NME 100 At The Festivals: some of our favourite rising acts take us backstage on their 2026 festival season

Festival season is often dominated by headliner chatter. Who had an amazing turnout at Lollapalooza? Whose secret Reading set had everyone losing their minds? Who could be on the cards as a future Glasto headliner? But there’s also a lot of brilliant stuff happening several rows down the line-up poster. Investigate some of the acts in smaller fonts, and you’ll find artists who are filling up tents on Thursday nights, having pints with your favourite bands and watching their onstage jokes die a terrible death in multiple languages. READ MORE: The NME 100: essential emerging artists for 2026 This year, instead of focusing on the headliners, we asked acts from the NME 100 of 2026‘s rising class what this summer actually looked like from further down the bill; from the crowds they won over to the stages they’re dreaming of playing on next. Additional reporting: Lisa Wright 54 Ultra “It’s a game”: the Latin indie soul artist relishes the challenge of winning a festival crowd over What was your first music festival ever? “Probably The Greatest Day Ever in New York when I was 17 or 18. It was a rap festival with Tory Lanez and Young Thug. I just remember being excited to see all these art...