My Chemical Romance
The Black Parade marches on — emo's biggest reunion story, now a stadium ritual with a generation's worth of catharsis per night.
Louder Than Life 2026 Lineup
America's biggest rock festival — four days, nearly 200 bands, and every shade of heavy in one Louisville field.
About Louder Than Life 2026
Louder Than Life is America's biggest rock festival, full stop: four September days at Louisville's Highland Festival Grounds, seven stages, nearly 200 bands, and bourbon everywhere it legally fits. The 2026 bill is an embarrassment of heaviness — My Chemical Romance, Iron Maiden, Tool, Limp Bizkit, and Pantera's only U.S. show of the year up top; Megadeth's farewell; Cavalera performing Sepultura's Roots; reunions from Circa Survive, Chiodos, and Get Scared; and Saturday hosting one of the most prominent female-fronted stage lineups a major U.S. rock festival has ever assembled. Whatever heavy means to you — emo, thrash, hardcore, metalcore, nu-metal nostalgia — it's on this poster somewhere.
Expect metal, rock, post-hardcore and hard rock across 197 acts.
The headliners
- My Chemical Romance — The Black Parade marches on — emo's biggest reunion story, now a stadium ritual with a generation's worth of catharsis per night.
- Iron Maiden — Up the irons — metal's greatest live institution, Eddie included, galloping twin leads and Bruce Dickinson sprinting the stage like it's 1985.
- Tool — Prog-metal's cathedral builders — polyrhythms, lasers, and total audience surrender, Danny Carey's drumming alone worth the pilgrimage.
- Limp Bizkit — Nu-metal's chaos agents in their beloved victory-lap era — Fred Durst does it all for the nookie, still, and the field does it with him.
- Pantera — The reborn kings of groove metal — their only U.S. show of 2026, 'Walk' and 'Cowboys from Hell' as scripture.
- Pierce The Veil — San Diego post-hardcore romantics enjoying a massive TikTok-era second act — the scene's most swooned-over comeback.
- Gojira — France's environmental-metal titans — from the Olympics opening ceremony to the pit, whale-song riffs and precision heaviness with an actual conscience.
- Sublime — Long Beach legends revived with Jakob Nowell up front — 'Santeria' echoing into the Kentucky night, the songbook in family hands.
Up-and-comers to catch early
- Sleep Theory — Memphis alt-metal's fastest riser — R&B-smooth vocals over crushing grooves.
- The Home Team — Seattle's funk-flecked pop-metalcore — groove first, breakdowns second.
- Scene Queen — Pink-glitter 'bimbocore' — pop-metalcore with a feminist bite.
- The Warning — Three sisters from Monterrey out-rocking everyone — Mexico's hard-rock pride.
- Bilmuri — Absurdist country-core gone legitimately huge — saxophones and breakdowns.
- Kami Kehoe — Gen-Z alt-metal riser on Saturday's history-making female-fronted stage.
Other acts worth planning around
- Pantera — The reborn groove-metal kings — their only U.S. show of 2026.
- Megadeth — Mustaine's farewell campaign — thrash's most venomous catalog, one last ride.
- Cavalera — Max and Iggor performing Sepultura's Roots in full — Brazilian metal history, live.
- Danny Elfman — Oingo Boingo's madman turned Burton's composer — a berserk orchestral-rock spectacle.
- The Mars Volta — At the Drive-In's cosmic successors — salsa-prog freakouts and falsetto fire.
- Circa Survive — Anthony Green's art-punk flagship, reunited — soaring, strange, beloved.
- Mac Sabbath — Black Sabbath covers performed by fast-food mascots. Exactly as great as it sounds.
The lineup by day
- Thursday, September 17: Iron Maiden, Pantera, Megadeth, Danzig, Rise Against, Alice Cooper + 42 more
- Friday, September 18: My Chemical Romance, Pierce The Veil, A Day To Remember, The Used, Coheed and Cambria, The Pretty Reckless + 44 more
- Saturday, September 19: Limp Bizkit, Sublime, Papa Roach, BABYMETAL, Halestorm, Circa Survive + 43 more
- Sunday, September 20: Tool, Gojira, Danny Elfman, The Prodigy, The Mars Volta, Mastodon + 44 more
Louder Than Life 2026 lineup FAQ
When is Louder Than Life 2026?
September 17–20, 2026 — Thursday through Sunday.
Where does Louder Than Life take place?
Highland Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Exposition Center, Louisville, KY.
Who is headlining Louder Than Life 2026?
Iron Maiden and Pantera (Thursday), My Chemical Romance and Pierce The Veil (Friday), Limp Bizkit and Sublime (Saturday), and Tool with Gojira (Sunday).
