TWISTERELLA REVEALS FULL 2026 LINE-UP WITH GIA FORD, LOVESHY, MOUTH ULCERS, THE ROOKS AND WALT DISCO

Middlesbrough’s Twisterella Festival has unveiled the full line-up for its 12th edition, bringing a packed day of new music to the North East on October 3.

Taking over five venues across the town, this year’s award-winning festival will be headlined by Gia Ford, loveshy, Mouth Ulcers, The Rooks and Walt Disco, with a sprawling bill of emerging artists filling out the rest of the day.

Sheffield-based singer-songwriter Gia Ford arrives at Twisterella fresh from the release of her second album, A Room Within A Room. Championing a dark, cinematic strain of pop, Ford has already picked up support from Elton John and signed to Chrysalis Records, with her music drawing on influences ranging from Portishead and Björk to The Rolling Stones.

London artist loveshy brings a very different kind of nostalgia, combining early-2000s rock and grunge with contemporary pop production. His debut EP Dead2Me clocked up more than four million plays, helping establish an increasingly distinctive project built around music, visuals and online culture.

There’s a darker edge elsewhere in the headline bill. London’s Mouth Ulcers blend post-punk and darkwave with a shoegaze haze, while Glasgow’s The Rooks channel classic Brit rock through a more modern lens. The band’s debut EP Noise & Confusion followed sessions with Grammy-winning producer Jim Lowe and came after support runs with Blossoms and Fontaines D.C.

Glasgow five-piece Walt Disco round out the headline announcement with their theatrical, synth-driven pop-rock. Following albums Unlearning and The Warping, the band’s latest single ‘Coup de foudre’ pushes their sound into something faster, louder and increasingly unruly.

And that’s just the top line.

The wider bill includes self-described “frazzled English Pop” outfit Gifthorse, atmospheric alt-folk collective The Slow Country, Haiver — the new project from Frightened Rabbit alumnus Billy Kennedy — and Brighton art-rockers KEG, alongside a long list of emerging acts.

This year also sees Twisterella return to its original compact footprint. Three stages at Teesside University Students’ Union will be joined by Rebel:Rebel and new venue The Buffs Club, with all five sites just minutes apart.

That close-knit setup is central to what has made Twisterella such a fixture in the North East. Rather than sprawling across a huge festival site, the event lets audiences bounce between venues throughout the day, catching a stack of artists without spending half the afternoon walking between stages.

Now in its 12th year, Twisterella has become a key part of the region’s independent music ecosystem, earning an AIF Independent Festival Award in 2019 for its work championing emerging talent.

Co-promoter Henry Carden says the team are “absolutely buzzing” with this year’s bill, adding that the return to a tighter five-venue footprint brings the festival back to its roots.

With 36 artists spanning indie, post-punk, pop, electronic music, rock and everything in between, Twisterella once again looks less like a festival built around one sound and more like a very good excuse to spend a Saturday discovering what comes next.

Twisterella 2026 takes place Saturday 3 October across five venues in Middlesbrough. Tickets are on sale now.