Artists who defined 2026
September 2026
All stories
Arthur Hill: "I think I'm really cool, but am I actually cool?"
A Wembley Arena headline show before a debut album, a George Michael cover his own team tried to talk him out of, one torn ACL, and now the biggest stage Reading & Leeds has. Arthur Hill keeps doing things in the wrong order, and it keeps working out.
By Jake Hawkes
Hayley Williams is extending her huge tour with new UK and European shows
Alexandra Palace closes the summer run on 2nd July.
By Sam Taylor
Little Grandad have announced their debut album ‘Speak Softly, Son’ for 2027
The London four-piece share new single 'Tiny Feet' and begin a UK headline tour.
By Sam Taylor
How Baccarat Cards Stay Recognisable Across Different Art Designs
Baccarat leaves considerable room for visual invention.
By Guest Post
Miley has announced her new album ‘Bass Persuades’ and two huge Hollywood Bowl shows
Atlantic Records release lands ahead of a Los Angeles two-night run.
By Sam Taylor
Reading & Leeds 2026: Wisp makes a last-minute impact
A late addition doesn’t stop Wisp drawing a devoted Reading Festival crowd for a debut that shows exactly why her rise has been so rapid.
By Abigail Firth
August 2026
All stories
NCT 127: Flying high
Ten years into a career spent taking K-pop to new places, NCT 127 are back together, re-energised and ready for ‘BLINGY’ to fly.
By Abigail Firth
All Points East 2026: Twenty One Pilots: The Big Dork Preview
A decade of lore leads to this weekend in a park in east London, at the only UK Twenty One Pilots show of the year. Plus Wunderhorse return - maybe with new material to show - and a lower order of some of the most engaging and exciting rock has to offer.
By Dan Harrison
Maisie Peters is already thinking about what comes next
Maisie Peters returns to Reading Festival with ‘Florescence’, huge ambitions and plenty of new music already taking shape.
By Ali Shutler
Absolutely is making room for a little magic
With her Reading Festival debut behind her, Absolutely finally feels like the universe she imagined with ‘Paracosm’ is fully alive.
By Ali Shutler
Nieve Ella is having the time of her life
Heartbreak, health struggles and horrible depressing songs? Nieve Ella’s dancing her way through all of it on her debut album, she explains at Reading Festival.
By Ali Shutler
Fontaines D.C. have recruited Hayley Williams for a huge Slane Castle show
Damien Dempsey and Madra Salach are also joining them on the bill.
By Felicity Newton
July 2026
All stories
All Points East 2026: NOAHFINNCE is overwhelmed, not defeated
Burnt out, unable to safely travel to the country half his fanbase resides in and watching the news like the rest of us (through his fingers), NOAHFINNCE did the only sensible thing: turned the dread into a character, wrote him a banger, and got himself booked for one of the biggest bills of the year in London’s Victoria Park. All Points East, meet your new favourite anxiety.
By Dan Harrison
Opus Kink's long road to 'The Sweet Goodbye'
Opus Kink have spent years building a world entirely of their own. Now, with debut album 'The Sweet Goodbye', they're inviting everyone else into it.
By Steven Loftin
Teddy Swims comes full circle at Latitude
Three years after an early afternoon slot, Teddy Swims returns to Latitude as a headline act with fatherhood, heartbreak and a new album shaping his future.
By Ali Shutler
Florence Road are making every stage feel like home
Fresh from a whirlwind festival run, Florence Road are looking ahead to new music, bigger shows and their debut album.
By Ali Shutler
Swim Deep take us deep into the woods for a warm-up of 'Broken' at Latitude 2026
Kicking off Dork’s big Latitude 2026 opening party takeover - Swim Deep took us deep into the Suffolk forest for a warm-up performance on the Piano Stage.
By Dork
Mollie Elizabeth channels The Twilight Zone on her new single 'Puppet Show'
The newcomer's self-directed visualiser draws on 'Eye of the Beholder'
By Felicity Newton
June 2026
All stories
Madra Salach are leading folk's wild new revival
Madra Salach only released their debut EP in January, but they're already emerging as one of the most exciting bands in a growing folk revival.
