Elbow’s Guy Garvey, Weyes Blood, Gruff Rhys and more are set to perform at the 2026 BBC Proms later this summer. Check out the full details below.
This year’s edition of the BBC music series will run from Friday July 17 until Saturday September 12, and is mixing things up this year by bringing artists from rock, indie and alternative genres into the orchestral spotlight.
The opening weekend for the 2026 instalment will see the first ever Prog Rock Prom, and will be led by drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Peter Hammill, founding member and original singer of Van der Graaf Generator.
Taking place on July 18, Palmer and Hammill will be joined by Elbow frontman Guy Garvey, who is performing at the event for the first time, as well as Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys and singer-songwriter Jane Weaver.
There will also be symphonic tributes to ELP, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Mike Oldfield, Renaissance and more, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the event is conducted by Robert Ames and presented by BBC Radio 6 Music’s Stuart Maconie.
Other shows at the 2026 Proms include Weyes Blood presenting an intimate late-night Prom on September 8, putting a symphonic spin on her wistful, transcendent folk-pop. That show will also see her join forces with Jules Buckley and his orchestra, whose previous Proms collaborations include Florence + The Machine and St. Vincent.
The 2026 Proms will be held across the country, and Tyneside sisters and folk pioneers The Unthanks headline the first ever Middlesbrough Prom on July 23. They will be joined by English Teacher, Villagers’ Conor O’Brien, Jodie Nicholson, and Radiohead drummer Philip Selway.
That set at Middlesbrough Town Hall will also feature “songs shaped by the North of England”, each of which will be reimagined with cinematic arrangements performed by the Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Nadine Shah will collaborate with the Royal Northern Sinfonia in Gateshead on July 24, and the night before (July 23) will see corto.alto, Maddie Ashman and ATFK perform at the town’s Glasshouse International Centre for Music as part of BBC Introducing Proms.
In Bristol, Radio 2 presenter Jamie Cullum hosts ’Round Midnight: a live edition of Radio 3’s acclaimed late‑night jazz show on August 8. The concert will feature a tribute to John Coltrane’s music with Cassie Kinoshi and seed, and Waldo’s Gift.
“The Proms is a celebration of the orchestra – and it’s a celebration for everyone,” said Hannah Donat, Director of Artistic Planning for BBC Proms. “ We want audiences to experience the orchestra’s power, versatility and relevance to all kinds of music. That’s why you’ll find an evening of Prog Rock, a tribute to the great Miles Davis, and collaborations with wonderful artists such as Weyes Blood and Nadine Shah, alongside music by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms.
“We explore with a spirit of curiosity, presenting a wide-ranging, eclectic line-up, with each concert shining a light that reflects off the others. We’d love you to join us this summer to discover something unexpected and unforgettable.”
Other Proms this year include Horrible Science: The Big Bang Experiment (July 25), Under African Skies: The Songs of Graceland (August 5), Marvin Gaye: Prince of Soul (August 14), Miles Davis Centenary (August 20), Bond and Beyond (August 25), Ultimate Calm (August 27 ), Altın Gün (August 28) and Enchanted: Alan Menken’s Music for Disney (August 31).
Every Prom will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds, with Proms programmes televised on BBC TV and iPlayer. Tickets are currently unavailable, although up to 1,000 tickets will be released for every single show, priced at £8 and available at 9.30am the day before the concert. Visit here for more information.
The ‘Bond and Beyond’ show was announced earlier this year, and is set to see conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra in a “musical homage” to the music of the James Bond films – performing hits from films such as Skyfall, The Spy Who Loved Me, and more.
Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed will host the event, held on August 25 at the Royal Albert Hall. The performance will also be broadcast on BBC TV and iPlayer.
As for Guy Garvey, the Elbow singer spoke to NME last month at the 2026 Ivor Novellos, and revealed that the band have a new record on the way.
The new music will be the follow-up to their 2024 album ‘Audio Vertigo’ and the 2025 EP ‘Audio Vertigo Echo elbow EP 5’.
“We’re writing another album, which will be our 11th. We’re just about to get together and make that happen,” he said. “It’s too early at the moment [to say how it might sound], but it’s all sonically ambitious.”
