Outbreak 2026 – Friday & Knocked Loose at the Albert Hall

“Now I dance between two worlds with a shadow of myself.”

Welcome to the first part of our Outbreak 2026 coverage. An ongoing discussion around Outbreak is the increasing breadth of its bookings. Admittedly, 2026 was “typical” for what had been established since 2024, with the line ups of 2022/2023 being the real change. This year, there was very little in the way of hip hop, but plenty in the emo and indie space – especially on the Friday, creating an exciting lineup for a real subset of Outbreak’s attendees. Some important context for the evening is that it was hot, a day that broke records, and the stages were all indoors. The BEC Arena was almost literally a sauna, fingers going wrinkly and crowdsurfing bodies becoming slick.

First up were Pool Kids, a band who land right in the middle of the aforementioned emo-indie space, adding some math rock influence for delicious flair. They were on their second visit to the UK of the year, no longer headlining but going back to opener status, simply due to how stacked this bill was. They’re still riding a high, thanks to a very strong 2025 record in Easier Said Than Done. The sound from the front was ropey, bad enough that one had to be reliant on knowing the songs and lyrics from memory to have it land, but fortunately there were plenty who had the words on their lips. Christine Goodwyne was among the first to crowd surf, dramatically hooking the mic cable with her boots whilst delivering the pivotal lines of “Conscious Uncoupling”. 

The party was truly started by Free Throw, whose old tracks stirred the crowd, spilling them onto the stage for “Two Beers In” and “The Coroner’s Dilemma”. A similar feat was performed by Tigers Jaw, who returned a second year running after closing 2025’s Saturday. Both Free Throw and Tigers Jaw have very fresh material out and played a good deal of it in their sets; it’s very strong and worthy of stronger responses from the audience, but it will always be hard to compare to the essential nostalgia of their early work. 

The second stage spent Friday evening hosting choice acts from the UK’s burgeoning underground – Tooth, Kissing on Camera, and local favourites Love Rarely. Adding an appearance at Outbreak Festival to an ever growing and impressive résumé further proves the dynamism of the Leeds unit’s sound. They can appear on a variety of festivals and still perfectly fit in. With 2000trees, Truck Festival, Burn It Down, and the new Quiet Steps festival still to come, Love Rarely are building up a momentum that swells with force. ALthough they were added to the line up close to the date, the frontlines were full of fans singing along to the high-tempo tracks, with the likes of “Severed” and “Mould” activating the audience most intensely. In true Outbreak-fashion, moments of stage diving broke out and a pit formed, all of this proving that Love Rarely are making strong connections across the country.  

Over on the main stage, the nostalgia fest was continuing. Balance & Composure were doing a throwback set to their two essential albums, Separation and The Things We Think We Need, which landed incredibly well and had the room singing, front to back. Later Joyce Manor’s new tracks from I Used To Go To This Bar really landed, suggesting they’d broken through the barrier that so often keeps the revival crowd from enjoying anything not released pre-2015 (or at least that Joyce Manor songs really are that easy to sing along to). 

The most impressive act on Friday was certainly Algernon Cadwallader. They are a more vintage act in this space, breaking out in their 00s as the sonic epitome of Midwest emo. They rattled through their complex tracks on simple road-tested gear, with particular wizardry being worked on the tiny five-piece drum kit. The heat had them screaming harder, coming across as a sharpened form of the band, still communicating camaraderie through a (granted) request for a human pyramid. A lovely detail was the engagement of the other bands. The guitarist and singer of Tigers Jaw, Ben Walsh, was there singing every word. During their set, Barry Johnson of Joyce Manor had said they’d be rushing to see them after packing up. Sure enough, when Algernon Cadwallader finished on “Spit Fountain”, Johnson was stage diving like the rest of the civilians in the room. Most importantly, the band took a moment to give their respect to the Filton 25 and those who were using privilege to stand against the Gaza genocide. 

Closing out the night at the BEC Arena were The Front Bottoms. If your idea of Outbreak is just fight music played by legally-distinct Hatebreed cover bands, this booking was anathema. Sequestering The Front Bottoms to their own date is a great way to mitigate this. 

To make this set more focused, the band played Talon Of The Hawk in full. Speaking as someone who hadn’t yet heard them until 2026, the fact it was a full album set meant there was much less ‘homework’ to do to enjoy it in full. Fortunately, it turns out that Talon Of The Hawk is an amazing record, folk and emo punk tinged, perfectly balancing deep topics with corny moments, housing not just their classics but also many deep cuts. Before “Twin Size Mattress”, Brian Sella asked “are we doing it in order?”, knowing this is the usual closer and one close to many hearts. 

