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Roadburn’s side programme is designed to complement the main musical programming and offer you a glimpse behind the curtain of the workings of some of the wonderful folk that make Roadburn what it is. 

This year we’ll host four “In Conversation” artist talks – one with Cult of Luna, one with commissioned artist Kim Hoorweg, and one with commissioned artist and Triennium Artist in Residence, Lane Shi. The art collective Malleus will be talking about their work which will be on display at the NS16 throughout the festival. We’ll also have a panel discussion on the benefits (and pitfalls!) of going against the grain as artists operating within the music industry, featuring Lev from Krallice, Matt from Portrayal of Guilt, Sam aka Lana Del Rabies and Leo from Street Sects. Andreas Kohl will be prising open the Vinyl Veda Vault once again, to rattle a few crates and dissect the latest advancements in the world of vinyl alongside guests Marika Zorzi (The Flenser), Ruben Planting (Tiny Vinyl, Good Neighbor Music) and Jens Prüter (Nuclear Blast). And, last but not least, Roadburn’s artistic director, Walter, will be fielding your questions on Sunday afternoon –  nothing is off limits!

The experience of discovering an exciting new band only to realise minutes later they already played Roadburn before you knew them is common to most of us. It’s no shame to find out that The Neon Pickle Conspiracy Overload whose new album you’re really enjoying actually played a 45 minute set at the Hall of Fame at 3.45pm on Thursday two years ago when they just had an EP out. To help minimise that very specific pain, here is a little fun guide to what could be the hidden gems of Roadburn 2026, some alternative-to-the-alternative suggestions among the almost hundred performances that will take place:

• Elucid (Next Stage, 16:30)
  Billy Woods’ comrade in Armand Hammer is also visiting Roadburn on his own, showcasing a very unique solo work which arguably occupies an even more abstract and uncompromising space than that of the duo, one that feels perfectly at home within Roadburn’s more exploratory fringes. His music moves in dense, impressionistic layers: fractured beats, uneasy loops, verses that feel almost unearthed. It draws from the most adventurous forms of hip-hop, but pushes things far beyond any comfortable genre categorisation. Elucid is indeed elusive, the kind of artist that ultimately helps expand Roadburn’s reach and inspires us to discover new territories. Come celebrate that with us.

• Fauna (Next Stage, 18:20)
  Our beloved and much missed 2019 curator Tomas Lindberg was one of the main instigators for us to dig a little more into the strange psychedelic underbelly of Gothenburg (we will never forget Uran GBG’s show that year), so we’ve been taking his advice ever since, and Fauna are one of the most fascinating oddities to bubble out of that wonderful factory of weirdness lately. It says on the schedule that their show will physically take place at the Next Stage, but honestly, our minds will be soaring far above it, carried on motorik beats and esoteric vibes.

• Habak (The Engine Room, 17:40)
  There’s an explosion of amazing punk bands in several corners of the underground right now, and obviously Roadburn 2026 reflects that. Habak, from Tijuana, are one of the first to take to the stage, and even a cursory glance at any past video of theirs will show you how their melodic yet furious crust punk goes down in a live setting. Some artists walk off stage holding pieces of your soul, but Habak’s Alejandra Valdez will surely tear chunks of flesh off you with her whirlwind vocal performance alone. If there’s still enough of you left, why not subject yourself to World Peace at the Hall of Fame later to finish the night off?

• All Men Unto Me (performing ‘Requiem’) (Next Stage, 15:00)
  Time to go big, right at the beginning of Roadburn Friday. The central figure of All Men Unto Me, Rylan Gleave, is no stranger to Roadburn, having performed with Ashenspire in 2023, but this is a very different world he will be creating for us this time, performing the entirety of ‘Requiem’, an intriguing and quietly revolutionary highlight of 2025. A theatrical opus situated at the intersection of metal ferocity, industrial weight, and the evocative nature of ambient, choral, and devotional music, it’s at the same time a profoundly personal piece about Rylan’s own transitional journey, but also a mordant look at the patriarchy that will resonate with many.

• Milkweed / Haress (Hall of Fame, 15:50 / 17:40)
  Of course, the intimacy of the Hall of Fame makes it the ideal spot for a lot of these hidden gems, so you can proceed your exploration of the less beaten path with the first acts playing there on Friday. It’s generally not cool to group bands together, but Milkweed and Haress are not just playing back to back, they’re also somewhat connected in the ways they take pastoral English folk and twist it into something quite otherworldly. A more out-there, mindbending approach for Milkweed, and a more psych, hypnotic vibe for Haress, and when taken consecutively, surely a complete consciousness-expanding experience.

