Sziget 2026

[Matt86]

About having Metal bands at Sziget : Yes. Every year, we still have metal bands by the way.

 

BUT Deftones seems "too big" in my opinion, I don't think Sziget would spend that much money on a metal act nowadays.

 

And even if I'm a fan (going to HellFest every year since 2017 lol), I definitely understand and accept that choice, 'cause I think a "metal headliner level act" wouldn't fill the area.

[Matt86]

and speaking of rock or metal act, TURNSTILE would perfectly fit : its kind of a mid-upper act, and I think everyone could enjoy many of their songs.

We'll see next week .. 😇

[#1SzigetFan]

The only metal band I can see headline Sziget at some point in the future is Metallica. They are the only metal band that can sell lots of tickets, even for the general public, so that nothing else matters.

[billybigballs]

22 minutes ago, #1SzigetFan said:

The only metal band I can see headline Sziget at some point in the future is Metallica. They are the only metal band that can sell lots of tickets, even for the general public, so that nothing else matters.

Please tell me this was an intentional pun. I'm going to be so upset if it wasn't.

[Gabi Ruiz]

I hope I'm wrong, but I can't imagine Nick Cave playing at Sziget, not a chance.

 

This summer we have amazing bands touring in August, like The Cure, Deftones, Slowdive, Nick Cave, Interpol, Kurt Vile, Mogwai, Underworld, Moby, The xx... bands that could easily have been part of a great Primavera Sound lineup 15 years ago, but even Primavera Sound isn't interested in bringing them together for a single festival in 2026.

I'd love the idea of seeing bands like that, legends or icons of their genres, at a festival with the great energy that Sziget has, without having to resort to festivals like Rock en Seine, No Way Out, or the Öya Festival, but unfortunately, I don't see it happening. 

 

Sziget is a festival that, musically speaking, is quite mediocre in my opinion. If you like electronic music, they have a killer lineup every year, but the Mainstage is packed with the most radio-friendly artists you can imagine, and only Revolut occasionally saves the day, with the odd surprise from Buzz.

 

The thing is, they don't need to be a super-exclusive festival with niche bands or legends, like I'd prefer. They've never been that, and they're getting further and further away from it. Sziget markets itself as a 7-day (then 6) now 5-day experience for groups of friends who want to party hard for a week, and for that, you don't need good music, you need music that's already popular.

 

In 2025, all the Sziget headliners were solo artists, and half of them didn't even perform live. In 2024, the same thing happened; only Liam Gallagher, if you count him as a "kind of Oasis band," was a non-solo artist. There's a clear trend here.

 

If you think about the latest bands playing mainstage after the pandemic, we had zero-risk bands like Mumford & Sons, Imagine Dragons, Kings of Leon, Tame Impala, Arctic Monkeys, and Florence + The Machine. Six bands for 24 slots in four years.

 

I tend to guess the Sziget headliners by following a simple game: out of everything that's playing, pick the headliners that interest me the least, and those will be the ones. I've read some optimism in the group, but I'd advise lowering expectations. It's tough, but I most likely won't be going this year.

 

There's only one person who can make me go to Budapest with enthusiasm. Despite everything I've said, I still want to believe:

 

I wanna tell ya 'bout a girl

 

Edited December 2, 2025 by Gabi Ruiz

[billybigballs]

Flow Festival just announced a cracking line-up. Can't see the poster anyway so cant post it, but quick overview is:

 

Florence ATM

Nick Cave

Turnstile

PinkPantheress

Sombr

Zara Larsson

Lambrini Girls

 

I'd take all those tbh.

[Mondo-kun]

40 minutes ago, billybigballs said:

Flow Festival just announced a cracking line-up. Can't see the poster anyway so cant post it, but quick overview is:

 

Florence ATM

Nick Cave

Turnstile

PinkPantheress

Sombr

Zara Larsson

Lambrini Girls

 

I'd take all those tbh.

Still no The Cure. Maybe a small glimpse of hope for their appearance at Sziget...

[Ausländer]

1 hour ago, #1SzigetFan said:

The only metal band I can see headline Sziget at some point in the future is Metallica. They are the only metal band that can sell lots of tickets, even for the general public, so that nothing else matters.

I'm sorry but this getting a bit delusional, first of there is no way that Metallica gonna headline Sziget, there to big and doing there own stadium shows all around the globe, they won't do festivals except for some of the biggest (metal) festivals from time to time. And there are many metal bands that have great pull and sziget would be happy to have.

 

Regarding Deftones, they would be a great booking since they tend not to do big tours in the EU and by this have a certain level of exclusivty and they have a great appeal for older and and younger people. 

[Kebabcz]

11 minutes ago, Mondo-kun said:

Still no The Cure. Maybe a small glimpse of hope for their appearance at Sziget...

i still believe the cure will headline. something tells me it is going to happen 

[Newjem]

The Cure are ruled out. It doesn’t matter if they are headlining Flow or not.

[sandorbeni]

49 minutes ago, Ausländer said:

I'm sorry but this getting a bit delusional, first of there is no way that Metallica gonna headline Sziget, there to big and doing there own stadium shows all around the globe, they won't do festivals except for some of the biggest (metal) festivals from time to time. And there are many metal bands that have great pull and sziget would be happy to have.

 

Regarding Deftones, they would be a great booking since they tend not to do big tours in the EU and by this have a certain level of exclusivty and they have a great appeal for older and and younger people. 