As ever for the live setting, this material landed harder. Many small moments were embellished – an especially spacious outro for “Santa Monica“, a more ‘rock and roll’ take on “Au revoir (Adios)”. There were souped up swirling drum fills in “Funny You Should Ask“, and “Tattooed Tears” felt a hair faster that it’s studio counterpart. Ultimately the parts that really landed were the emotive peaks like the “The Feud“’s bridge.

In an episode of ‘who didn’t see this coming’, The Front Bottoms’ set was marred by frequent stage invasions. “Twin Size Mattress” was always going to end that way, but there were more invasions for “Funny You Should Ask“,  “Lone Star“, and “Backflip”. Let’s be specific here – there’s a safety issue for the stage’s structure, and it’s not fun for the rest of the audience to observe invasions lasting complete songs, having to watch people become idle for long enough they start video selfies and more. It won’t just be Twitter and the comment sections complaining – even the festival sent a notification via the app in the morning: “Please don’t invade stages. Get up and get off.”

Many will blame the fan base of The Front Bottoms, but let’s be real, it’s not limited to one demographic. Last year even Deafheaven had three long invasions. The nuance is that there are worthy moments for everyone to go for it: La Dispute’s “King Park” ending, or Converge’s hot minute of “Concubine” – but these are short-lived, and involve vital grapples for the mic. Everything that happens on the mini stages is main character behaviour; just don’t take the piss. 

The set closed out with more of The Front Bottoms’ turbo bangers, and we left them to it to partake in a different Outbreak-promoted event. This was the side show to end all side shows. Knocked Loose, 2025’s headliner and one of the few Grammy-nominated hardcore bands, were set to play a very late show at Manchester’s Albert Hall, a converted church in the city’s centre. Changing venues didn’t mean the atmosphere was any less sweltering – upstairs it was a punishing atmosphere, let alone the floor where all the bodies were about to start flying. Whilst other scenes are used to staying up late for their kicks, the hardcore community are famously happy when shows end at 10pm. A 3.30am finish is thus quite a tall order, so, “this had better be worth it” became the sentiment, particularly for those hoping to see Turn of Phrase open up BEC in what felt like a few hours. Let’s just say many tickets exchanged hands in the moments before this show due to its time slot. 

To make matters more challenging, the show had an opener in Lip Critic. This was certainly a “freebie”, as interest with this audience is certainly driven by Knocked Loose, but this was an excellent choice for a support that is more than a bit different. They are making a buzz with their industrial hip hop and digital hardcore sound, focused on grabbing attention, rhythmic complexity, and deliciously unwell instrumentals. However, with the venue imparting a boomy sound, it was a struggle to appreciate the performance in full. Catching the details as a new audience member for a hip hop act is not so easy, but it certainly was easy to find Bret Kaser‘s persona to be magnetic, truly a mad scientist. They’ve been liberally compared to Death Grips, a comparison that now seems reductive with the layered approach to acoustic drums. Despite the nagging feeling that this opener was killing precious time in the early hours of the morning, it was an enjoyable set. At least one attendee truly loved it – from our vantage, we could see Bryan Garris watching the set from the side, air drumming and calling out the lyrics. 

Finally, finally, the day’s true headliner walked on. Lit by their iconic ‘impending’ neon crucifix and an oppressive light show, the five most important musicians in metalcore gave their sermon. Knocked Loose’s stage presence has been impeccable each time we’ve seen the band, as they hold firm stances and deliver practised yet honest statements between hard-as-nails tracks. They contrast their audience perfectly, which was a sloshing well of dense chaos, barely able to make enough space for one spinkicker before collapsing in on itself. The audience finally made use of the mini stage, set up to give stage divers a perch, with Garris often jumping down into the fray himself. 

They played through their ‘festival’ set list, familiar to the UK as they played it at Slam Dunk a month ago. This includes the deep cut “Oblivion’s Peak”, the new “Hive Mind” (sadly lacking a rapper to deliver Denzel Curry’s part – Lip Critic are right there!), and a worthy focus on You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To through “Moss Covers All”/”Take Me Home” and many more. Placing “Sit & Mourn” mid-set dampened its potential emotional impact, choosing instead to close out on the iconic Upon Loss singles. 

Shambling out disoriented into the encroaching sunlight, not a soul among us felt that this side quest was a mistake.