For over two decades, Supersonic Festival has called the industrial heart of Birmingham its home. As KLOF Mag’s Thomas Blake aptly noted of last year’s edition, the suburb of Digbeth—with its “stubborn resistance to the more dehumanising excesses of gentrification”—provides a perfect architectural echo for the “heaviness and minimalism” that define the event.
Returning on April 25th and 26th, 2026, for a special limited-edition, the festival continues to prioritise “undiluted creativity” over genre boundaries. While Artistic Director Lisa Meyer acknowledges the battle against the “faceless apartment blocks” encroaching on the area’s creative hubs, this year’s initial announcement proves that Supersonic’s curation remains as expert and uncompromising as ever.
“When we first began, Digbeth was our wild frontier, a place where anything felt possible. We built stages in old warehouses, turned empty shops into art spaces, made installations under viaducts, and filled the streets with the energy and creativity of our amazing community. But times have changed. In recent years, we’ve fought hard to keep Supersonic rooted in the place where it all began, battling against rapid gentrification and the steady rise of faceless apartment blocks replacing the vibrant, independent spaces that once defined Digbeth.”
She continues, “The earlier dates will also give us the breathing space to imagine what comes next for Supersonic, and to plan for 2027 and beyond. We don’t know yet whether that might mean building new partnerships with venues that share our values, finding a new home elsewhere and/or reinventing what Supersonic can be for the future. But we’re excited to be able to have the time to explore possibilities. But before we look to what’s next, I’m beyond excited to reveal the first acts for this year’s edition. Though smaller in scale, it will be rich with extraordinary artists and offer a vital chance for our community to come together and bask in the power of the art and music on offer. In dark times, there’s nothing more important that creating space for collective, joyous catharsis.”
The 2026 lineup is headlined by a worldwide exclusive: Microplastics. This new live band features a powerhouse trio of aya, 96 back, and Jennifer Walton, evolving from a rowdy DJ collective into a fully-fledged rock outfit.
Joining them are several acts that embody the festival’s signature blend of the ancestral and the avant-garde:
It’s this sheer ambitiousness and ØXN’s unwillingness to conform in any way to stereotypes that make them something of an outlier, even in a scene that is open to experimental music. It also makes them one of the most vital acts in that (or any) scene. This uncompromising debut album is like a monolith looming through fog.
Milkweed: Their “plunderphonics” approach to folk creates eerie, fractured soundscapes, using ‘elements of traditional music, freak folk, dub and spoken word, knitted together by a recording technique which is both lo-fi and uncompromisingly avant-garde.’
The wider world is no closer to knowing anything about Milkweed, at least in terms of biographical detail. Their only press photo shows them covering each other’s faces – just two brown coats and two pale pairs of hands are visible. Their partial invisibility reflects the way myth can disappear or lie dormant, the way that stories can wither away to nothing except a sense of mystery and still be brought back to life. But the duo’s self-negation also focuses our attention on the music, and on the amazing job they are doing of uncovering these old myths and presenting them in vibrant and vital ways. They remain the most exciting band in folk music.
GREET: Yorkshire-inspired cinematic folk, GREET is the songwriting project of Matthew Broadley, who “seems to have a direct line to the weird and the uncanny.” We reviewed their debut album I Know How To Die, last year.
Like much of this hugely impressive debut, it doesn’t shy away from difficult musical and lyrical subjects.
Also performing are Detroit’s Prostitute, an ensemble that fuses post-punk with Arab rock for a volatile, political assault.
DJ Haram: Known for her work with Moor Mother in 700 Bliss, she brings a mix of Middle Eastern production and abrasive rap.
Ameretat: An Iranian diaspora group blending traditional instrumentation with crust-hardcore and drone.
Traidora: Led by Venezuelan-born trans artist Eva Leblanc, the group channels lived experiences of discrimination and resilience into raw, uncompromising music. Now a four-piece of queer musicians, they provide a powerful voice to struggles of identity and survival.
The program also features Bong II, reuniting members of Bong and Smote to push ritualistic drone into “newly charged territory,” and MMM, a collaboration between Gayle Brogan, Nick Jonah Davis and Elizabeth Still – immersing themselves in the archaeology, astronomy and lore of the extraordinary 5000-year-old Calanais Stones on the Isle of Lewis. MMM have created a sonic response to a unique moment at these exceptional megaliths.
Further artists will be announced in the coming weeks, alongside a full programme of workshops, talks, and guest DJ sets.
Supersonic 2026 promises the “collective, joyous catharsis” that has made it, arguably, the best small festival in the country.
Source: klofmag.com