Hard Rock Festivals 2026-2027

170 upcoming festivals feature Hard Rock, 59 where it dominates; 62 with tickets on sale.

Hard Rock at festivals

Hard rock grew out of electric blues in the mid-1960s and took hold with Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, keeping a rock-and-roll swing that heavy metal dropped. Its festivals are mostly summer open airs with camping, where it shares bills with metal and punk, plus a growing number of themed cruises in spring and autumn.

The template is Monsters of Rock, first held on 16 August 1980 at Castle Donington with Rainbow headlining, and staged there until 1996. Download Festival took over Donington Park in 2003 and runs every June. In Belgium, Graspop Metal Meeting has filled Dessel on the last weekend of June since 1996. In Austria, Nova Rock has been held at Nickelsdorf each June since 2005, and in France, Hellfest in Clisson, also in June, lists hard rock alongside metal on its bill.

Sources

Text updated on September 29, 2026

The most Hard Rock festivals

Ranked by the share of the lineup tagged Hard Rock (at least 5 identified artists).

  1. 1
    Summer of ’99 Cruise 2027
    67% Hard Rock
  2. 2
    Monsters of Rock Cruise 2027
    61% Hard Rock
  3. 3
    Call of the Wild 2027
    50% Hard Rock
  4. 4
    Fajtfest 2027
    50% Hard Rock
  5. 5
    Shinedown Lunatic Ball Beach Weekend
    38% Hard Rock
  6. 6
    Rock the Pistes 2027
    38% Hard Rock
  7. 7
    Alcatraz Metal Fest
    36% Hard Rock
  8. 8
    Heavy Psych Sounds Fest London 2026
    36% Hard Rock
  9. 9
    Hellbound Cruise
    33% Hard Rock
  10. 10
    Greenfield Festival 2027
    26% Hard Rock

Full calendar of Hard Rock festivals

The 59 upcoming festivals where Hard Rock dominates (at least 20% of the identified lineup, or 3 artists of the genre), month by month. The percentage is the share of identified artists in the lineup tagged Hard Rock.

October 2026 (9)

November 2026 (8)

December 2026 (1)

  • Toxicator

    Dec 5, 2026

    Maimarkthalle, Germany 🇩🇪

    14% Hard Rock28 artists

January 2027 (1)

  • Shiprocked 2027

    Jan 24 – Jan 30, 2027

    Miami & Nassau, Bahamas 🇧🇸

    19% Hard Rock32 artists

February 2027 (1)

March 2027 (2)

  • Rock the Pistes 2027

    Mar 14 – Mar 20, 2027

    Châtel, France 🇫🇷

    38% Hard Rock10 artists

  • Paaspop

    Mar 26 – Mar 28, 2027

    Paaspop, Netherlands 🇳🇱

    3% Hard Rock126 artists

April 2027 (3)

May 2027 (6)

June 2027 (11)

July 2027 (11)

August 2027 (6)

Affiliate ticket links: FestT earns a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you.

🇺🇸 Hard Rock festivals in the US

8 upcoming festivals in the US where Hard Rock dominates the lineup; 6 with tickets on sale. Next up: Furnace Fest 2026, Birmingham, October 10, 2026.

Also featuring Hard Rock (a minority of the bill) — 111

Hard Rock festivals by country

Ticket prices

Entry from €10; median entry price €84 (across 65 festivals with a known price).