• Backengrillen (Next Stage, 20:30)
  We haven’t seen huge riots and thousands of comments on the Roadburn pages after Backengrillen were announced, so allow us to make this clear in big letters for those who haven’t paid proper attention yet: IT’S DENNIS AND MAGNUS AND DAVID FROM REFUSED! WITH MATS GUSTAFSSON PLAYING SAXOPHONE! What else does anyone need, right? Maybe their own description of the racket they play? “The basic idea is to take a death/doom metal, or noise rock riff and play it until it loses meaning and then break it apart.” So yeah, see you down the front.

• 137 (Paradox, 21:15)
  Bands named after numbers, they’re always a little mystery, aren’t they? If you don’t know the exact meaning (it’s a physics thing, in this case), it’s hard to imagine what they sound like. On top of it, 137 are part of the Paradox lineup, which is typically a whole hidden gem unto itself. But if you make your way to the cosy club to watch these fine gentlemen (who have played with people like Portishead or Patti Smith, mind you) you’ll enter a brain-frying noise-jazz jam that will have your mind strangely oscillating somewhere around Jupiter’s many moons.

• Bound By Endogamy (Next Stage, 23:40)
  The Next Stage will turn into a wild party on Friday night, and Bound By Endogamy are the perfect gateway from daytime Roadburner to night crawler, pun intended. Based as much on sharp beats and rhythms as on industrial power and a very punk kind of harshness, the Swiss duo are equally at home operating for a sweaty dancefloor or a boozy moshpit, and we suspect this particular set they have prepared for us will feature all the best characteristics of both scenarios. Join us there to find out!

• Aho Ssan & Asia (Next Stage, 15:00)
  Kicking off the Next Stage on Saturday is one of the collaborations we are most looking forward to. It does make sense that Aho Ssan – aka, French electronic musician Niamké Désiré – comes to Roadburn with company. It is precisely that collaborative nature that made us aware of his dense and finely sculpted electronic sounds in the first place, having previously worked with clipping. or Moor Mother for instance. ASIA is far more than just “company”, however – a lauded violinist, the precision and physicality of her instrument will complement Aho Ssan’s digital textures in unpredictable ways. It’s easy to imagine this as a set where the boundaries dissolve entirely – less of a performance to follow, and more like an experience to step inside and feel it as it unfolds.

• Róis (Next Stage, 16:40)
  Considering the recognition this Irish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has been getting (she won Best Original Folk Track and Best Emerging Artist at the prestigious RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards last year), this might be the very last time we get to speak of her as a “hidden gem”. Her ghostly songs and her keening (a traditional vocal lament for the dead) style of singing are absolutely haunting and we suspect lives will be changed by the end of this show.

• These New Puritans (Main Stage, 17:20)
  Featuring a Main Stage act here might feel counterintuitive, but These New Puritans have always existed slightly out of step. Even by Roadburn’s famously open-minded standards, they remain something of an oddity, an act that seems to have slipped under the radar for many. Difficult to pin down stylistically, their music carries a shadowy elegance, drifting between genres and influences: the art-pop grandeur of David Bowie, the nocturnal textures of Miles Davis, the industrial edge of Einstürzende Neubauten, the introspective depth of Talk Talk, and the cinematic atmospheres of Massive Attack and Sigur Rós – yet they always emerge sounding unmistakably like themselves. All the ingredients are there for something quietly spectacular to unfold on Saturday afternoon.

• Traidora / Ameretat (Hall of Fame, 16:10 / 19:40)
  Again with the pairings, but it makes sense again. Technically back to back on the Hall of Fame Saturday afternoon (though, no spoilers, but a three-hour gap in the schedule might mean something is up during that period, right?), Traidora and Ameretat are substantially different, but they are also two of the most exciting new punk bands to appear in the last couple of years. Both with staggering debut albums put out on the wonderful La Vida Es Un Mus label in 2025, Traidora are a raging transfeminist raw punk band singing about gender, morality, borders and the Mapuche people, while Ameretat channel traditional Iranian influences, mixing them with crusty hardcore punk to traverse war, power, love, despair, kindness, and shared humanity. Both offer different sides of the accurate picture of what it means to resist and to revolt against the many forms of oppression in our modern world.

• Truck Violence (The Engine Room, 23:55)
  If you only know the name, whatever you think Truck Violence sound like is probably way off. A folky, surprisingly sensitive mix of noise rock and hardcore with some country thrown in for good measure, they will disorient, excite and inspire in equal measure anyone with the strength to still make it to the Koepelhal around midnight after three full days.

