After a great Thursday and Friday at Catton Park, we headed into the weekend for the final days of Bearded Theory 2026.
Saturday
Manchester singer-songwriter Jasmine 4.t. started the day off right on the main stage Saturday morning. Jasmine sang with such emotional resonance and folk tenderness with confessional storytelling amidst lush, grunge instrumentation from her awesome band. The audience was in awe with the performance, swaying along in the sunshine and singing along to breakout hit Guy Fawkes Tesco Disassociation. Jasmine spoke powerfully about trans representation at the moment, and paid tribute to her ‘chosen mother’, Yulia Trot who is currently in HMP Bronzefield as part of the Filton 24. In a time and a world that can continue to be a terrifying place for trans women, Jasmine 4.t. shines bright with important activism, trans joy and of course, fantastic music. 8/10
‘Cosmic slop’ alien superstar band Henge are becoming a Bearded Theory staple, and one that certainly amasses a ginormous crowd every time their spaceship touches down on the fields of Catton Park. It’s not difficult to see why – the band, in full alien skin suits, eye liner and fantastical robes inject nothing but pure smiles into the atmosphere with each appearance. Stand out tracks like environmental anthem Get a Wriggle On and space adventure ritual Slingshot got everyone jostling about with joy. While there is universal appeal with Henge, this is a particularly great band to introduce your younger earthlings to with their bombastic energy, high concept shenanigans and intergalactic chirping synths. Who doesn’t want to take a whirlwind trip to space? 9/10
Post punk favourites Warmduscher also returned to the festival, much to the delight of many looking for a boogie with Clams Baker Jr, the alter ego of frontman Craig Higgins who really does have stage presence to boot. In the best possible way, it is sort of like watching your drunk uncle at karaoke, with bombastic lyrics, and properly weird vibes. Tracks like Midnight Dipper and I Got Friends got everyone going, with their big meaty basslines reverberating throughout the field. There’s a bit of disco, pure rock and roll, a bit of sleaze… and a whole lot of silliness to get stuck into. A great band to follow Henge who are weirdos in a whole different way. What a beautifully eclectic way to start the day. 8/10
Brewing up a garage-punk frenzy up next was Bad Nerves inside the sweaty Meadow tent, where people were ready to fight the heat with, you guessed it, a good old fashioned pit. The pace never faltered and the energy never dipped as the band rattled through their impressive catalogue of catchy, full throttle tracks like Baby Drummer, Don’t Stop and Antidote. They’ve got a vintage Ramones-y edge to them but feel oh so fresh – there are very few bands around at the minute that are giving it that proper indie rock and roll feel and it’s clear that there’s a huge appetite for it with the love that’s headed for this band. 9/10
After sadly having to cancel in 2025 due to scheduling conflicts, CMAT finally was able to pop down for some country pop goodness on Saturday afternoon. Unsurprisingly, the field was packed with fans desperate to catch the superstar, who has had a whirlwind of a year between viral TikTok moments, television appearances and, of course, her Ivor Novello award winning album Euro Country. The staging was next-level with yellow stars around the lights, a huge giant euro featuring Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson’s face on it, and a light blue backdrop to match the cover of the album. There was dancing, there were incredible vocals and there was a great deal of two stepping. In the sunshine, who could ask for anything more? 9/10
Alternative rock legends Pixies finished off Saturday evening’s itinerary with a much more laid back set packed with grungey nostalgia and real technical mastery at work. Getting to sing along to classics like Here Comes Your Man and Debaser in a field with like-minded drunkards swaying about in the heat was a simply magical experience. This set was one of those where it was always obviously going to be brilliant, without the band really needing to do anything except play the tunes rock fans know and love and provide that space to soak up a pure 90s jangly soundscape. 7/10
Sunday
Complete with Mickey Mouse-esque wizard hats, Glaswegian punk weirdos Cowboy Hunters were ready to rock out on the Woodland stage, starting Bring The Noise’s final day at the festival off right. Their cover of Perfect (Exceeder) has been making some waves online with their raucous screaming and unrelenting energy. Their live set had all that and more, with meme-y internet clips plucked in throughout. Perhaps not a band for smaller ears given some of the extremely heavy references to genitalia, but definitely on to get stuck into if rock songs about vaginas sound like your cup of tea. 8/10
