Once again the Edinburgh Psych Fest plays out a weekend of psychedelia music that begin in Brighton on Friday 4th before moving on to Manchester on Saturday 5th and ending in Auld Reekie. The line-up this year is jaw-dropping whether it be ‘breakthrough band’ Angine de Poitrine or the well-established Stereolab who will both attract massive crowds to their sets over the full weekend.
Let’s start with these two then! Angine de Poitrine have had venue upgrades wherever they have played so far in 2026, there seems to be no stopping this band of mystery. Hailing from French speaking Quebec they have released two EPs to date simply titled Vol.1 & Vol.2. This will be our first time seeing them live and from what we have heard they put on one hell of a performance with great visuals, whether that be the crazy costumes they wear on stage or how the mysterious guitarist moves up and down the twelve string fret board so easily. Stereolab were formed way back in 1990, the British-French duo of Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier were mainstays of the band until they disbanded in 2009 only to reform in 2019, the band released an album in 2025 – Instant Holograms on Metal Film being their eleventh – that was their first studio album release in fifteen years. Stereolab will no doubt bring along more than a few diehard fans to the psych fest, we can’t wait to see them for the first time.
And let’s not forget about Ty Segall who can be considered the third headliner of Edinburgh Psych Fest 2026, the Californian singer-songwriter is well established and has been in too many bands to mention! With new album Chrome being released the week before the festival we can all look forward to hearing a few of the new tracks live.
Looking down the list The Belair Lip Bombs have come all the way from Frankston, Victoria in Australia for the trio of psych fest events so it would be rude not to give them a mention. We have been following their music for a couple of years now and we are expecting a decent performance and also hoping they get a full hour, they are definitely worth it! Maisie Everett on vocals, guitar & keyboards is an all-round musician and with two albums behind them now – Lush Life (2023) and Again (2025) this one is not to be missed.
Coming out of London, Bleech 9:3 have been building quite the fanbase over the past year, this will be our first time seeing them live and from what we have heard their performances are raw and fresh. Bleech 9:3 are part of the current new sound that is sweeping the UK & Ireland with bands such as Wunderhorse and Fontaines D.C. being a great inspiration for the up and coming bands. With a self-titled EP being released in May and new song Figure 8 there is a lot to look forward to.
Formed in 2014 Shame hail from South London, they are Charlie Steen (vocals), Eddie Green (guitar), Sean Coyle-Smith (guitar), Josh Finerty (bass) and Charlie Forbes (drums). Their own unique take on post-punk will attract a huge crowd wherever they may play and with four albums in the back catalogue – Songs of Praise (2018), Drunk Tank Pink (2021), Food For Worms (2023) and Cutthroat (2025) – they have a lot of tracks to choose from. We are hoping they get to play in Queen’s Hall, the second largest of the Psych fest venues and importantly spacious enough for the mosh pits that will no doubt break out during their performance, can’t wait for this one!
Talking of venues; as well as Queen’s Hall this year we will also get the chance to see the main headliners and a few other in the beautiful Usher Hall, this is a new addition to the venues line-up and we can’t wait to soak up the atmosphere.
Los Angeles all-female rock band Automatic have already shared stages with the likes of Tame Impala and IDLES and they now get to showcase their music around the UK, the trio are Izzy Glaudini (vocals & synth), Hallie Saxon (bass) and Lola Dompe (drums). Automatic released some fresh music with last year’s album Is It Now? We are looking forward to hearing some tracks from that release as well as from the back catalogue. Other performances that we would be keen to see would be Billy Nomates, The KVB and Tanzana.
We are so looking forward to the addition of the Usher Hall this year that we are sure will push the festival to the next level. Tickets are on sale HERE.
Written by: Alan Brown