• Tomo Katsurada & Jonny Nash (Hall of Fame, 16:20)
  Sunday is typically the chillest day, with less bands and a more laidback “if I make it, I make it” sort of approach to catching shows. Nothing more appropriate, then, than the former Kikagaku Moyo lead singer and the gentleman who founded the Melody Is Truth label dreamily jamming it out, lifting your spirits as if the last remnants of the 2018 San Diego takeover are still echoing around in the building.

• Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat (The Engine Room, 18:10)
  Even if there was no music available, we’re sure some would show up out of curiosity for the band name alone. Fortunately, despite a recent hiatus, Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat have plenty of past releases to show for themselves, and to be honest, a lot of their unsettling sombre take on folk is even creepier and more uncomfortable than their, ahem, unique name. With Stef Heeren (also of Use Knife, who tore the Next Stage down two years ago) at the helm, you can expect an immersive and memorable ritual to take place at Roadburn, even if without any literal feline backsides involved. Hopefully.

• Sanam (Next Stage, 18:40)
  Not that Roadburn has explicit headliners as such, but in a just world, Sanam would be one of the most captivating and talked about names. The Beirut-based collective carve out a sound that feels both immediate and disorienting, threading together free improvisation, noise, Egyptian traditional songs, Arabic poetry, and the raw energy of underground rock, all anchored in Sandy Chamoun’s heart-wrenching voice. This will be one of those sets that we know will catch people off guard – the kind you stumble into out of curiosity but leave thinking about long after the weekend is over.

• Orcutt Shelley Miller (Next Stage, 20:20)
  We suspect that if the band name had been Harry Pussy Sonic Youth Howlin Rain Comets On Fire, more people would be making a fuss about the trio’s appearance at Roadburn 2026. Those bands are, after all, the main reason why we are excited that guitarist Bill Orcutt, drummer Steve Shelley and bassist Ethen Miller got together to make music. Still, it would be reductive – what comes out of Orcutt Shelley Miller, the three-headed beast, is far, far more than a mere amalgamation of their past glories – as fearlessly experimental and innovative as they have been before, so they continue to be now, and the colossally psychedelic alternative world they create together will be a perfect escapism for the Roadburn day that needs it the most. Come climb this hazy mountain with us!

• Kollaps (Hall of Fame, 21:40)
  On Sunday, at the tail end of Roadburn, with reality’s ugly mug fast approaching once more, the tendency to drift towards sonic violence might strike you. If it does, come along to Kollaps. Becky used the expression “cathartic purge” on her wonderful text about the band on the Roadburn site, and we really couldn’t describe the mechanical, industrial, apocalyptic harshness these Australians – via Iceland – get up to in a better way. A perfect soundtrack for a Sunday evening, the time when we begin to realise the next Roadburn is an entire year away.

For several years now, Roadburn has collaborated with the music education institute Metal Factory. The goal is to provide a stage for the burgeoning talents of the students, to enhance their classroom-based learning with an opportunity to present their work in front of a curious, open-minded audience at Roadburn, developing real-world skills as they do so.

This year’s students will perform under the name Tria Nema, with a powerful vocal trio as the focus of the musical endeavour. Citing exploration of challenging emotional circumstances as the catalyst for their collaboration, they detail the hardships of being a woman in modern society through an extensive emotional spectrum as they move towards healing, health, and happiness.

Leaning towards a singer-songwriter approach to composition, the students are inspired by the work of Marissa Nadler, Anna Von Hausswolff and Emma Ruth Rundle. The trio of female voices are backed by a three piece band who provide a foundation upon which their harmonies soar. Tria Nema aims to embody the inherent value of femininity as they aspire to create a powerful resonance with the Roadburn audience.

Roadburn’s artistic director Walter Hoeijmakers comments: “I’m overwhelmed by this year’s education project. It’s not riff-heavy, instead it is centred around three beautiful voices that take our collaboration with Metal Factory in a whole different direction. The human voice, I think, is the most powerful instrument that there is, and having seen Tria Nema perform already, I am confident that the sheer intensity will captivate everyone who watches their show at Roadburn.”

Tria Nema is:
Nina Grimm – vocals
Nina Boele – vocals
Indy Guns – vocals
Merlijn van Minderhout – guitar
Jay de Bruijn – bass
Roel van Ellinckhuijzen – drums

Our third and final commissioned project for Roadburn 2026 features some homegrown Dutch talent, spearheaded by Kim Hoorweg. Kim first performed at Roadburn in 2023 with their band VULVA, a project that spawned the Rotterdam-based Vulvaverse festival – an event designed specifically with community and communication at its heart. Kim is an artist with classical training, a social conscience and a singular vision for their work. They will present their commissioned project, titled I Hope This Hurts, with their band Teardrinker – a post-metal ensemble who made their Roadburn debut last year with a secret show at the skatepark.

