals, a guitar and synth, and no drummer in sight. Zetra are certainly in a lane of their own and are a breath of fresh air. This seems to be one of Takedown Festival's biggest strengths. Across rock genres there is a kind of cohesion to the booking of exciting, unique bands who move in their own way and keep audiences enthralled.

Speaking of which, Alt rockers PAVÉ hit up the Total Rock stage with an electric collection of songs accented by singer Alanya- Jade's fabulous and attitude-filled vocal game. 'If it hurts' has hints of Pvris sounding riffs and vocals, an entrancing performance all round.

Lastelle took to the Kerrang! stage with the massive 'Pine' which is possibly the best opening song of any band ever- the build in tension in the room perfectly elevating the energy. Frontman Adam Rigozzi throwing himself around the stage and then requesting in return "Takedown I wanna feel your energy", a perfectly fair request  in return for the pure passion the Oxford quintet put out into the ether.

On the Metal For Good stage Tropic Gold filled the thoroughly warmed up room with slick electronic-rock. A rising name in the scene, the outfit raced through a brilliantly curated set that included the pivotal hit 'A place called euphoria', the newer offering 'Witch house' ending on the intense 'Holy Horror' which got the whole room screaming back 'I fucking love that'.

"How many of you know Mouth Culture?" Vocalist Jack Voss asked the almost capacity main room crowd. "I'll take that" he grinned after an impressive response. The Leicester Alt-indie-rockers drew quite the enthusiastic crowd for their main stage set, everyone fully in the party mood by this point in the day. 'On and On', the band's latest offering going down particularly well in the room.

As It Is followed with the motif 'As It Is, 2012- Forever' emblazoned behind them. With their big stadium pop-punk vibes the transatlantic band gave their all, hitting the mark with a set full of fan favourites and an exciting live debut of 'Marilyn'. 'Dial Tones' finished off the set, leaving fans in the room ready for the upcoming self-titled album, due out in July.

The Total Rock stage welcomed unapologetic punk-chick BEX who declared "I'm gonna play until I'm done playing" in the most rock n' roll statement heard all day. The catchy as hell 'Taste Better' a real set highlight, although Bex's relentless march around the stage stayed at 100% for the entire set. Probably the most threatening set of the day but in a certain charming way.

Wargasm blasted onto the Kerrang! stage at 1000mph which seems to be the London duo's only speed.

"You in the middle, all I wanted was a mosh pit, open it up", instructed Sam Matlock. "Get in the pit or get the fuck out", he continued. For anyone new to a Wargasm show, they were surely quick to learn the band mean business. With a plethora of big collaborations, a Wargasm set is filled with brutal scream-a-long bangers which the pits in the middle of the room embraced full-throatedly. 'Fukstar' and 'Do it so good' were the winners of the set, coming towards the end where the mood was established and the pits got bolder.

The Hara closed out the Total Rock stage, impressively from the first track 'Rockstar' setting the energy sizzling with guitarist Zack Breen climbing in and starting a circle pit in the crowd. There's no such thing as not giving 100% with the Manchester trio, but their sights are firmly set on more.

"Lets keep this energy cooking, I give that one a 55%" Vocalist Josh Taylor pretty unfairly rated the first track. As far as motivation goes though it was effective with fans collectively losing their shit for most of the rest of the set. With their new albumThe Fallout only a couple of months old, the setlist was peppered with fresh tracks from the band, 'Trophy' a particular highlight.

The 'Citizens of Portsmouth' were addressed via a voiceover as President took to the stage for the riotous conclusion of Takedown Festival 2026. As a pinnacle of the event, it would be hard to imagine another band currently that could as effectively cause such a buzz around the scene as the mysterious quartet.

Since their debut at Download festival last year the band have built a slightly more bulked out setlist than they originated with, but the pickings are still somewhat slim with less than a dozen songs under their belt. With every one of them a strong offering though, President setlists already feel well curated and by no means stretched. Newest track 'Mercy', only a week old but slotting in beautifully to the band's repertoire with a slightly less produced sound, leaning towards a more organic rock vibe.

A highlight of the set was a truly enchanting cover of Deftones 'Change (In the house of the flies)' which is not to take away from the impressiveness of the rest of President's set and the genius of their own music, but as far as covers go, this one slotted so seamlessly, it was easy to forget it wasn't an original.

The staging too having taken a step up, with the band's neon cross motif hanging above the stage, creating an imposing and dramatic feel that matches the band's sound perfectly the group called time on the festival with their very first release 'In the name of the Father'.

Takedown is a festival that has been somewhat sporadic over the years, with hiatus, returns, postponements and uncertainty, the gathered fans in 2026 will undoubtedly be waiting with baited breath for the announcement of the 2027 edition and the vibes feel like it's heading quickly for even bigger, louder and more exciting things.

Words by Imogen Bird

Photos by Florelle Servageon