RADAR Festival has announced the first wave of bands for its 2026 edition, with Animals As Leaders and The Pineapple Thief securing UK festival exclusive headline slots. The award-winning progressive music festival returns to Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse from July 31 to August 2, 2026, with tickets going on sale at 10am on October 31.
Animals As Leaders’ return marks a significant full-circle moment for the festival, having headlined RADAR’s inaugural event in 2019. They’re joined by Australian metalcore titans Northlane, who claim the distinction of being the most requested band in RADAR’s history, finally making their long-awaited festival debut. The Pineapple Thief add progressive rock pedigree to the lineup with another UK festival exclusive performance, while Canadian progressive metal quintet Protest The Hero make their highly anticipated return to UK shores.
The first wave announcement includes 20 acts spanning the progressive and heavy music spectrum. Hotly-tipped newcomers unpeople return to the festival, joined by Ten56., Siamese, Heart Of A Coward, Employed To Serve, Elwood Stray, Hacktivist, Black Gold, Cage Fight, Dali, Ihlo, Benthos, Seething Akira, Luna Kills, Eville, and Manchester locals Dacara.
Co-founder and co-organiser Catherine Jackson-Smith described Animals As Leaders’ return as marking “a full-circle moment after leading our very first event back in 2019.” She added that “we’ve both grown since then and a UK Festival Exclusive performance showing how far we’ve both come feels apt.” Jackson-Smith also highlighted Northlane’s booking, noting they are “the most requested band in RADAR’s history” who will “finally take the stage for a long-awaited appearance fans have demanded since day one.”
Beyond the musical performances, RADAR Festival continues its commitment to creating a comprehensive cultural experience. The festival will feature masterclasses, a music and gaming market complete with a retro arcade, the latest instruments and music tech, a vinyl shop, art gallery, and coffee shop. The festival maintains its no-clash schedule policy, allowing attendees to catch every performance across the weekend.
Demonstrating ongoing support for the wider music industry, RADAR will continue donating a portion of ticket sales proceeds to Music Venue Trust and Save Our Scene’s Liveline Fund. This initiative supports grassroots music venues across the UK, reinforcing the festival’s commitment to nurturing the foundation of the live music ecosystem.
RADAR Festival has established itself as a champion of forward-thinking, guitar-led progressive music since launching in 2019. The festival moved to Manchester for its 2023 edition and has built a reputation for providing debut platforms for international artists, including Dirty Loops’ first UK show in 2022 and The Callous Daoboys’ UK debut in 2023. RADAR was also the first festival to offer Sleep Token a headline slot in 2023.
The festival’s recent success includes RADAR 2025’s headline performances from darkwave heavyweight Carpenter Brut and metalcore legends UNDERØATH, while 2024 featured synth royalty The Midnight making their UK festival debut on Friday, TesseracT delivering a special War Of Being album set on Saturday, and Leprous closing with a world-first live fan-request set on Sunday. RADAR’s achievements have been recognised with the Best New Festival Award at the 2022 UK Festival Awards, with further shortlistings for Best Small Festival and Best Metropolitan Festival at the 2023 and 2024 ceremonies.
RADAR Festival 2026 first wave lineup
- Animals As Leaders (UK festival exclusive)
- The Pineapple Thief (UK festival exclusive)
- Northlane
- Protest The Hero (UK festival exclusive)
- unpeople
- Ten56.
- Siamese
- Heart Of A Coward
- Employed To Serve
- Elwood Stray
- Hacktivist
- Black Gold
- Cage Fight
- Dali
- Ihlo
- Benthos
- Seething Akira
- Luna Kills
- Eville
- Dacara
Add as a preferred source