The main summer festival season has finished, but the UK calendar is far from empty. October and November still bring multi-venue indie festivals, jazz takeovers, indoor rock weekends and some of the heaviest lineups of the year.
Several events are spread across city venues rather than fields, which also makes late-season festivals easier to combine with a weekend away. As of October 1, 2026, these are 12 UK music festivals still ahead before the year ends.
| Festival | Location | Dates | Main Sound |
| Twisterella Festival | Middlesbrough | October 3 | Indie, alternative, emerging artists |
| Tenement Trail | Glasgow | October 10 | Indie, rock, new music |
| Summer’s End Festival | Chepstow | October 15-18 | Progressive rock |
| Neighbourhood Festival | Manchester | October 17 | Indie and alternative |
| Mutations Festival | Brighton | October 23-24 | Alternative, post-punk, electronic |
| Pitchfork Music Festival London | London | November 2-8 | Indie, electronic, hip-hop, experimental |
| Hard Rock Hell | Great Yarmouth | November 4-8 | Hard rock and metal |
| Simple Things Festival | Bristol | November 7 | Alternative, electronic, jazz, hip-hop |
| Damnation Festival | Manchester | November 7-8 | Metal, doom, sludge, extreme music |
| EFG London Jazz Festival | London | November 13-22 | Jazz, soul, world music, electronic |
| Planet Rockstock | Porthcawl | November 26-29 | Classic rock, hard rock, metal |
| WinterStorm | Troon | November 26-28 | Hard rock, AOR, heavy metal |
1. Twisterella Festival, Middlesbrough, October 3
Twisterella starts the remaining autumn schedule almost immediately. The one-day festival takes over several venues in central Middlesbrough on October 3, keeping the walking distance between stages short enough to move between bands throughout the day.
The 2026 lineup includes Walt Disco, loveshy, The Rooks, Mouth Ulcers, KEG, Bottle Rockets and a long list of newer artists. Twisterella has built much of its identity around emerging music, so it suits anyone who wants to leave with several new names rather than spend the whole day waiting for one huge headliner.
The festival has previously hosted artists including Sam Fender, Dream Wife and Pip Blom before they moved onto larger stages.
Current event details and the 2026 lineup are available through the Twisterella 2026 listing.
2. Tenement Trail, Glasgow, October 10
A week later, Glasgow gets its turn. Tenement Trail returns on October 10 with performances spread across venues around the city and a lineup led by artists including Brògeal, Baby Strange, Cliffords, The Orielles and Willie J Healey.
The appeal comes from the amount of music packed into a single day. Smaller acts share the schedule with established touring names, and moving between Glasgow venues becomes part of the festival itself.
Tenement Trail can also turn a late-season festival weekend into a much bigger trip.
With other events taking place in Brighton, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Bristol, Wales and London over the following weeks, following two or three festivals is a solid excuse for a road trip across the UK.
Before adding hundreds of motorway miles, we advise you to deal with basic preparation such as checking tyres, fluids and taking a moment to check your car insurance is far less interesting than choosing the playlist, but considerably more useful if the journey does not go to plan. This way, you will surely have a pleasant journey.
Of course, even carefully planned live concerts can produce unexpected moments once the bands actually hit the stage.
3. Summer’s End Festival, Chepstow, October 15-18
Summer’s End has a much narrower musical focus. The Chepstow event is dedicated to progressive rock and returns to The Drill Hall from October 15 to 18 for its 21st edition.
Threshold, Lazuli, Comedy of Errors, EBB, Landmarq, Held By Trees and Nick Fletcher are among the names scheduled for 2026. The smaller venue changes the experience considerably compared with an arena or outdoor festival. Fans can watch full sets without spending half the weekend crossing a giant site.
The complete dates and ticket information are available directly from the Summer’s End Festival.
4. Neighbourhood Festival, Manchester, October 17
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Manchester’s Neighbourhood Festival returns on October 17 with another multi-venue day built around indie, alternative music and newer British acts.
Red Rum Club, Florence Road, Keo, Brògeal, M60, The Kairos, Jamie McIntyre and dozens of smaller artists are included across the 2026 bill. One ticket gives festivalgoers a chance to move around several Manchester venues rather than stay in front of the same stage from lunchtime until closing.
Neighbourhood is particularly useful for discovering acts lower down the bill. A packed schedule means there is usually another set starting nearby when one room reaches capacity or a band does not grab your attention.
5. Mutations Festival, Brighton, October 23-24
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Brighton keeps the autumn festival run going with Mutations on October 23 and 24. Performances are spread across venues including Chalk, Green Door Store, The Hope & Ruin, Patterns and several other spaces around the city.
Friday is led by Fat Dog, with Squid, Working Men’s Club, bdrmm, Lip Critic and other alternative acts on the bill. Saturday brings Mike D’s 5D alongside UNKLE Sounds, Murkage Dave, Panic Shack, Walt Disco, Alex Cameron and The Wave Pictures.
The 2026 Mutations Festival runs across two days, so it works particularly well for anyone who wants a full weekend in Brighton rather than a single evening show.