Kim comments:

“This commissioned piece is meant to hurt, scratch and itch, and it is meant to be uncomfortable, mirroring the horrors of living in a persecuted body under patriarchal, colonialist, white supremacist and capitalist rule. Simultaneously it is meant to connect and radiate compassion, healing and a manifesto for choosing kindness collectively, by remembering on whose shoulders we proudly stand. I can’t emphasize enough how eternally grateful I am to have been given the space and platform to share our music and my story. Thank you, Walter and Becky, for your trust in me.

I hope this hurts.”

Cult of Luna will return to Roadburn for two career defining sets at Roadburn 2026. On Thursday, 16 April they will perform an ‘early era’ set, and on Friday, 17 April they will perform a ‘late era’ set.

Cult of Luna’s Johannes Persson says:
“For as long as I can remember, Roadburn has stood like a monolith in the vast and often undefined musical universe we belong to. The first time we were invited to play, it truly felt like an honor, a quality stamp we could wear with pride. When we were asked to return this year, the offer came with a twist: two sets over two nights. If that’s what it takes to play Roadburn again, we’re in.

“One set will dive into material from our first five albums. As I write this I have no idea of what songs we’ll play, but I do know I’ll need to dust off riffs I haven’t played in over twenty years. The second set will focus on newer material, and perhaps even something brand new. I’m looking forward to standing outside those massive doors to the main stage once again, hearing the intro roll, and feeling that familiar Roadburn anticipation.”

Read more from Johannes, and more about Cult of Luna and the full Roadburn line up at Roadburn.com
Tickets are on sale now.

Roadburn has added more names to its 2026 festival line up, including a commissioned project from OTAY: ONII, a duo of special performances from Boris, and a festival debut from Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs/These New Puritans. In recent weeks a special set from Ufomammut and a collaboration between Wiegedood and The Blindman Collective were also announced. Roadburn 2026 will take place between April 16-19 in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Roadburn’s Artistic Director, Walter Hoeijmakers comments:

“With this announcement, the picture of Roadburn 2026 comes sharply into focus: a near-complete map of artists, ideas, and energies that will define this year’s edition. You can see how the pieces connect; how our past, present, and future come together, capturing both the heartbeat of today’s underground and the quickening pulse of what’s still forming. A reminder, once again, that this world we share remains a fertile breeding ground for everything we hold dear: artistry, resistance, honesty, heart, and imagination.

“As the date draws closer, the energy intensifies. In April, we’ll gather in Tilburg to turn discovery into the shared experience we return for year after year – loud, intimate, challenging, and joyful. See you soon!”

The final piece of the visual art – a triptych by Douwe Dijkstra – was also unveiled this week.

Tickets are on sale now and more information including the full line up can be found at roadburn.com

Additions to Roadburn 2026:

• Aho Ssan & Asia
• Ameretat
• Bad Breeding
• Blawan (Live)
• Boris performing PINK Days and flood
• Bound by Endogamy
• Chained To The Bottom Of The Ocean
• Dan Meyer
• Dead Neanderthals
• EYES
• Industry
• Iskandr
• Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter
• Kollaps
• Nothing presents a short history of decay & other stories
• Commissioned: OTAY: ONII presents Moonstruck Old Tales
• Parrish Smith
• Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs performing Death Hilarious
• Rich(ard) Dawson
• Scattered Purgatory
• Street Sects
• Street Sex
• These New Puritans
• Traidora
• Ufomamut: Aion – The Eternal Coil
• Wiegedood x Bl!ndman

As the underground continues to shift and evolve, this latest announcement pushes the Roadburn 2026 vision even further. Each new addition widens the scope of what this year’s edition can become – sharpening its spirit, deepening its identity, and reflecting the full, ever-expanding blueprint of heaviness today.

We are celebrating artists who challenge themselves, who embrace change, and who boldly carry the underground forward. In doing so, we remain grounded in what drives us: curiosity, connection, and the belief that music can help us navigate whatever lies ahead.

With every step, the picture grows clearer. With every artist, the excitement builds. And with everyone who joins us, Roadburn 2026 moves closer to becoming exactly what it’s meant to be.

Additions to Roadburn 2026:

• Acid Mothers Temple as Artists in Residence
• All Men Unto Me performing Requiem
• Bitchin Bajas
• Bosse-de-Nage
• Dälek
• ECHT!
• ELUCID
• Fauna (GBG)
• Lili Refrain
• Lathe of Heaven
• Moloch
• NGHTCRWLR
• Planning For Burial performing a regular set and a drone set
• Portrayal of Guilt
• Sanam
• Siem Reap
• Sir Richard Bishop
• Yellow Eyes