Bearded Theory 2026 Reveals Day Splits As Garbage, Pixies, Skunk Anansie And Lambrini Girls Headline
Bearded Theory has revealed the day splits for its 2026 edition, with Garbage, Pixies, Skunk Anansie and Lambrini Girls set to top the bill across a packed weekend at Catton Park, Derbyshire.
Taking place from 20-24 May 2026, the much-loved independent festival returns to its scenic home for another round of grassroots celebration, alternative music, family-friendly escapism and late-night revelry. Positioned between the West Midlands, South Derbyshire and Staffordshire, the festival continues to punch well above its weight, offering a compact but sprawling-feeling world of stages, woodland hideaways and communal festival magic.
Four Days Of Heavyweight Headliners
The newly announced day splits confirm Lambrini Girls will headline the Pallet stage on Thursday, bringing their ferocious live energy to the festival’s opening night. Skunk Anansie take over on Friday, Pixies headline Saturday, and Garbage will close the weekend on Sunday.
They will be joined across the festival by a broad and characteristically eclectic cast, including The Damned, CMAT, Everything Everything, The Horrors, Fat Dog, Ferocious Dog, Reverend & The Makers, Peter Hook & The Light, Kae Tempest, Kate Nash, The Twilight Sad, Swim School, Kid Kapichi, Sir Chloe, Opus Kink, Basht., Bad Nerves, Badly Drawn Boy, Idlewild, NewDad, Goldie and Beans On Toast.
It is a line-up built in true Bearded Theory fashion: part legendary alternative gathering, part new-music discovery trail, part joyful bank holiday blowout.
Beyond The Grave And Into The Woods
Sunday will begin on the Pallet stage with the festival’s annual fancy dress competition, with this year’s theme announced as “Beyond the Grave”. Festivalgoers are being encouraged to lean into the macabre, the theatrical and the gloriously ghoulish, with winners receiving tickets for next year’s event.
Beyond the main stages, Bearded Theory’s site will once again be home to eight distinct stages and areas. The Pallet and Meadow stages will host the weekend’s biggest performances, while the Woodland stage offers a more intimate escape among the trees, complete with unplugged sessions, singalongs and a silent disco beneath the canopy.
Big Ed and CODA return for those looking to dance into the early hours, while The Knockerdown comes back as an arts and Q&A space by day and karaoke hotspot by night. Convoy Cabaret, Maui Waui and Something Else Tea Tent will round out the weekend with a mix of underground sounds, leftfield performance and offbeat festival charm.
A Festival Built For Families
The Festival School also returns to the award-winning Children’s Area, following praise from The Guardian, which called it “probably the most inclusive school in the country.”
Offering free places and a full curriculum, the school blends traditional lessons with mindfulness, music and DJ workshops. For 2026, Bearded Theory will also introduce a pre-school provision for 100 children aged 0-4, alongside its standard school for 200 children from Reception to Year 10.
It remains one of the clearest signs of Bearded Theory’s wider identity: a festival where big names, grassroots values and family-focused care sit comfortably side by side.
Event Details
20-24 May 2026 – Catton Park, Derbyshire, UK
DAY SPLITS HERE
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
