Outbreak 2026: Ones To Watch

“Make sure you kiss your knuckles before you punch me in the face.”

Welcome to our ‘Ones To Watch’ piece for Outbreak Festival’s illustrious fifteenth year. We balance our choices for these pieces around various factors. We’ll always pick a mix of genres so that we truly represent the event. True to our mission (and often our taste), we mostly recommend artists low on the bill – if you need someone to tell you to watch Converge, you probably aren’t our target audience. However, we always pick some relatively heavy hitters, too. Part of the objective is to give readers a nudge that helps decide how to handle clash decisions, but it’s also simply important to us to ring in each festival with our habitual, formal list of the coolest cats. 

We also make sure to select our choices across a festival’s various days, and this year’s Outbreak was a challenge for that – Friday is just too damn good. Embracing indie and emo entirely, the event will run fewer stages for a focused audience. The Front Bottoms is a very left-of-field choice with their folk punk, though they are not so different in attitude from Joyce Manor, who are an Outbreak mainstay. Midwest emo is represented through Free Throw and Algernon Cadwallader, and indie through Pool Kids and Tigers Jaw. Balance & Composure round out the currently announced bands, landing in the middle of all of these sounds with their alternative sound. We expect to be watching every single band on Friday, thus we don’t single out any here.

Friday is so good that it’s got all the comments sections asking, “where’s the hardcore?”. The event has undoubtedly embraced a broader remit for its fifteenth anniversary, and its runners keep their motivation close to their chest, but there’s still plenty of fight music at this year’s Outbreak. Hatebreed are finally at the main event, and Trapped Under Ice, Trash Talk and Converge are also exciting. Criticism is usually levelled specifically at the lack of UKHC, with only Dynamite and Still In Love representing the ‘little league’. In our camp we’re very happy with the variety that Outbreak offers (perhaps that’s the mosh retirement talking), but rest assured, we’ve also been punching the air when the likes of Long Goodbye and Killing Me Softly have been on previous posters. No doubts there will be plenty of opportunity to debate beatdown vs. winey emo at the event, so let’s put that aside and dig into our recommendations for 2026. 

The Armed

The Armed are here to strain the definition of post hardcore. Their discography defies any simple definition as they’ve explored cybergrind, noise pop, sasscore, mathcore and even straight up danceable styles. They are absolutely riding a high with their latest record, The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed, with its uncharacteristically catchy songs and amazing dual vocals. The Armed were fated to be booked for Outbreak some day, known for their live noise-scapes and frenetic, interactive performances. Furthermore, they’re known for aligning with the politics of DIY spaces, having opened for Bernie Sanders at a rally – another reason to get down and get angry. – Dobbin T

I Promised The World

There’s plenty of nostalgia for the early 2000’s nowadays, and for good reason – music was so damn good back then. That’s not to say that it isn’t now, but the ease of access to tooling and the advent of AI have polluted every genre with low-effort slop. I Promised The World stand tall against this shit, showcasing that homegrown, authentic art will always prevail. Having gone through various iterations as a band now, namely being Sinema for a short spell, under which they released cult-classic album Fear of the Fall, they’ve established a strong foothold for themselves within the revival scene(s). With the release of their self-titled EP earlier this year, they leapt to heights once thought impossible. This is a band that, put simply, gets it. They can channel nostalgia whilst not sounding derivative, and they truly care about the artistic side of it all. This, combined with their already infamous live presence, leaves us in a position where we couldn’t not include them. I Promised The World are the next big thing, and you’d be stupid to skip their debut UK performance. – Jack W

Greet Death

Outbreak will proudly host the first ever UK Greet Death set. The band was flung to prominence through 2019’s New Hell and its accompanying Audiotree set. Their charged slowcore-meets-grunge sound enchanted and depressed audiences as intended. Much has changed in six years. They’ve expanded to a five-piece, and found a more optimistic and hopeful sound on Die In Love. It’s shoegaze that doesn’t get lost in the sauce, always making a fundamentally good rock song that eventually finds itself within a wall of sound. Beyond Outbreak, they’re supporting Touché Amoré across the UK and EU, so this could be the band’s finest hour; they also take things at a slow pace, so maybe this is your one shot at seeing them. – Dobbin T