By Jake Hawkes
Makeshift Art Bar: lost to time
Makeshift Art Bar make some of the most punishing noise that stays on the right side of actively enjoyable. Ask them to account for it and they would rather not. As second EP ‘Marionette’ arrives, the Belfast four-piece field the big questions and bat nearly all of them back.
By Dan Harrison
Waterparks: "I think everybody is their own biggest jinx"
Awsten Knight opens up about the exhausting road to 'Jinx', the pressures of modern fandom and finding excitement again after rebuilding Waterparks from scratch.
By Steven Loftin
"I'm not a rock star": Static Dress' Olli Appleyard is making peace with himself
Static Dress might be one of rock's most uncompromising bands, but Olli Appleyard has no interest in being a rock star. As the band release 'Injury Episode', he explains why making things matters more than fame, metrics or expectations.
By Steven Loftin
Nia Smith: “I’m not afraid of using my voice”
‘Payback Is A Dog’ captures Nia Smith at a turning point. As she looks back on the journey to her second EP, she reflects on finding her voice - and why she's already excited about what comes next.
By Martyn Young
Fat Dog have announced their second album 'Cancel Me (I'm Tired)' with its riotous title-track
Septet share title track and reveal instore tour ahead of October release
By Felicity Newton
May 2026
All stories
Lucia & The Best Boys has found her people
Friendship is woven through every corner of Lucia & The Best Boys' upcoming album 'Picking Petals'. As new single 'Big Romance' arrives, Lucia Fairfull and Abigail Morris reflect on creative support, finishing songs that refuse to go away and the people who keep you going.
By Ali Shutler
Violet Grohl: "You can never please everybody"
With her debut album ‘Be Sweet To Me’, Violet Grohl is embracing grunge, punk and pop instincts alike while figuring out how to exist under one of rock’s most recognisable surnames.
By Ali Shutler
Opal Mag is stepping into her moment with debut EP ‘Goodbye Lavender’
Drawing from dreamy guitar textures and unfiltered emotion, Brighton’s Opal Mag arrives with debut EP ‘Goodbye Lavender’.
By Felicity Newton
Heidi Curtis breaks down the loss, longing and late-night revelations behind her debut EP, 'Hollow Heart'
Inspired by loss and shaped by dreams, Heidi Curtis’ debut EP 'Hollow Heart' turns grief into six huge, haunting songs. Here’s the story behind all of them.
By Dork
thistle. made an EP called 'backflip' and now they want to talk about it
thistle.’s new EP 'backflip' is loud, messy, emotional and really very good. To celebrate its release, the Manchester band break down the whole thing track by track.
By Dork
Tool, Twenty One Pilots and Alanis Morissette top Riot Fest 2026 bill
Pierce the Veil, Morrissey, Iggy Pop and Pixies join the Chicago weekender
By Andrew Wescott
April 2026
All stories
Out of the house and into the red: American Football reintroduce themselves
Nearly three decades on from ‘LP1’, American Football return with their most emotionally direct and sonically ambitious album yet, confronting middle age, regret and reinvention on ‘LP4’.
By Alexander Bradley
Ninush: Starting again, on her own terms
Best known for her time with Black Country, New Road, Nina Lim is now leading her own project as Ninush.
By Steven Loftin
DMA'S are taking control
With a new album on the way, Sydney trio DMA'S are stepping further into the driving seat and seeing where it takes them.
By Sam Taylor
Any Other Questions with… Softcult
These are the hard-hitting facts the music industry needs right now.
By Dork
Nieve Ella isn't shutting up but will 'Drive' in Dork's latest episode of Before Doors
Stopping off at The Lower Third in London during her sold-out run of tiny rooms that saw tickets vanish in about ten minutes, Nieve Ella takes ‘Drive’ for a spin before anyone else got in.
By Dork
The Menzingers have announced their new album ‘Everything I Ever Saw’ with ‘Chance Encounters’
Punk veterans return with Will Yip-produced LP led by single 'Chance Encounters'.