How many bands are playing?
197 announced acts across seven stages over four days.
What days do specific bands play?
Every act's day is already on this page — expand the full lineup below or check the day-by-day breakdown.
How do I figure out which of the 197 bands I'd actually like?
Tell the finder at the top of this page a few bands you love — it'll match you with your must-see sets, with reasons why.
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Going to Louder Than Life 2026? Get tickets ↗
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Louder Than Life full lineup
Iron Maiden
Up the irons — metal's greatest live institution, Eddie included, galloping twin leads and Bruce Dickinson sprinting the stage like it's 1985.
Tool
Prog-metal's cathedral builders — polyrhythms, lasers, and total audience surrender, Danny Carey's drumming alone worth the pilgrimage.
Limp Bizkit
Nu-metal's chaos agents in their beloved victory-lap era — Fred Durst does it all for the nookie, still, and the field does it with him.
Pantera
The reborn kings of groove metal — their only U.S. show of 2026, 'Walk' and 'Cowboys from Hell' as scripture.
Pierce The Veil
San Diego post-hardcore romantics enjoying a massive TikTok-era second act — the scene's most swooned-over comeback.
Gojira
France's environmental-metal titans — from the Olympics opening ceremony to the pit, whale-song riffs and precision heaviness with an actual conscience.
Danny Elfman
Oingo Boingo's madman turned Tim Burton's composer — a berserk orchestral-rock spectacle that mashes film scores into art-punk chaos.
The Prodigy
Firestarters, still — the UK's rave-punk institution hits harder than bands half their age, three decades of menace intact.
Sublime
Long Beach legends revived with Jakob Nowell up front — 'Santeria' echoing into the Kentucky night, the songbook in family hands.
Papa Roach
'Last Resort' to now — nu-metal survivors who never stopped filling fields, with Jacoby Shaddix still working every inch of stage.
A Day To Remember
The pop-punk/metalcore hybrid blueprint — mosh-call breakdowns and sugar-rush hooks in equal measure, delivered with beach balls, confetti cannons, and total arena confidence.
BABYMETAL
Japan's kawaii-metal phenomenon — synchronized choreography over blast beats, delivered joyfully and backed by a shredding live band that silences every doubter.
Megadeth
Mustaine's farewell campaign — thrash's most venomous catalog, one last ride through 'Peace Sells' and four decades of grudges.
Danzig
The Evil Elvis — Misfits mythology and 'Mother' brooding in the flesh, blues-metal croon delivered from rock's darkest pulpit.
Halestorm
Lzzy Hale's Grammy-winning powerhouse — the loudest voice in modern hard rock, delivered nightly with full-throttle sincerity.
Rise Against
Chicago's melodic-hardcore conscience — two decades of fists-up anthems delivered with undimmed conviction, 'Savior' still closing rooms.
Alice Cooper
The original shock-rock showman — guillotines, snakes, straitjackets, and 'School's Out' forever, still running rock's greatest vaudeville horror show six decades in.
Circa Survive
Anthony Green's art-punk flagship, reunited — soaring, strange, and beloved, with a fanbase that treats these songs as sacred text.
Ice Nine Kills
Horror-movie metalcore theater — every song a slasher flick with breakdowns, complete with costumes, props, and body counts.
Jimmy Eat World
Emo's steadiest hands — 'The Middle' of every festival singalong for 25 years, with deep cuts that hit just as hard.
The Mars Volta
At the Drive-In's cosmic successors — salsa-prog freakouts and falsetto fire, 'The Widow' amid the labyrinth.
Mastodon
Atlanta's prog-sludge institution — 'Leviathan' riffs, harmonized howls, and twenty years of metal ambition that never stopped climbing.
The Used
Utah screamo-emo lifers — 'The Taste of Ink' still tastes the same, twenty years and counting.
Bilmuri
Johnny Franck's absurdist country-core project gone legitimately huge — saxophones, breakdowns, and jokes played tight enough to work as straight-up bangers.
Sabaton
Swedish power metal's war historians — tank included, choruses drilled to parade-ground precision, history lectures you can mosh to.
Coheed and Cambria
Sci-fi concept-rock saga with arena hooks — 'Welcome Home' indeed, the Amory Wars mythology powering some of modern prog's biggest singalongs.
The Pretty Reckless
Taylor Momsen's grunge-blooded hard rock — smoky, heavy, chart-topping, with more rock-radio #1s than most legacy acts.
Hot Mulligan
Midwest emo's chaotic favorites — screamed choruses, absurd song titles, real feelings, and a crowd that knows every word including the yelps.
