Emo festivals

7 festivals still to come with Emo on the bill, carrying 54 of the 58 Emo acts we track. Every act has a page: which festivals they play, what time they go on once the festival says, and what they sound like if the name is new to you.

Two guitars in open tunings, one playing an arpeggio that loops and climbs while the other holds a chord underneath. The vocal sits closer to a shout than a melody, and it cracks on purpose. Drums drop out for a verse, then everything lands at once. In open air the quiet parts thin out, so the loud parts carry.

These acts play mid-afternoon on a side stage, or in a tent that fills well past its edges. The people around you know every word and sing it louder than the PA. Bodies go over the barrier near the end. Expect a singer who steps back from the mic and lets the crowd take a chorus.

Emo festivals in 2026

Every bill still ahead of you with real Emo on it, deepest first. A festival needs at least 2 Emo acts to be here, so one stray booking on a bill about something else does not count.

Who carries Emo this season

All 58 acts we have tagged Emo, sorted six ways. The lists disagree with each other, and the names they disagree about are usually the ones worth hearing.

Booked the most in 2026

The Emo acts who spent 2026 on the road. Go to more than one festival and you have probably seen a few of them already.

  1. 1Hot Mulligan9Midwest emo's chaotic favorites — screamed choruses, absurd song titles, real feelings, and a crowd that knows every word including the yelps.
  2. 2Pierce The Veil7San Diego post-hardcore romantics enjoying a massive TikTok-era second act — the scene's most swooned-over comeback.
  3. 3Emery4'The Question'-era screamo-pop veterans, still swinging — dueling vocals and dynamic whiplash from one of the scene's smartest bands.
  4. 4My Chemical Romance4Concept-album maximalists who treated emo as opera — marching-band drums, guitar harmonies, and a costume for every era, theatrical to the last note.
  5. 5Taking Back Sunday4Long Island emo royalty — mic-swinging catharsis, twenty-plus years deep, 'MakeDamnSure' still a communal throat-shred, and yes, the mic still swings.
  6. 6The Used4Bert McCracken's scream-to-croon whiplash defined a corner of early-2000s post-hardcore and still detonates live — the chaos aged into craft.
  7. 7Algernon Cadwallader3Beloved and long-dormant Philly emo pioneers back from reunion — noodly twinkling guitars, yelped vocals, and pure basement-show joy that a whole generation of Midwest-emo revivalists learned from.
  8. 8Ben Quad3Fifth-wave emo at its most frantic — tapped riffs and throat-shredding payoffs in equal measure, from a band that treats catharsis as a competitive sport.
  9. 9Free Throw3Twinkly, self-lacerating emo about mental health, sung like it's being confessed rather than performed — catharsis with a Nashville accent.
  10. 10Hawthorne Heights3Ohio emo survivors whose mid-2000s records are still the reference point for the whole scream-over-the-chorus template — played now with veterans' gratitude.

Most upcoming bookings

Everything still ahead of us, for anyone with festivals left on the calendar.

  1. 1Pierce The Veil5San Diego post-hardcore romantics enjoying a massive TikTok-era second act — the scene's most swooned-over comeback.
  2. 2Emery4'The Question'-era screamo-pop veterans, still swinging — dueling vocals and dynamic whiplash from one of the scene's smartest bands.
  3. 3Hot Mulligan4Midwest emo's chaotic favorites — screamed choruses, absurd song titles, real feelings, and a crowd that knows every word including the yelps.
  4. 4Taking Back Sunday4Long Island emo royalty — mic-swinging catharsis, twenty-plus years deep, 'MakeDamnSure' still a communal throat-shred, and yes, the mic still swings.
  5. 5Ben Quad3Fifth-wave emo at its most frantic — tapped riffs and throat-shredding payoffs in equal measure, from a band that treats catharsis as a competitive sport.
  6. 6Free Throw3Twinkly, self-lacerating emo about mental health, sung like it's being confessed rather than performed — catharsis with a Nashville accent.
  7. 7The Used3Bert McCracken's scream-to-croon whiplash defined a corner of early-2000s post-hardcore and still detonates live — the chaos aged into craft.
  8. 8Algernon Cadwallader2Beloved and long-dormant Philly emo pioneers back from reunion — noodly twinkling guitars, yelped vocals, and pure basement-show joy that a whole generation of Midwest-emo revivalists learned from.
  9. 9Alkaline Trio2Chicago's heart-skull institution — graveyard romance in three chords, with Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano trading morbid valentines across two-plus decades of dark pop-punk.
  10. 10Arm's Length2Ontario emo revival with a knack for the exact line that lands hardest — huge choruses, harder feelings, and a scene-beloved catalog that punches far above its weight.