6. Pitchfork Music Festival London, November 2-8
Pitchfork Music Festival London is less like a traditional fenced festival and more like a week of carefully chosen gigs spread around the capital. The 2026 edition runs from November 2 to 8 across venues including KOKO, Hackney Church, MOTH Club, Village Underground, EartH and Royal Festival Hall.
The Avalanches, Noname, Actress, Tortoise, The Radio Dept., Hania Rani, Jacob Alon, Aja Monet and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are among the artists appearing across the week.
Individual shows make Pitchfork easy to approach if seven consecutive nights of music sounds excessive. Pick two or three artists, build a weekend around them and leave room for another London gig between festival dates. The 2026 festival schedule runs from Monday through Sunday.
7. Hard Rock Hell, Great Yarmouth, November 4-8
Hard Rock Hell moves the festival season indoors at Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth. The 2026 event runs from November 4 to 8 and leans heavily into hard rock and metal.
SOiL, L.A. Guns, Danko Jones, Finger Eleven, Adema, Anvil, Crashdiet and Marco Mendoza are among the names associated with the 2026 bill.
The holiday park format is part of the attraction. Accommodation, stages and the festival crowd stay concentrated in the same complex, replacing tents and muddy fields with indoor venues in November.
8. Simple Things Festival, Bristol, November 7
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Simple Things returns to Bristol on November 7 with one of the most varied bills left on the UK calendar.
The Avalanches, Squid, Shabaka, Cobrah, Hannah Diamond, Moor Mother, Nathan Fake and other artists cover electronic music, post-punk, experimental pop, jazz and hip-hop across Bristol Beacon and several surrounding venues.
Someone interested in several genres gets more from Simple Things than a tightly focused rock or metal festival. Sets change direction throughout the day, and Bristol city centre provides the connection between venues rather than a purpose-built festival site.
9. Damnation Festival, Manchester, November 7-8
Damnation sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. The two-day Manchester festival is aimed squarely at people who want metal in its heavier forms.
Cult of Luna and Satyricon lead the weekend, with Carcass, Igorrr, Crowbar, Triptykon, HEALTH, Eyehategod, Wolves in the Throne Room and other heavy acts appearing at Bowlers Exhibition Centre.
Damnation has built its reputation around putting established extreme metal bands beside more experimental artists. Anyone choosing between Simple Things and Damnation on November 7 probably already knows which side of that divide they fall on.
10. EFG London Jazz Festival, November 13-22
Ten days of jazz take over London from November 13 to 22 for the 2026 EFG London Jazz Festival.
The lineup reaches far outside a narrow definition of jazz. Samara Joy, Fatoumata Diawara, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Branford Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Melody Gardot, Goldie, Morcheeba, Ben Folds, GoGo Penguin and Kronos Quartet are among the announced performers.
Concerts take place across numerous London venues, making the festival easy to build around individual artists rather than committing to every day. The EFG London Jazz Festival runs through two weekends, which leaves plenty of combinations for anyone travelling into the city.
11. Planet Rockstock, Porthcawl, November 26-29
Late November brings four days of rock to Trecco Bay Holiday Park in Porthcawl, South Wales. Planet Rockstock runs from November 26 to 29 and divides its lineup across two indoor stages.
Ricky Warwick & The Fighting Hearts headline Thursday, The Temperance Movement take Friday, Magnum lead Saturday and Geoff Tate closes Sunday with a performance of Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime.
Girlschool, Blaze Bayley, King King, John Corabi, Alcatrazz, Raven and a second stage of smaller bands fill out the weekend. Day tickets were still available at the end of September, although anyone booking later should confirm current availability before arranging accommodation. The latest Planet Rockstock 2026 update has the full daily breakdown.
12. WinterStorm, Troon, November 26-28
Scotland gets one more substantial rock weekend before December. WinterStorm runs from November 26 to 28 at Troon Concert Hall and Walker Hall in Ayrshire.
The 2026 lineup includes Blaze Bayley, FM, Tygers of Pan Tang, Tyketto, Toseland, Mostly Autumn, John Corabi, Martin Turner, Bad Touch and Chantel McGregor.
WinterStorm suits fans of classic hard rock, AOR and traditional heavy metal, and the indoor setup removes most of the weather gamble associated with travelling to a Scottish festival late in November.
Anyone using the weekend to catch up on classic rock bands can also find plenty of familiar names across decades of the genre.
The Bottom Line
Anyone who mentally ended festival season after Reading, Leeds, Download or the August bank holiday still has plenty left in 2026.
And for anyone already looking beyond this autumn, the Oasis 2027 tour gives UK rock fans another major run of live dates to plan around.
October is strongest for smaller city festivals and new music, with Twisterella, Tenement Trail, Neighbourhood and Mutations packed into a few weeks. November changes direction with Pitchfork London, Simple Things and EFG London Jazz on one side, and Hard Rock Hell, Damnation, Planet Rockstock and WinterStorm covering the heavier end.
Late-season festivals also require less commitment than a four-day summer camping trip. Many are indoors, several are spread through city venues, and single-day events make it realistic to combine the music with a weekend in Glasgow, Brighton, Manchester, Bristol or London.
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