I agree that Metallica doesn't do festivals at the moment, but if they decide to do some and Sziget has the opportunity to book them they will do it for sure.

 

I can see some other metal or metal-adjacent bands at sziget such as Bring me the horizon or Linkin park.

 

I'm not sure about Deftones tho. I don't think they have that kind of mass appeal that would make them a sziget headliner.

[kakaovnik19]

2 minutes ago, sandorbeni said:

I agree that Metallica doesn't do festivals at the moment, but if they decide to do some and Sziget has the opportunity to book them they will do it for sure.

 

I can see some other metal or metal-adjacent bands at sziget such as Bring me the horizon or Linkin park.

 

I'm not sure about Deftones tho. I don't think they have that kind of mass appeal that would make them a sziget headliner.

What about three days grace, limp bizkit or foos then ?

Edited December 2, 2025 by kakaovnik19

[sandorbeni]

1 minute ago, kakaovnik19 said:

What about three days grace, limp bizkit or foos then ?

I don't consider Foos metal and we know they are out for next year, tho it's possible in the near future.

 

Limp Bizkit is also one that can be more likely in my opinion. Also I only thought about headline level bands, I don't know much about Three Days Grace to judge if they are that size. I think smaller metal bands are also possible for afternoon main stage or Revolut slots. I can imagine bands like Turnstile or Knocked Loose appearing (I haven't checked their dates to see if they are actually possible)

[mathuska]

Metallica do 2 budapest stadium shows in 2026 summer, such as Iron Maiden 2026 may 3 shows),  Foo Fighter will tour in US during sziget… Bring me the horizon, Limp Bizkit no dates for 2026 august (yet?)

[mathuska]

Personally i would really appreciate a Linkin Park -Yungblud combo

[mathuska]

Sombr is a member of 1B club on spotify, so i can imagine he will co-headline..

Edited December 2, 2025 by mathuska

[sandorbeni]

6 minutes ago, mathuska said:

Metallica do 2 budapest stadium shows in 2026 summer, such as Iron Maiden 2026 may 3 shows),  Foo Fighter will tour in US during sziget… Bring me the horizon, Limp Bizkit no dates for 2026 august (yet?)

I only mentioned these as what kind of names are likely from the genre for future festivals. Not as guesses for next year.

[billybigballs]

24 minutes ago, mathuska said:

Sombr is a member of 1B club on spotify, so i can imagine he will co-headline..

Took me a lot longer that it should have done to work out what the '1B club' is.

 

Yes, I think Leaks has already confirmed he will headline. However, given his lack of material, I suspect it will be a sub/co headline slot masquerading as a headline slot.

[thetime]

4 hours ago, billybigballs said:

Flow Festival just announced a cracking line-up. Can't see the poster anyway so cant post it, but quick overview is:

 

Florence ATM

Nick Cave

Turnstile

PinkPantheress

Sombr

Zara Larsson

Lambrini Girls

 

I'd take all those tbh.

 

So many good lineups in Europe next year. I would happily go to quite a few of them, sadly not a single one in the UK tickle my fancy. 

 

 

[TheAnonimMan]

I really hope Twenty One Pilots will come as headliner. If they come, I'm already happy

[billybigballs]

1 hour ago, TheAnonimMan said:

I really hope Twenty One Pilots will come as headliner. If they come, I'm already happy

 

I reckon they're pretty likely tbf.

[Daniele82]

Gorillaz

Twenty one pilot

Raye

Tyler the creator

Florence + The Machine

Lewis Capaldi 

[thetime]

18 minutes ago, Daniele82 said:

Gorillaz

Twenty one pilot

Raye

Tyler the creator

Florence + The Machine

Lewis Capaldi 

 

Sadly only 5 headliners next year. 

 

Possibly, which would be a typical Sziget headline combo. Although would love Raye over Florence. 

 

Gorillaz 

21P

Tyler

Florence 

Calvin

[billybigballs]

1 hour ago, thetime said:

 

Sadly only 5 headliners next year. 

 

Possibly, which would be a typical Sziget headline combo. Although would love Raye over Florence. 

 

Gorillaz 

21P

Tyler

Florence 

Calvin

 

I'm pretty sure Leaks hinted that it was one of Gorillaz and 21P, not both. I could be wrong though as I can't seem to find it now! 

 

Think I'll go:

 

21P

Sombr

Lorde / Florence / Raye (one of)

Chase and Status

Tyler

 

[So Sad Simon]

To be honest, I think next year's undercard has the opportunity to be a corker, much more so than the headliners.

 

Unless Sziget pulls something fresh our of the bag, it's pretty clear we are getting five from a shortlist of around 20 headline acts doing the rounds next summer.

 

However, there are a dozen or more undercard acts floating around that could really make all the difference. E g:

 

Turnstile

Wet Leg

Biffy Clyro

Nothing But Thieves

Pinkpantheress

Amyl and the Sniffers

Zara Larsson

CMAT

Geese

Underworld

The Black Keys

Wolf Alice

The Vaccines (guilty pleasure)

Role Model

Dave (assuming he wouldn't headline)

 

And probably quite a few more that are yet to be announced.

 

Incidentally, I notice Way Out West has postponed its day ticket sale until Wednesday 10 December.

 

I wonder if that will coincide with a Sziget announcement? And, if so, why that might be?

 

 

Edited December 3, 2025 by So Sad Simon