Taking Back Sunday
Long Island emo royalty — mic-swinging catharsis, twenty-plus years deep, 'MakeDamnSure' still a communal throat-shred, and yes, the mic still swings.
Sleeping with Sirens
Kellin Quinn's falsetto-fronted post-hardcore — Warped Tour royalty matured, with the high notes fully intact and scene-era devotion still filling rooms.
In This Moment
Maria Brink's gothic ritual-metal — costumes, choirs, and 'Whore' still searing, a stage show closer to dark ceremony than concert.
Dance Gavin Dance
Swancore's funk-flecked flagship — technicolor riffs and dual-vocal whiplash, a prolific catalog that never stopped mutating.
Chiodos
Craig Owens's theatrical post-hardcore, reunited — MySpace-era drama with real stakes, piano flourishes and that unmistakable swooping vocal intact.
Black Label Society
Zakk Wylde's biker-metal brotherhood — pinch harmonics for days, Sabbath-weight riffs, and guitar solos treated as main events.
Killswitch Engage
Metalcore's standard-bearers — 'The End of Heartache' still detonates, two decades of the genre's template played by its authors.
Anthrax
Big Four thrash with NYC attitude — 'Caught in a Mosh' remains an instruction, and four decades in they still play like the scrappiest kids in the class.
Ministry
Uncle Al's industrial-metal war machine — 'Just One Fix' still hits like a hammer, and the political fury never cooled.
Cavalera
Max and Iggor performing Sepultura's 'Roots' in full — Brazilian metal history live, from the brothers who wrote it.
Skillet
Christian rock's arena juggernaut — 'Monster' with a special production, pyro and strings at full budget.
The Warning
Three sisters from Monterrey out-rocking everyone — Mexico's hard-rock pride, a family band that grew into arena-grade virtuosity.
Nothing More
San Antonio alt-metal showmen — bass-throwing spectacle, Grammy-nominated hooks, and a stage rig built like a science experiment.
Tom Morello
Rage Against the Machine's riff-lord solo — whammy tricks and protest fire, guitar as turntable and megaphone at once.
Lindsey Stirling
Dancing electric-violin spectacle — classical chops at festival scale, choreography and pyrotechnics included, a one-woman production that earns the word spectacle.
Dethklok
Metalocalypse's cartoon death-metal band, real and devastating live — Brendon Small's shred played against the animation at brutal volume.
Black Veil Brides
Warpaint-and-leather anthems — the black parade's glammer cousins, stadium-goth choruses delivered with total conviction, eyeliner-era devotion still marching.
Kublai Khan TX
Texas hardcore at its most punishing — mosh calls with a message, and a low end that treats subtlety as a character flaw.
Underoath
'They're Only Chasing Safety' to now — metalcore's restless innovators, reinventing loudly in every era, and the reinventions keep landing.
Alkaline Trio
Chicago'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.
Machine Head
Oakland groove-metal veterans — 'Davidian' still an extinction event, three decades of down-tuned survival behind it.
Suicidal Tendencies
Venice crossover legends — 'Institutionalized' and a pit that never ages, Cyco Mike still leading the charge.
Chad Gray: Voice of Mudvayne & HELLYEAH
30 years of madness — Mudvayne and HELLYEAH's voice in one career-spanning set, from 'Dig'-era chaos to groove-metal swagger.
Starset
Space-suit cinematic rock — sci-fi lore with radio-metal hooks, a full 'demonstration' rather than a mere concert.
Alexisonfire
Canada's post-hardcore heart — three voices trading scream, croon, and rasp across one beloved catalog, with reunion sets that feel like national holidays back home.
Animals As Leaders
Eight-string instrumental wizardry — Tosin Abasi rewrites what a guitar can do nightly, prog-metal precision that draws musicians the way other bands draw fans.
Thrice
Post-hardcore's elder statesmen — heavy, literate, endlessly evolving, and never once coasting on the back catalog.
Loathe
Liverpool heaviness that swings between crushing metalcore and gorgeous shoegaze drift — Deftones lineage carried somewhere genuinely new.
P.O.D.
'Alive' and 'Youth of the Nation' — San Diego's nu-metal survivors, positivity intact through every scene cycle.
The Home Team
Seattle's funk-flecked pop-metalcore — groove first, breakdowns second, and falsetto hooks the scene didn't see coming.
Bowling For Soup
'1985' and endless charm — pop-punk's friendliest hang, where the between-song banter is as beloved as the hits.
Thursday
'Full Collapse' pioneers — the bridge between hardcore and emo, still vital, with Geoff Rickly's yelp intact.
We The Kings
'Check Yes Juliet' — MySpace-era pop-punk sunshine, Florida warmth that never curdled, and the chorus still checks yes.
