The Maccabees are set for a seafront homecoming this summer, with On The Beach in association with Radio X unveiling the full line-up for Saturday 25 July 2026 in Brighton. Joining them on the bill will be Editors, Miles Kane, Anna Calvi, Ash, Badly Drawn Boy and Lime Garden.
With more than 70% of tickets already gone, organisers have confirmed a final ticket release via a priority pre-sale for registered customers on Tuesday 31 March at 11am. In a series that is already nearly gone, it underlines just how in-demand Brighton’s marquee beachfront weekender has become.
A Brighton return with real emotional pull
For The Maccabees, this is more than another headline slot. After returning to the stage in 2025 with major sets at All Points East and Glastonbury’s Park Stage, the band are heading back to a city that helped shape their early years. Landing on On The Beach’s seafront stage gives the show an added sense of history, nostalgia and release.
It is the kind of booking that feels tailor-made for Brighton: a beloved British indie band with deep ties to the city, stepping into a huge open-air headline set on the shoreline.
A bill built from indie lifers and local energy
The supporting line-up stretches across several generations of British alternative music. Editors bring the kind of catalogue that has long balanced atmosphere with reinvention, while Miles Kane arrives off the back of his recent album Sunlight In The Shadows. Anna Calvi adds one of the most singular live shows around, Ash bring decades of sharp, melodic firepower, and Badly Drawn Boy’s appearance gives the day an extra sense of occasion.
Then there is Lime Garden, representing Brighton’s newer wave and giving the bill a strong local thread beneath the bigger names. Altogether, it reads like a festival programme that knows exactly what its audience wants: substance, songs and a little romance in the sea air.
One of the last chances to catch On The Beach this summer
This year’s On The Beach series is already almost fully spoken for. Five of the seven shows have sold out, with the other announced dates featuring Fatboy Slim from 17–19 July, Madness on 24 July, and Moby on 26 July already gone.
On The Beach 2026 dates
- 17–19 July – Fatboy Slim SOLD OUT
- 24 July – Madness SOLD OUT
- 25 July – The Maccabees with Editors, Miles Kane, Anna Calvi, Ash, Badly Drawn Boy and Lime Garden
- 26 July – Moby SOLD OUT
SIGN UP FOR PRE SALE TICKETS HERE: WWW.ONTHEBEACH.LIVE
That leaves The Maccabees’ date as one of the final remaining chances to catch the event on Brighton beach this year, and arguably its most emotionally charged booking.
Radio X backs a must-see weekend
Radio X is once again attached to the event, with Managing Editor Matt Deverson describing the band’s return as one of the year’s standout comeback moments. It is easy to see why. The Maccabees have always inspired a particular kind of devotion, and putting them at the centre of a broad, high-quality indie line-up gives this Brighton show the feel of a genuine summer landmark rather than just another festival date.
Now in its sixth year, On The Beach has become a dependable fixture of Brighton’s summer calendar, with previous editions hosting everyone from Fatboy Slim and Bicep to Royal Blood, Bloc Party and The Libertines. The formula remains simple and effective: big names, strong curation and the pull of the seafront.
