Blossoms have joined the line-up for Leeds Festival 2026. Find all the details below.
- Read More: Blossoms interview: “The last thing we want to do is mimic what we’ve done before”
The Stockport band will appear as special guests at the northern leg of this year’s Reading & Leeds on Friday August 28. It follows their recent return with a new single, ‘Joke About Divorce’.
Tom Ogden and co. last performed at R&L in 2021, and confirmed that they’d be coming back to Leeds Fest this summer in a post on social media.
“Super excited to announce we’ll be special guests for @officialrandl at Leeds this August, Friday 28th 🔥,” they wrote. “Can’t wait for this one. See you there.”
The dual festival’s organisers shared the news, too, declaring it a “Blossoms summer” up in Leeds to see in the next Bank Holiday Weekend. Check out the announcements here:
Blossoms’ slot is due to take place on the same day that both Florence + The Machine and Chase & Status headline Leeds’ main stage. The other bill-toppers over the weekend at both sites are Charli XCX, Fontaines D.C., Dave and Raye.
Some of the acts lower down the R&L ’26 line-up will only appear at either Reading or Leeds this year. Kasabian are scheduled to open the main stage at the latter on Thursday evening (August 27).
Other artists on the line-up include Skepta, Sombr, Role Model, JADE, Kneecap, Geese, Skye Newman, ADÉLA and Keo.
In March, R&L announced another wave of names featuring Violet Grohl, Holly Humberstone, Gurriers, Westside Cowboy, Declan McKenna, Maisie Peters, Paris Paloma, Cruz Beckham, The Lathums (Leeds only), Viagra Boys (Reading only), Florence Road, Men I Trust (Reading only), The K’s (Leeds only), Gunna (Reading only), Overpass, James Marriott, Kingfishr, Hybrid Minds and Duke Dumont.
Speaking to NME at Reading 2025, R&L boss Melvin Benn revealed that there were already significant plans in the works for 2026, saying he was “really confident about the artists” he’d lined up.
“I feel like we’re in a stronger position than I can remember for an awfully long time,” he told us. “I can’t remember when I’ve ever had two of the three nights booked by this stage. We’ve had one booked by this stage, but I can’t remember ever having two of the three.”
Last weekend saw Blossoms perform at Neighbourhood Weekender in Warrington. In July, they’ll take to the stage at Tramlines Festival in Sheffield.
‘Joke About Divorce’ marks the first taste of new music from Blossoms since the 2025 deluxe edition of their fifth album, 2024’s ‘Gary’. More fresh material is set to arrive later this year.
The group finished a European headline tour earlier this year. Speaking to NME in 2024, frontman Ogden said Blossoms had “really taken the live show to another level” in the ‘Gary’ era.
“It does feel like we’ve really stepped it up again,” he explained. “That’s important because I don’t want to drift off into the abyss like so many other bands do. This album is helping us stand out from the crowd a little bit.”
In other news, Blossoms make a cameo appearance in the new Manchester-based rom-com Finding Emily.