By Felicity Newton
March 2026
All stories
Fcukers said “fuck it” and made an album in two weeks
After a chance Coachella meeting with Kenneth Blume (FKA Kenny Beats), New York duo Fcukers scrapped the overthinking and sprinted toward their debut ‘Ö’. The result is a high-octane collage of 90s house and club chaos; a record born from nightlife revival.
By Abigail Firth
Courtney Barnett lets instinct lead the way on ‘Creature of Habit’
Written in the wake of relocation and reflection, Courtney Barnett’s new album finds her trusting the subconscious - and a well-timed mantis.
By Ciaran Picker
Tigers Jaw confront past, present and future on ‘Lost on You’
Two decades in, Scranton emo mainstays Tigers Jaw are still evolving. Their new album ‘Lost on You’ finds the band reckoning with time, growth and the people they’ve been along the way.
By Rob Mair
Dot To Dot 2026: Lambrini Girls are tearing down the cult of celebrity
As they gear up for Dot To Dot, Lambrini Girls break down their ferocious new single ‘Cult Of Celebrity’ and why celebrity culture should make you incredibly uneasy...
By Felicity Newton
Antony Szmierek offers up his Really Very Good new single, 'The Heron'
Watch the first episode of Dork's new Before Doors sessions, filmed at Future Yard, Birkenhead while on Dork's Round The Houses tour this March.
By Dork
1000 Rabbits have dropped ‘Rubik’s Cube’, their “James Bond song” turned inside out
Their second single arrives via Young ahead of a packed summer touring schedule.
By Felicity Newton
February 2026
All stories
DEADLETTER are for the living
DEADLETTER’s Zac Lawrence has two jobs: gardener by day, frontman by night. On ‘Existence Is Bliss’, the sextet bottle the tension between going through the motions and grabbing life by the collar.
By Ciaran Picker
Grace Inspace: "My emotions are in my hair"
Grace Inspace’s ‘Heavy Hair’ finds the LA-born, London-raised artist unpacking where emotion lives.
By Steven Loftin
Varials are sounding like Varials again: "All gas, no brakes"
After line-up shifts, a necessary break and a record that “didn’t sound like Varials”, the band rebuilt from the ground up. ‘Where the Light Leaves’ is their biggest, boldest statement yet.
By Steven Loftin
Rosie Carney isn't afraid of doomsday
Existential dread, shoegaze noise, Ross MacDonald in the studio and four dogs at home. Rosie Carney's 'Doomsday... Don't Leave Me Here' is the end-of-the-world album that feels like coming home.
By Felicity Newton
Leigh-Anne is betting on herself this time
Inspired by artists like RAYE to go it alone, Leigh-Anne has poured everything into ‘My Ego Told Me To’ – a fearless solo debut built on evolution and hard-won self-belief.
By Ali Shutler
she’s green have released ‘mettle’, turning bleak headlines into resilience
Their tour includes supporting Chapterhouse on their first North American tour in 16 years.
By Felicity Newton
January 2026
All stories
Arcane Roots return with intent (and a bigger line-up)
Arcane Roots are back as a five-piece, armed with new single 'A Wave, Across The Sea' and festival slots at 2000trees and ArcTanGent. From Iceland studios to “beauty and chaos”, Andrew Groves and Daryl Atkins unpack how time away sharpened the band’s ambition.
By Alexander Bradley
Joyce Manor: "A break did us a lot of good"
Joyce Manor worried a break might make people forget them. Instead, it reset the band and set up a run of bigger tours, bigger co-signs and their tightest songs yet.
By Rob Mair
Pem is writing songs in the garden, obviously
Pem is juggling touring, gardening, chatting, and writing a novel, somehow. She also has a new EP, ‘other ways of landing’, and it starts with a tiny oak seedling in a crack in the paving.
By Felicity Newton
Lime Garden are charging into their mid twenties with second album, 'Maybe Not Tonight'
Lime Garden explain how Tuesdays spent writing, crying and screaming became the backbone of their second album.
By Felicity Newton
Latitude’s 2026 bill is packing a bunch of new talent, including Alessi Rose, Keo and more
Here’s a peek at just a few of the future stars on show.
By Dork
Baby Queen is back with her new single 'I Hope You Don't Remember Me'
The new album will be released later this year via Insanity Records.
By Felicity Newton
