Boomtown has added Welsh singer-songwriter Ren to its 2026 line-up, the festival announced this afternoon via email and social media. The artist joins an already diverse bill for Chapter 5: Radical Redesign, taking place from 12th to 16th August at Matterley Estate in Hampshire.
Ren burst onto the music scene with his breakthrough release “Hi Ren” in 2022 and has been on an upward trajectory since. Despite an ongoing battle with illness, his second album “Sick Boi” achieved unprecedented success. The multi-talented artist also directs his own music videos, with eagle-eyed fans spotting Bristol’s Wake the Tiger venue featured in one of his Sick Boi episodes on YouTube.
The announcement comes as organisers warned that “we don’t have many tickets left” for the five-day event. The festival has already sold a record-breaking 50% of its capacity, with standard Wednesday entry tickets completely sold out except for public transport options.
Boomtown celebrates double win at UK Festival Awards
Boomtown secured two major accolades at the UK Festival Awards 2025, held at DIECAST in Manchester on 2nd December. The Hampshire festival won Large Festival of the Year and Tech Innovation of the Year for Boomtown Unboxed, its immersive digital experience.
The ceremony saw Shambala Festival take home the most awards of the night with a triple crown including Medium Festival of the Year, Independent Festival of the Year, and the Sarah Nulty Community Impact Award. Other winners included Truck Festival for Line-Up of the Year, Tramlines for Inner-City Festival of the Year, and Wychwood Festival for Family Festival of the Year.
Festival invests £161,000 in local community
Boomtown announced a significant charitable investment of £161,710 into community projects and good causes on 3rd December, headlined by a landmark £100,000 donation to Winchester Hospice. The funding follows a successful 2025 operational year and demonstrates the festival’s commitment to supporting the local area surrounding the Matterley Estate.
The remaining £61,710 has been distributed across several key beneficiaries. Eight neighbouring parish councils received a combined £20,000, while early years facilities at local schools and nurseries were allocated £17,500. Environmental charity Onboard Earth received £11,930, War Child was given £7,280, and Breakout Youth, which supports LGBTQ+ young people, received £5,000.
Winchester Hospice described the partnership as bringing together “the festival’s unstoppable energy and creativity with the hospice’s vital care and compassion.” Beyond financial support, Boomtown has committed to year-round collaboration including platforms, storytelling, and volunteering opportunities.
Most diverse line-up in festival history
Boomtown unveiled its first wave of artists for Chapter 5: Radical Redesign on 28th October, featuring what organisers called the most diverse line-up in the festival’s history. Belfast rap trio Kneecap, New York glam-pop icons Scissor Sisters, and ska legends Madness lead a genre-spanning bill of over 40 acts.
The announcement showcased the festival’s commitment to musical diversity, bringing together electronic heavyweights Skrillex and Four Tet alongside British dance pioneers Faithless, who will celebrate their 30th anniversary at the event. German happy hardcore act Scooter will make their Boomtown debut, joined by Jamaican star Shaggy, US rapper Eve, and boundary-breaking artist Ashnikko.
Madness will return to Boomtown for the first time since their memorable 2016 performance on the Lion’s Den stage. Speaking about their return, the band said the crowd, costumes and atmosphere created “pure mayhem and magic,” expressing their excitement to return “nuttier than ever” to open proceedings in 2026.
Radical site redesign promises major changes
Chapter 5: Radical Redesign will bring significant changes to the festival’s physical layout and infrastructure. The beloved Lion’s Den stage will return to its original home in the Temple Valley amphitheatre after four years away, a move that has been loudly requested by festivalgoers. Hilltop will reclaim its position as the festival’s creative core filled with live performance, theatre and spectacles.
Downtown will focus on dance music with the introduction of Hydro XL, which represents a major technological advancement for the festival. The new stage doubles the size of the hydrogen-powered Hydro stage that successfully debuted in 2024 as the first of its kind at a major UK festival. Co-founder Luke Mitchell described the redesign as creating “more space to breathe – more nature, more woodland, more hidden places everywhere.”
Ticket availability tightening rapidly
Standard Wednesday entry tickets sold out on 21st November, with only Wednesday Public Transport tickets remaining at £375 plus booking fee. Thursday Entry tickets are currently priced at £345, while Thursday Public Transport options cost £305 and represent the cheapest route into the festival.
For those who miss out on the primary sale, Boomtown operates a strict official resale system exclusively through ticketing partner Kaboodle. The festival typically runs two resale phases: a failed payment plan ticket drop in late May, followed by a citizen-to-citizen marketplace in early June. Organisers maintain one of the strictest anti-scalping policies in the UK festival circuit, explicitly banning third-party platforms including Tixel, Twickets, Viagogo, and TicketSwap.
During the last event, 172 people were turned away at the gates due to fraudulent tickets bought from unauthorised sources. The festival’s policy is clear: the only way to guarantee entry is with a legitimate ticket purchased via Kaboodle.
Boomtown Chapter 5: Radical Redesign takes place at Matterley Estate, Hampshire, from 12th to 16th August 2026. Tickets are available at www.boomtownfair.co.uk/tickets.
Image credits:
Derek Bremner
Scott Salt
Lucas Sinclair
Disclosures: TheFestivals is funded through advertising and sometimes earns a commission on purchases made through links on this website, including in this article: None