Mad Cool Festival has kicked off its tenth anniversary edition in Madrid with a sold-out opening night, drawing 57,000 fans across its five stages on the first evening of the celebrations.
Foo Fighters provided one of the night’s biggest moments, closing out day one on a newly renovated Stage 1 Region of Madrid with a set that blended new material with classics such as “Everlong” and “Learn to Fly.” The Seattle band’s Madrid return comes as part of a much wider 2026 European stadium run that will also see them play two nights at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium in June, before continuing on to Berlin, Vienna and Milan ahead of their Madrid date, with the tour ultimately wrapping up at NOS Alive in Portugal.
Beyond the headliner, the day’s line-up leaned heavily into big anniversary moments and rare comebacks. Moby marked a 21-year wait with an “immersive, precise and deeply moving” production, while Wolf Alice, touring behind their acclaimed album The Clearing, delivered an emotional set featuring “White Horses” and “Don’t Delete the Kisses.” The War on Drugs soundtracked sunset on the Orange stage, and Arde Bogotá surprised fans with an intimate secret set under the alias Bigger Splash, a year after their previous Mad Cool appearance.
The festival’s 10th edition also introduced a reworked layout, with an expanded Stage 1 featuring larger screens for a more immersive audiovisual experience, alongside bigger footprints for the Mahou Cinco Estrellas and Mahou Reserva stages. The Last Dinner Party made their Mad Cool debut combining theatrical staging with songs from From The Pyre and Prelude To Ecstasy, while Palaye Royale and The Warning brought high-energy rock to the afternoon slots.
Elsewhere on site, The Loop by Iberdrola hosted a genre-spanning bill including Jehnny Beth, The War and Treaty, and a nostalgia-driven set from Dogstar, followed by The Vaccines closing with fan favourites “If You Wanna” and “I Always Knew.” Diversity also defined the Mahou stages, with Gene Gallagher’s band Villanelle channelling grunge, and Mad Cool DJ Talent winners Liens Très Dangereux closing the night with a vinyl set.
Away from the music, Mad Cool continued its social and charitable initiatives for the anniversary edition. Support points run by Aspacia and Imagina Más remained active throughout the day to assist anyone affected by violence, while the festival’s symbolic “charity” ticket contributions will go directly to paediatric oncology research at Hospital Universitario La Paz.
Organisers thanked Madrid City Council, the Region of Madrid, local police forces and the Villaverde district cleaning service for their support in delivering the event smoothly. Mad Cool Festival continues on Thursday 9 July with performances from Florence + The Machine, Jennie, Lorde, Teddy Swims, Zara Larsson and Renée Rapp.
Image credits: Javier Bragado
In this article: Mad Cool, Madrid, Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl, Everlong, Learn to Fly, Madrid, Moby, Wolf Alice, The Clearing, The War on Drugs, Arde Bogotá, NOS Alive, Portugal, Anfield, Liverpool, Berlin, Vienna, Milan, The Last Dinner Party, From the Pyre, Prelude to Ecstasy, Palaye Royale, Jehnny Beth, The War and Treaty, Dogstar, The Vaccines, Mahou Cinco Estrellas Sin Gluten, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid City Council, Villaverde, Florence + the Machine, Lorde, Teddy Swims, Zara Larsson, Reneé Rapp. Generated by Wikidata Schema Link Builder.
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