Sound City announces second headliner for 2026

Sensational alt-rock London four-piece, Keo, return to Liverpool’s Sound City to headline the event’s main stage in 2026.

On an unassailable arc since the release of their hyped summertime EP, Siren, the band has received welcome comparisons to Wunderhorse and Fontaines DC and now look ahead to playing the ornate, 3,500-capacity Great Central Hall on Sat 2 May 2026.

Arriving with an emotive, distorted bang to play last year’s Sound City weekend in skin-to-skin intimacy at Liverpool’s legendary EBGB’s underground venue, a stage curated by festival content collaborators, The Rock Revival, the rapid acknowledgement of the well-travelled band as contenders to a stadium-sized UK rock crown came just weeks later. Typified by the 1 million Spotify streaming single, I Lied, Amber, the gritty depths of frontman, Finn Keogh’s vocal delivery over waves of fuzzed guitars took centre stage as their debut EP whipped up a hail of deserved hype.

Sound City’s Managing Director, Becky Ayres, says:

“We’re absolutely thrilled to announce Keo as our Saturday night headliners for Sound City 2026. After their unforgettable performance at Sound City 2025, where they completely packed out EBGBs, with fans even spilling out into the street trying to catch a glimpse, it was clear they were destined for the main stage.

“Keo represent everything Sound City stands for: artists with vision, authenticity, and the power to connect with audiences in a way that feels both fresh and timeless. Their headline set is going to be one of those electric moments that people will be talking about for years to come. Sound City has always been about championing future headliners before the rest of the world catches up, and Keo are exactly that.”

Over 150 artists performed at Sound City in May this year and the festival has been quick to secure appearances for next year’s weekend, running over Sat 2 – Sun 3 May 2026, by some of the biggest names to have been showcased across the multi-venue, inner-city event in recent years.

Just last month it was confirmed that contemporary soul sensation, and former Liverpool resident, Jalen Ngonda would return to the festival having emerged onto intimate stages in 2017 and 2018. A former student at the Paul McCartney-founded Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Ngonda takes the headline slot on the closing Sunday night of the festival.

Not only has Sound City played host to some of the biggest names in British and international music at the earliest stages of their career, an alumni including but not limited to Charlie XCX, The 1975, Ed Sheeran and Stormzy, but the Sound City + Conference has become the destination for industry figures to meet and share their knowledge and experience.

Sound City will once again open Liverpool’s venue stages to all go-getting, grassroots artists through the Apply To Play system. Powered by the 2026 Apply to Play sponsor TuneCore, building on 2025’s TuneCore Scouse House takeover, and Amplead, the application platform provider, the opportunity for any artist to be considered for a slot at the festival is set to open soon.

Sound City and Sound City + will once again go ahead with the support of main festival, conference, training, talent development and community engagement funder Arts Council England thanks to National Lottery players. Sound City is also grateful for the support and partnership of CAPLL alongside the event’s Principal Creative Education Partners, SAE Institute and The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP).

Leeds Conservatoire and the Scottish Alternative Music Awards (SAMA) jojn as partners for 2026, alongside Off Axis, the not-for-profit gig swap and live music touring network, which enables artists to tour the UK and Ireland independently whilst retaining 100% of the ticket profits. SESAC also remains one of the festival’s valued contributors for 2026, returning to present a live showcase. The festival’s stage at The Shipping Forecast venue will be named in honour of their influential Vice President, John Sweeney, who passed away in June.

Sound City remains the UK’s lead festival for Keychange, the global movement focused on the restructuring of the music industry to achieve gender equality. Aiming to achieving a gender balance across all Sound City events and initiatives, equal representation of women and diverse genders is a determined feature of every Sound City weekend.