Brummie electro-punk duo Gans made a point of saying how humbled they are to be where they are now, reflecting on the year that’s passed since they performed on Bearded Theory on the very same stage. The area was completely packed out for the boys, who really rattled the bones of hungover festivalgoers who couldn’t resist the temptation of a cheeky Sunday afternoon mosh to some industrial punk noise. It’s so clear that the band are the best of friends living it up together, now complete with a flute for added funk. These guys know exactly what they’re doing and it’s only up from here. 9/10
Sporting an all-red ensemble complete with sequins, booty shorts and of course his signature gimp mask, South London’s finest drag monster Lynks brought the fun to the Meadow stage. Despite the sweltering temperatures, Lynks and his backing dancers aka Lynks Africa, brought the energy and some extremely impressive and incredibly sexy choreography alongside some highly addictive, danceable tunes. He remarked that their previous engagement that weekend had been at Birmingham Pride – a very different type of do – and made some loving jeers at the way the old school punks of Bearded Theory were filming the set in landscape. Staple track How to Make Bechamel Sauce in 10 steps (with Pictures) really captured the hearts of these weird loving punks who were laughing along whenever they weren’t dancing. In particular “nobody cares that you’ve watched Pulp Fiction!” in Silly Boy tickled quite a few audience members discovering Lynks for the first time. What’s great about Bearded Theory is a full flat-out dance set about queerness, London and bechamel sauce is just as at home as noisy guitar music – truly a festival with something for everyone. This one went down a treat. 9/10
A new tradition at Bearded Theory is a series called Transformer, where on the Sunday of each edition of the festival, they ask some of today’s fantastic artists to play the songs of some proper musical legends. This time around, The Meadow stage welcomed Walpurgis – a supergroup containing the likes of Mike Vennart from Oceansize and Biffy Clyro, Joe Lazarus from Twin Atlantic and Ben Griffiths from Alpha Male Tea Party – who were there to pay tribute to Black Sabbath, after the sad passing of Ozzy Osbourne earlier this year. They were introduced by comedian Stewart Lee, who spoke beautifully about just how important Black Sabbath’s legacy is and will continue to be to rock music, which was received with rapturous applause. Behind the band, a picture of the late rockstar was projected as they ripped into some classic Sabbath songs. It was an emotional listen as much as it was absolutely superb, with a note-perfect performance from a solid composition of excellent musical practitioners. 8/10
Everything Everything is a band best enjoyed in the sunshine, so they were a perfect band for the sweltering heatwave that descended over Catton Park for the weekend. They played a set that spanned across their increasingly impressive discography, donning banana-yellow suits. Jonathan Higgs’ falsetto register soared through the field alongside the multi-dimensional electronic and rock sounds that create the band’s unique sound. While much of the Bearded Theory line-up leans more towards the mass of ‘anarcho-punks’ attending the festival, as Stewart Lee observed during a surprise comedy set at the Convoy Cabaret, there is still place at the festival for some sunshine-bright indie goodness, especially when it sounds as good as this. 8/10
The final act to take the main stage at Bearded Theory 2026 was Garbage with a career-spanning set that combined excellent rock music with interesting tales of a band that’s really seen it all with some emotional moments championing older women and truly being yourself. Shirley Manson is a deeply captivating performer with unwavering vocal talent. It was fantastic to be reminded of just how many megahits the band have had, from Stupid Girl to I Think I’m Paranoid to the stunning rendition of Only Happy When It Rains which felt like one of the biggest moments of the weekend. 8/10
Closing out an absolutely magical weekend and returning from last year was the incredible Fat Dog – a band that gained huge traction through word-of-mouth cult following before they even started releasing anything on streaming, but now have a catalogue of huge, driving anthems to get everyone moving. Insanity was truly afoot, with a giant inflatable blow up doll being crowd-surfed around the Meadow crowd, alongside numerous children with bubble guns spreading even more fun into the atmosphere. It’s simply impossible not to have fun when Fat Dogs are in town, making them the perfect act to finish the festival with. They’re still fairly early on in their journey to the top, and we’re sure it’s only a matter of time until they’re headlining main stages across the country. 9/10
Check out our review of Thursday and Friday HERE.
Written By: Izzy Morris
