TAKEDOWN FESTIVAL 2026: NEW HEADLINER ANNOUNCED FOR FRIDAY
Takedown Festival has officially revealed that the legendary Therapy? will step in as the Friday night headliner for the 2026 edition of the event. This significant update to the roster follows the unfortunate news that Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons have been forced to withdraw from their scheduled performance due to an ongoing medical condition.
In a heartfelt statement regarding the change, Kai Harris of Takedown Festival Ltd shared: “As you will have heard, Phil Campbell has sadly had to withdraw from this year’s event. Phil’s health and family comes first of course and we are sure you will join all of us at Takedown Festival in wishing him a speedy recovery.”
Harris went on to express his personal excitement regarding the new addition to the bill, noting that the replacement holds a special place in his own musical history “We are super grateful and beyond excited to announce a band very dear to our hearts that will be filling Phil Campbell & The Bastards sons very large boots. The very first band I saw at a big venue 34 years ago, purveyors of the finest bouncy riffage and hooks to die for, the mighty… THERAPY?”
The festival is scheduled to make its highly anticipated return to the Portsmouth Guildhall on Friday, April 3rd, and Saturday, April 4th, 2026. It promises to once again transform the south coast into a hub for heavy music with a massive, diverse lineup.
Joining Therapy? on the list of new announcements is Grumble Bee, the acclaimed alternative rock project led by multi-instrumentalist Jack Bennett. The project is well-regarded for its unique sonic profile, which masterfully blends gritty emo and dark-pop-rock with deeply introspective lyrical themes. Furthermore, the festival has welcomed the successful applicants from the Amplead: Apply To Play scheme, officially adding Blacklight Vice, Monochrome, and Stone Soupto the 2026 bill.
The Saturday night festivities will be capped off by a headline set from PRESIDENT. This performance marks a major milestone for the masked collective, representing their first-ever appearance as a festival headliner. Having moved at breakneck speed to become one of the most unpredictable and captivating forces in the modern heavy music scene, their appearance at Takedown 2026 is expected to be a career-defining moment.
PRESIDENT and Therapy? sit atop a stacked lineup that features an array of talent, including: WARGASM, As It Is, Graphic Nature, Mouth Culture, Vower, Zetra, Artio, Saint Agnes, The Hara, Bex, Profiler, Tropic Gold, The Wildhearts, InMe, Mould
With many more acts still to be announced, the 2026 edition is shaping up to be one of the festival's most ambitious years to date.
