Tim Burgess has unveiled the list of artists and guests set to feature at the 2026 London Merch Market. See details below.
- READ MORE: The Charlatans tell us about “euphoric, transcendent” new single ‘We Are Love’ and first album in eight years
Following a successful launch in Manchester, The Charlatans frontman’s merch market allows bands to sell merchandise for free and keep 100 per cent of the income and is set to take place at London’s Troxy on January 11 2026. Entry to the event is free, and you can find tickets here.
While The Troxy forms the main hub for stalls, live interviews, performances and more surprises are set for the event in 2026, other venues participating include The George Tavern – a nearby walk that will host bands and stalls all day – along with The Old Ship and The Clement Attlee, who will host even more stalls, interviews and book events.
Now, it’s been revealed that the day will feature live performances from Tim Burgess, The Cords, Hex Girlfriend, Scarsdale Fats, Stil Life, Lucigenic & The Kitchen Sink Band.
War Child will also have a pair of Golden Tickets available as a prize on the day, which give the winner access to unlimited Troxy shows throughout 2026.
Bands and artists in attendance include Sprints, Gurriers, Blur‘s Dave Rowntree, Sleeper‘s Louise Wener, Dry Cleaning, Honeyglaze, Doves, Public Service Broadcasting‘s J Willgoose and more.
Meanwhile, there will be appearances from Dave Haslam, Rough Trade, Kendal Calling, NME‘s Andrew Trendell, and more. Check out a full line-up below.
Speaking about the line-up, Burgess said: “We’ve been working hard putting an ace line-up together across four brilliant venues – just a short walk between each, so it’s like a Merch Festival. We have on-stage interviews, I’ll be playing live at Troxy, and we have some brilliant bands playing over at The George Tavern.
“As ever, all stalls are free to bands and labels etc, and it’s a brilliant way to support artists – entry is free across the whole day too. When I had a look round Troxy they gave me a guided tour that blew my mind – so for the first time ever, they will be running a couple of those too”
Ahead of this year’s event, Burgess has also launched a vintage souvenir ticket generator, which allows fans to create a physical keepsake of gigs in a time when tickets are largely digital. Burgess got the idea for after surveying over 2,000 fans on X/Twitter who said they would like a ticket as a memento of the band’s upcoming tour.
The first Merch Market in Manchester saw members of New Order, Inspiral Carpets, Everything Everything, Penfriend, Cabbage, and more manning stalls, while Burgess hosted his own stall and delivered a live performance on the day.
News of this year’s edition of the Merch Market follows comments Burgess made in 2021, where he spoke out about venues taking an unfair cut of merch sales. “The whole system needs addressing,” he said at the time.
“This isn’t about The Charlatans. It’s about those bands who need merch income to survive. Some places take 25 per cent. A quarter of the full selling price. Vinyl doesn’t even have that markup to begin with.”
Following a campaign started by the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), who started a directory highlighting venues charging zero commission for selling merchandise, it was confirmed that 400 venues had agreed not to take a cut of artists’ merch proceeds by joining the database. There are still many venues that have not signed up to the scheme.
In further comments to NME in 2022, Burgess reiterated his stance was “about fairness” and not money, adding: “Often at Charlatans gigs, our fans smash the record for the bar take at a venue.
“When I first tweeted about merch commission, Warren Ellis from The Bad Seeds replied [saying] that we could maybe ask the venues for a percentage of the bar take. It’s no more unreasonable than them taxing the merch.”
In other news, The Charlatans recently announced a set of UK dates for Spring 2026 in support of their new album ‘We Are Love’. The Cords – a rising indie pop band from Scotland, comprised of sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi – will be joining them on the trek.
