As plans for BLOODSTOCK’s 25th anniversary get underway, the festival has unveiled another 27 bands for 2026’s monumental event. With heavyweights, cult favourites, and rising stars joining the awesome bands already announced, this year’s line-up is shaping up to be one for the ages. And there are still plenty more names yet to come, with approximately 125 bands in total set to appear. Did you know? BLOODSTOCK is going to open the Ronnie James Dio main stage on Thursday now as well! Early bird, campervan, and VIP tickets are already sold out and weekend tickets are over 90% gone, so act quickly to get tickets if you don’t want to miss out!
And so to the bands…
THURSDAY – RONNIE JAMES DIO STAGE
Headlining the opening night on the Ronnie James Dio main stage are none other than British heavy metal legends SAXON. As BLOODSTOCK’s first ever headliner at the initial indoor event in 2001, it is only fitting that the seminal headbangers are part of the festival’s 25th anniversary. Celebrating five decades of anthems this year and an iron-clad reputation for blistering live shows, SAXON’s triumphant return to BLOODSTOCK will kick off the weekend in classic style. Expect a masterclass in pure heavy metal power.
Also joining Thursday’s main stage are BLOODSTOCK favourites EVIL SCARECROW, who bring their eccentric, theatrical brand of tongue-in-cheek metal mayhem, and HEAVYSAURUS, the dinosaur-costumed heroes delivering family-friendly metal fun. Previously announced for the Sophie Lancaster stage, HEAVYSAURUS now stomp onto the RJD stage for maximum roar.
FRIDAY – RONNIE JAMES DIO STAGE
Prepare for the unnerving, true crime inspired, industrial sounds of SKYND, the outrageous brutal slamming, death metal riot of PARTY CANNON, and the serpentine heavy rock theatrics of BATTLESNAKE.
SATURDAY – RONNIE JAMES DIO STAGE
Warm up your necks, thrash-fuelled crossover aggression comes courtesy of London’s INHUMAN NATURE, flying the flag for the new generation of feral thrash.
SUNDAY – RONNIE JAMES DIO STAGE
Closing the weekend in ferocious style, BLOODSTOCK is thrilled to host the BLOODSTOCK debut of Canadian alt-metal pioneers KITTIE. Joining them are occult doom bringers CASTLE RAT (all hail the Rat Queen), boundary-smashing modern hardcore crew GRAPHIC NATURE, and Wild West metal rabble rousers BOOTYARD BANDITS (from Worcester no less).
FRIDAY – SOPHIE LANCASTER STAGE
Unleash the chaos with German grindcore absurdists EXCREMENTORY GRINDFUCKERS, Australian thrash squad HIDDEN INTENT, UK medieval power metallers SELLSWORD, Danish death metal beasts NECKBREAKKER, electro nu-core party-starters SEETHING AKIRA, and rising Scottish extreme metal outfit HAMMER.
SATURDAY – SOPHIE LANCASTER STAGE
Expect no compromises from UK hardcore institution STAMPIN GROUND, genre-bending heavy hitters URNE, death metal purists CELESTIAL SANCTUARY, swaggering stoner rock bruisers VIKING SKULL, down-tempo brutality from BOUND IN FEAR, technical groove maestros IMPERIUM, and amphibian doom oddballs FROGLORD.
SUNDAY – SOPHIE LANCASTER STAGE
Round off the weekend with the masked industrial spectacle of MUSHROOMHEAD, soaring alt-rockers DREAM STATE, and blackened extremists TRIVAX.
CHARITY FUNDS RAISED AT BLOODSTOCK 2025
BLOODSTOCK is also proud to share the incredible fundraising achievements from the 2025 event, supporting charity partners Metal For Good and The Sophie Lancaster Foundation. Guest & media donations raised a fantastic £11,698, with the always popular T-shirt Amnesty adding another £2,120, making a grand total of £13,818 – split equally to provide £6,909 for each charity. In addition, Shepherd Events, who run the BLOODSTOCK bars, made their own contribution through bar donations, and Christopher Roberts, who worked tirelessly on Lemmy’s Bar all weekend, generously donated his entire earnings to support these causes.
Katy Baker, Co-Founder of Metal For Good, said:
“We have been blown away by the generous support of the Bloodstock team and their wonderful festival goers. We raised a huge amount of money from our stand and through donations from the festival and the merch amnesty, all of which will support incredible community projects using music to change lives. The weekend itself was amazing, so many great bands, smiley faces and brilliant partners - including The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, who we are honoured to share the charity donations with. Thank you to everyone for putting on such an incredible event!”
Tickets are flying fast – snap yours up now at the ticket store and be part of history at BLOODSTOCK’s silver anniversary! Wednesday early access is also available for those who want to max out their BLOODSTOCK experience. Day tickets will go on sale at a later date.
BLOODSTOCK’s 25th anniversary is going to be truly unforgettable. With many more bands & additional on site entertainment still to be announced, this is the must-attend celebration of 2026!
BLOODSTOCK 2026 will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 6th - 9th August, 2026.
Already announced to perform at BLOODSTOCK 2026 are RJD headliners LAMB OF GOD, SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL, and JUDAS PRIEST. Over on the Sophie Lancaster stage, your headliners are CRYPTOPSY (None So Vile 30-year anniversary set), WEDNESDAY 13, LEPROUS, and CARPENTER BRUT. Joining the fun over the full event are SEPULTURA, MUNICIPAL WASTE, DEATH ANGEL, NORTHLANE, BLEED FROM WITHIN, VENDED, ORBIT CULTURE, THE SCRATCH, IMPERIAL AGE, LIFE OF AGONY, OF MICE & MEN, BIOHAZARD, 200 STAB WOUNDS, THE HELL, BLACK SPIDERS, SHINING, and NEVERMORE!
