Mutations Festival brings Fat Dog, Mike D 5D, Squid and Dove Ellis to Brighton in 2026
Mutations Festival has revealed the first wave of acts for its 2026 edition, with Fat Dog and Mike D 5D set to headline the Brighton multi-venue event on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October respectively.
The festival will once again spread across 10 grassroots spaces in the city, including Chalk, Patterns, Revenge, The Hope & Ruin, Green Door Store, Dust, The Prince Albert, Folklore Rooms, Alphabet and Daltons. More than 30 further acts are expected to be announced in early September.
Fat Dog top the Friday bill following the release of their second album, Cancel Me (I’m Tired), due in October via Domino. The seven-piece will be joined by returning Mutations favourites Squid, alongside Working Men’s Club, Bdrmm, Lip Critic, Basht. and Insecure Men.
Saturday’s headliner Mike D 5D sees Beastie Boys member Mike Diamond perform with Skyler and Davis Diamond, Eddie Ruscha, Will Graefe and Milo Ruscha. The appearance follows the 28 August release of his debut solo album, Thank You, via Capitol Records, and marks the first Brighton performance by a Beastie Boys member since the group’s 1987 Brighton Centre show with Run-DMC.
A two-day bill across Brighton’s independent venues
Saturday’s programme is headed by Mercury Music Prize nominee Dove Ellis, with Alex Cameron, Panic Shack, UNKLE Sounds, Murkage Dave, Warhaus, Walt Disco and The Wave Pictures also on the bill.
Day and weekend tickets start from £39.50, with reduced under-25 tickets and instalment plans available.
Tickets are on sale from Mutations Festival from 10am on Friday 7 August.
Mutations Festival 2026 first-wave line-up
The currently announced artists are split across the festival’s two days as follows.
Friday 23 October
- Fat Dog
- Squid
- Basht.
- Bdrmm
- Bed
- Insecure Men
- Lauren Auder
- Lip Critic
- Scaler
- The Besnard Lakes
- Theatre
- Working Men’s Club
- Cowboy Hunters
- Cyn Cwsg
- Death Valley Girls
- Divebar Youth
- Holybones
- Hutch
- Marsy
- Max Winter
- Modern Woman
- Morn
- Mouth Ulcers
- Paper Hats
- Tanzana
- The Itch
- Uche Yara
- Why Horses?
- World News
Saturday 24 October
- Mike D 5D
- Dove Ellis
- Alex Cameron
- Murkage Dave
- Panic Shack
- The North
- The Wave Pictures
- TtssfU
- UNKLE Sounds
- Walt Disco
- Warhaus
- Ain’t
- Alien Chicks
- Deary
- Casual Smart
- Hannah Frances
- Iguana Death Cult
- Little Grandad
- Liz Lawrence
- ME REX
- Plantoid
- Pulled Apart By Horses
- Silver Gore
- Alice Costelloe
- Any Young Mechanic
- Ben Kidson
- Benchwarmer
- Big Long Sun
- Big Red
- Esmeralda Road
- Evelyn Gray
- Everyone Says Hi
- Foot Foot
- Georgia Mooney
- Florentenes
- Hammok
- Healing Power Of Horses
- Kelly No Brakes
- Mleko
- Painkiller
- Really Good Time
- Speedial
- Sunday Mourners
- Tasha
Read our review of Mutations Festival 2026 in Brighton
More Mutations Festival on Punkinfocus: Mutations Festival completes 2026 line-up with 23 new acts (October 2026) · Mutations Festival heads back to Brighton for its third edition (August 2021)
More Mutations Festival on Punkinfocus: Mutations Festival 2027 · Fat Dog and Mike D 5D to headline Mutations Festival 2026 (July 2026) · Live review: Two Days of Chaos and Catharsis at Mutations 2025 (November 2025) · Mutations Festival Returns with Explosive 2025 Line-Up Across Brighton (August 2025)