Most headline slots

The names printed in the biggest type, trusted to send everyone home.

  1. 1My Chemical Romance4Concept-album maximalists who treated emo as opera — marching-band drums, guitar harmonies, and a costume for every era, theatrical to the last note.
  2. 2Pierce The Veil3San Diego post-hardcore romantics enjoying a massive TikTok-era second act — the scene's most swooned-over comeback.

Most places played

Whose year reads like a world tour that happened to be made of festivals.

  1. 1Hot Mulligan8Midwest emo's chaotic favorites — screamed choruses, absurd song titles, real feelings, and a crowd that knows every word including the yelps.
  2. 2Pierce The Veil7San Diego post-hardcore romantics enjoying a massive TikTok-era second act — the scene's most swooned-over comeback.
  3. 3Emery4'The Question'-era screamo-pop veterans, still swinging — dueling vocals and dynamic whiplash from one of the scene's smartest bands.
  4. 4My Chemical Romance4Concept-album maximalists who treated emo as opera — marching-band drums, guitar harmonies, and a costume for every era, theatrical to the last note.
  5. 5Taking Back Sunday4Long Island emo royalty — mic-swinging catharsis, twenty-plus years deep, 'MakeDamnSure' still a communal throat-shred, and yes, the mic still swings.
  6. 6The Used4Bert McCracken's scream-to-croon whiplash defined a corner of early-2000s post-hardcore and still detonates live — the chaos aged into craft.
  7. 7Algernon Cadwallader3Beloved and long-dormant Philly emo pioneers back from reunion — noodly twinkling guitars, yelped vocals, and pure basement-show joy that a whole generation of Midwest-emo revivalists learned from.
  8. 8Ben Quad3Fifth-wave emo at its most frantic — tapped riffs and throat-shredding payoffs in equal measure, from a band that treats catharsis as a competitive sport.
  9. 9Free Throw3Twinkly, self-lacerating emo about mental health, sung like it's being confessed rather than performed — catharsis with a Nashville accent.
  10. 10Hawthorne Heights3Ohio emo survivors whose mid-2000s records are still the reference point for the whole scream-over-the-chorus template — played now with veterans' gratitude.

All 58 Emo acts

Hot MulliganPierce The VeilEmeryMy Chemical RomanceTaking Back SundayThe UsedAlgernon CadwalladerBen QuadFree ThrowHawthorne HeightsMayday ParadeMotion City SoundtrackSenses FailThe Wonder YearsAlkaline TrioArm's LengthBaysideCitizenDivisión MinúsculaJoyce ManorKOYOOrigami AngelScary Kids Scaring KidsThe Red Jumpsuit ApparatusThe Starting LineThursdayAmerican FootballAnthony Green & The Boom Done BandArmor For SleepAs It IsBasementBob NannaCamping in AlaskaCarly CosgroveDaisyheadDashboard ConfessionalDikembeFinchFireworksGamefaceHey MercedesHot Rod CircuitJejuneJimmy Eat WorldKerosene HeightsMacsealMicrowaveMom JeansSamiamSaturdays At Your PlaceSignals MidwestSilversteinSincere EngineerSlingshot DakotaSmall Brown BikeTexas is the ReasonThe Early NovemberWeatherday

Emo festivals: common questions

What festivals have the most Emo in 2026?

Warped Tour Orlando 2026 (21 Emo acts), Riot Fest 2026 (15 Emo acts), Aftershock 2026 (14 Emo acts). We count the acts on each published lineup rather than going by how a festival bills itself, so this is the depth of the actual Emo booking.

Where can I see Emo live in 2026?

7 festivals still to come have Emo on the bill. The next is Louder Than Life 2026, September 17–20, 2026 at Highland Festival Grounds, Louisville, KY, with 11 Emo acts playing.

Which Emo artists are playing the most festivals in 2026?

Hot Mulligan (9), Pierce The Veil (7), Emery (4), My Chemical Romance (4), Taking Back Sunday (4). Counted per festival across the whole season, finished bills included.

How many Emo acts are playing festivals in 2026?

58 Emo acts appear on the lineups we track, across 7 festivals still to come. Each one has a page with its dates, stages and set times wherever the festival has published them.

Other genres

Indie (370)EDM (347)Alternative (295)Punk (277)Rock (249)Pop (245)Hip-Hop (236)House (216)Metal (205)Folk and Americana (182)R&B and Soul (153)Country (138)Hardcore (120)Dubstep and Bass (119)Techno (109)Bluegrass (74)Latin (53)Shoegaze and Dream Pop (48)Trance (44)Psychedelic (34)Jazz (31)Blues (25)Drum & Bass (25)Hardstyle and Hard Dance (24)Reggae and Dancehall (23)

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