The first wave of acts have been announced
17:00, 25 Nov 2025
Fans at Boardmasters (Image: Greg Martin / Cornwall Live)
the first acts for Boardmasters Festival 2026 have been announced – including two huge headliners as well as a swathe of other incredible artists.
The huge festival next August will be headlined by UK legend and award-winning DJ and producer Fatboy Slim as well as rock rebels Kasabian.
A raft of other names have also been confirmed for Cornwall’s biggest festival which again takes place on the cliffs above Watergate Bay near Newquay.
The dates for next year’s festival have also been confirmed as August 5-9, 2026.
Kasabian who formed in Sergio Pizzorno’s bedroom in Leicester in 1997 and have since clocked up seven consecutive UK No.1 albums, more than 10 million album sales, 1.5 billion Spotify streams, multiple major awards and landmark festival headline sets.
The band’s eighth and most recent album ‘Happenings’ was another No.1, and new single “Hippie Sunshine” from their upcoming ninth album ‘’ACT III’ album shows they continue to evolve while straying true to their original sound.
Fatboy Slim has played every major stage and draws global fans to his high-energy shows where his trademark re-edits, Hawaiian shirt, bare feet and iconic tracks including “Right Here, Right Now,” “The Rockafeller Skank” and “Praise You” as well as his latest hits “Role Model” and “Bus Stop Please” with Daniel Steinberg continue to resonate through the generations.
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Joining them are Brighton’s indie darlings The Kooks, who continue to define a generation with sun-soaked sing-alongs, as well as Loyle Carner, with his poetic lyricism and soulful sincerity as one of UK rap’s most compelling voices.
Tash Sultana, the one-person powerhouse who blends psych-rock, reggae, and soulful electronica, performs exclusively at Boardmasters for their only English festival performance of the year.
Welsh rapper, singer-songwriter Ren graces the main stage with his first-ever festival appearance, delivering fearless storytelling, which blends raw emotion with genre-defying artistry.
Afternoon special guest headliners Dizzee Rascal, Tinie Tempah and Example are set to deliver high-energy sets of grime and bass. The rest of phase one spans indie, live bands and electronic dancefloors featuring Pendulum Live and Rudimental.
Singer James Arthur, Brooke Combe, The Darkness, Goldie Live, Matt Corby, Alessi Rose, DJ AG, Dimension, Window Kid, 4am Kru, Saint Ludo, Lambrini Girls, Florence Road and more are expected.
2026 Presale Tickets will be available from Thursday, November 27, at 10am, but fans must sign up for the presale for exclusive 24-hour access.
The sign-up closes at midnight tomorrow (Wednesday, November 26) with tens of thousands already registered according to festival organisers.
Boardmasters is an immersive experience spread across two sites, Watergate Bay and Fistral Beach.
The festival offers a myriad of activities from the Boardmasters Open – WSL Men’s & Women’s Pro, Junior Open, surf lessons and coastal adventure packages to a vast world of wellness and sport.
This includes yoga, sound baths, spa and sauna sessions, hot tubs and ice baths, massage, Muscle Beach fitness, run clubs, football competitions, cardio core classes and even disco yoga.
The festival pulses with arts and culture, offering jewellery and craft workshops, art and mask-making, talks and live hangs with scene starters and community makers, plus skate sessions, comedy, bingo, silent disco and more. All of this is layered alongside Cornish culture, local art installations, and a vibrant food offering that champions Cornish produce and world flavours.
Beyond the festival grounds, attendees have the freedom to explore the wild peninsula at their leisure. Each experience is unique and bespoke.
Families, students, locals and visitors all form part of the same community, wandering the local beaches, catching the surf or dipping into a midday set. Afternoons can be about wellness or release, and night times are when the cliffs come alive.