Glixen

There’s a lot of fantastic shoegaze at Outbreak 2026 so it’s tough to pick a favourite. Nothing and Glare are festival favourites already and the UK’s entrant, Blanket, is a band we’ve followed from the beginning. That makes Glixen the frontrunner to nerd out on this time. Like the best of the genre, they are a juxtaposition: Aislinn Ritchie’s vocals sit at odds with their heavy shoegaze sound, a delightful experience that satisfies all your sonic instincts to be wooed and crushed. The recent single “unwind” offers a different feel for the band, a slick dreampop sound, yet tracks like “shut me down” show they can also play the coveted heavy shoegaze style that Title Fight popularised. With accolades from Audiotree to Coachella all coming before they’ve even dropped an LP, it’s clear something exciting is stirring here. – Dobbin T

thistle. 

One of the lineup’s more experimental picks, self-professed Northampton Rock outfit thistle. offer up a much more relaxing sound amongst the line up. Blending electronic elements with shoegaze and indie sensibilities, their set feels more than fitting as a break from the chaos. That’s not to say they don’t also bring the energy, with tracks like “pylon”, and “bitebitebite” packing a much faster pace to them, very reminiscent of last year’s gazey icons, Julie. If you fancy a change of pace, or just want to find a cool new band, then thistle.’s set will surely be for you. – Jack W

Snail Mail

There’s absolutely nothing “HC” about Snail Mail, and that’s why we love to see the project at Outbreak. Back in 2024, walking out of Harms Way’s sweatbox into the cool afternoon and Soccer Mommy’s set was absolute bliss. Snail Mail will be ready to provide the same balm. It’s the vehicle for Lindsey Jordan’s songwriting and voice, which are fantastic, always finding memorable melodies and effective structures. Ricochet is a very strong record, surely one of the best indie-songwriter records of the past few years. Even if you’ve no time to get to know her music, no-barrier shows are oddly fitting for such ‘friendly’ music; watch the stage runners skip and spin to their favourite lines from afar. – Dobbin T

Dynamite

Two EPs and a demo into their career, Dynamite already contain the stage presence and star power of seasoned veterans. The very definition of London hardcore, this group have been making waves for some time now, playing shows alongside the likes of Gorilla Biscuits, Higher Power, and T.S. Warspite, and steadily collecting new listeners at every turn. What makes Dynamite different, you might ask? Well, on paper, nothing. It’s the live setting that sets them apart from the pack, putting on some of the most energetic and chaotic shows we’ve seen in the UK for some time now. If you’re a part of the “Outbreak is a hardcore fest” crowd, you’d best be at this set, and if you’re not, then you might want to re-evaluate who the poser is. – Jack W

Sanction

For the longest time now, Sanction have held a strange stranglehold upon UKHC fans. Despite not being from the UK, they’ve managed to make their mark here, with fans eagerly anticipating their return to the shores. “Paralysis” is perhaps the best representation of them; inexplicably heavy, riff-forward, and chaotic. Having been pretty quiet since the release of their “OLD SHIT.” EP in 2025, it’s only sensible for us to presume that they’ll also have some new music to tease us with. Show up, throw hands, maybe a few spin-kicks for good measure as well, and shout along to every word. – Jack W

Initiate

Another band on their first trip across the pond. What they do is in many ways straight-up hardcore, but there’s also a technicolour element to Initiate’s sound. Instrumentally, one could see what they do as a less-metallic, more punk and rock take on the hardcore, with bouncy riffs galore and an upbeat sensibility to it. Once Crystal Pak begins to throw out aggressive screams, you’ll be gripped and swinging along. WIth just one single dropping since the fantastic Cerebral Circus back in 2023, it was either a UK tour or new album that we wanted from Initiate; maybe they’ll treat us to both, but we’ll settle for a fiery set on Outbreak 2026’s Sunday. Shout out to the band for forging ahead with shows despite the unfortunate cancellation of their support slots with Enter Shikari in the US this month. – Dobbin T

Febuary

Do you like screamo and/or melodic hardcore? If you answered yes, then you should be checking Febuary out this year. Their debut EP, February saw instant success amongst screamo revivalists, and with the release of their debut LP, Run Like a Girl, they only furthered their reach. Fusing elements from a plethora of the genre’s greats, Febuary manage to bring a refreshing take on what was once a dying genre. A clear choice as a forerunner in its revival, they’re flying the flag high for the scene, and are a must-see for any self-respecting screamo enjoyer. – Jack W