Victorious Festival has shared the first names for the 2026 edition, with Richard Ashcroft, The Black Keys and Kasabian leading the line-up.
The event, which is the UK’s biggest metropolitan festival, is set to return to Portsmouth next summer for the 2026 instalment, and will run between August 28 and 30.
Today (Thursday November 27), the first wave of artists are shared, with Richard Ashcroft set to headline the main stage on the Friday (28). The slot comes following the soloist and former Verve frontman opening for Oasis on their huge ‘Live ‘25’ reunion tour dates, and dropping his new solo record ‘Lovin’ You’.
He is joined at the top of the bill by The Black Keys, who are heading to the site to headline Saturday night (29). With the announcement, Victorious is their first confirmed UK festival show of 2026, and the slot will come in celebration of their new album ‘No Rain, No Flowers’.
Closing out the festival in 2026 will be rock titans Kasabian, who are back to headline on Sunday (30), and will be playing at the festival for the first time since they headlined in 2023. As well as breaking out classics like ‘Club Foot’ and ‘’Fire’, they are also expected to be playing material from their upcoming ‘ACT III’ album, which will be released in the spring.
Others on the bill for next year’s festival include NYC pop group Scissor Sisters, funk and dance legends Nile Rodgers & CHIC, indie legends Primal Scream, dance music icons Faithless, and Basement Jaxx – with the latter performing on on Sunday evening with a full live band for the first time after a decade hiatus.
The Streets are set to take to the stage to perform their chart topping album ‘A Grand Don’t Come for Free’ in its entirety, Bastille will perform having just dropped their first new music in three years, and The Vaccines will be there in celebration of the 15th anniversary of their debut album ‘What did you expect from the Vaccines?’
More new artists confirmed today include Rudimental, Dizzee Rascal, Sigrid, Jessie J, James Arthur, Vengaboys, Jalen Ngonda, and Kelis, as well as The Coral, Hard-Fi, Happy Mondays, Lottery Winners, Pixie Lott, Doves, Kate Nash, The Royston Club, Cast – who also opened for Oasis alongside Ashcroft – and more.
“We are so proud of the lineup we’ve curated for 2026! From rock royalty that will have the crowd bouncing to disco, funk and dance that will have the whole family singing along and up dancing, the bill really does span every genre and promises something unforgettable for every member of our audience,” said Andy Marsh, Lead Booker at Victorious.
“Every year, our incredibly passionate team works tirelessly to create a unique weekend on the seafront and it’s great to see friends and family come together and make lasting memories in Southsea. We can’t wait to welcome you all again next year, it’s going to be one to remember.”
Tickets are on sale now and available here.
The 2025 edition of the festival saw headline performances from Kings Of Leon, Queens Of The Stone Age, and Vampire Weekend. Others on the bill included Michael Kiwanuka, Madness, The Charlatans, Rizzle Kicks, Shed Seven, Daniel Bedingfield, Reverend and The Makers, The Zutons, Caity Baser, The Mary Wallopers, Wunderhorse, The K’s, Scouting For Girls, Bradley Simpson, The Waeve and more.
It also raised controversy when Irish band The Mary Wallopers had their sound cut by Victorious organisers and the Palestinian flag they had on stage taken away, when they were midway through the opening song of their set.
The move was widely criticised by both the band themselves and many of the other artists on the bill – several of whom, including The Last Dinner Party, The Academic, Cliffords and Esme Emerson, decided to boycott the festival as a result. Later on in the weekend, Vampire Weekend used their headline set at Victorious to say it is “wrong” for a festival to punish an artist for flying a flag.
Victorious then posted a statement in which they apologised “to all concerned”, adding: “We accept that, although mics remained live for longer, sound for The Mary Wallopers’ audience was cut as described in the band’s video and that comments after that were not audible to the public. We are sorry that this situation has come about and will be making a substantial donation to humanitarian relief efforts for the Palestinian people.”
