One balmy 30° Wednesday in July, several thousand determined and excited fans descended on Upcote farm in Cheltenham to get the Beeros in and trade sweat in the mosh pits of 2000 trees. The midweek kick-off didn't deter the enthusiasm with a duo of stages supplying the soundtrack to tent pitching and friend reunions, The Word stage playing host to half the acts and The Forest providing much needed shelter for the other half. The nineteenth annual edition of the Cotswold alt-rock party returned for 2026 with almost identical weather as the previous year, which could only be described as, bloody hot.

Essex trio Tropic Gold are maintaining their unstoppable momentum ahead of their highly anticipated appearance at Download Festival next month. The hotly-tipped three-piece have officially returned with their ferocious brand new single, ‘WITCH HOUSE’, which features a guest appearance from Harpy and marks the band's very first release under their new label partner, BLKIIBLK.

Tufnell Park’s Downstairs at The Dome was packed and loud as Wisconsin-bred Archers touched down in London. With great support from Tropic Gold, it was a night of heavy music, huge choruses, and a lot of sweat.

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.

As the iconic notes of Edith Piaf’s ‘Non, je ne regrette rien’, blasted triumphantly around The Islington Academy2 and French metalcore outfit Resolve strode onto the stage, an already thoroughly warmed up and packed out room lost their collective mind. Before the main act had even had a chance to play a note, a trio of bands with their own pull on the London crowd had their chance to impress.