From Ashes To New
Fit For A King
Sleep Theory
President
GWAR
Intergalactic latex monsters spraying fake blood on the front rows since 1984 — thrash chops under the costumes. Wear a poncho.
Palaye Royale
L.S. Dunes
MCR, Thursday, and Circa Survive members' supergroup — urgent, veteran post-hardcore played like a first band, not a side project.
Atreyu
OC metalcore originators — 'Lip Gloss and Black' nostalgia with new-era polish, from a band that helped write the genre's melodic playbook in the first place.
Lit
'My Own Worst Enemy' — one perfect song and a very good time, delivered by SoCal pros who know exactly why you came.
Get Scared
Set It Off
Blood For Blood
Sunami
Bay Area beatdown hardcore — no subtlety, maximum pit, exactly as advertised, the pit's favorite band for a reason.
Filter
'Hey Man Nice Shot' — Richard Patrick's industrial-rock sneer intact, machine-tooled riffs from NIN's family tree.
Blue Medusa
Soulfly
Between The Buried And Me
Colors-era prog-death odysseys — metal's maximalist storytellers, stacking jazz interludes and death-metal fury into album-length suites.
ERRA
Chelsea Grin
After The Burial
Lacey Sturm
Toadies
'Possum Kingdom' — Texas alt-rock's eternal dark ride, still promising to be your angel nightly, Texas gothic in radio form.
Currents
Dead Poet Society
Orianthi
Boundaries
Downswing
Metal Church
The Acacia Strain
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Holding Absence
Welsh post-hardcore romantics — soaring, heart-first heaviness, every chorus written to be wept through, Cardiff sincerity at full wingspan.
HAYWIRE
Spite
Agnostic Front
The godfathers of NYHC — Lower East Side scripture since the early '80s, with 'Victim in Pain' still the blueprint for every two-stepping hardcore band that followed.
Escape The Fate
Jutes
Emmure
ivri
Alien Ant Farm
Silly Goose
Scene Queen
Pink-glitter 'bimbocore' — pop-metalcore with a feminist bite, breakdowns in hot pink and lyrics that name names.
Caskets
Rain City Drive
The Funeral Portrait
PeelingFlesh
Haste The Day
Holywatr
Locked Shut
Hail The Sun
Madball
New York hardcore's standard — set it off since '88, the two-step blueprint played by the family that wrote it.
I See Stars
Mushroomhead
Angel Du$t
Scary Kids Scaring Kids
The Word Alive
Jeff Hardy
Mac Sabbath
Black Sabbath covers performed by fast-food mascots — exactly as great as it sounds, with lyrics rewritten as fast-food satire.
The Ataris
The Rasmus
Volumes
Wind Walkers
Twitching Tongues
Powerman 5000
The Barbarians of California
Emery
'The Question'-era screamo-pop veterans, still swinging — dueling vocals and dynamic whiplash from one of the scene's smartest bands.
Maylene & The Sons of Disaster
Born of Osiris
H2O
Red
'End of Silence' anniversary — orchestral Christian metal's biggest debut, replayed in full with the strings intact.
Josey Scott: The Original Voice of SALIVA
Adelitas Way
Thousand Below
Soil
Arrows in Action
Chained Saint
Zero 9:36
Elijah
Holy Wars
Butcher Babies
Nevertel
Dry Kill Logic
Icon For Hire
Kami Kehoe
Codefendants
Texas Hippie Coalition
Austin Carlile: The Original Voice of Of Mice & Men
The Pretty Wild
End It
Vana
Rivers of Nihil
Like Moths To Flames
Signs of the Swarm
Archers
KOYO
Primer 55
Emarosa
Kentucky's own — post-hardcore turned silk-smooth pop-rock, playing home turf with one of the scene's most distinctive clean vocals.
American Monster
200 Stab Wounds
156/Silence
Missing Link
Fox Lake
Sace6
Greyhaven
Louisville's chaotic metalcore pride — Every Time I Die-school swerves and hooks, on a hometown play.
King 810
Many Eyes
Tantric
Louisville post-grunge veterans on home ground — 'Breakdown'-era radio rock played for the crowd that grew up on it.
The Violent Hour
Dark Divine
Sent By Ravens
Showing Teeth
Snarling young punk energy on the undercard.
Cenobia
Earshot
TX2
Diamante
OTHERWISE
Doobie
He Is Legend
Aviana
vianova
Future Palace
Cane Hill
Corpse Pile
40 Below Summer
Heavy//Hitter
Bodybox
Boltcutter
Resolve
Dreamwake
Gates To Hell
Death Valley Dreams
Set For Tomorrow
Billy McNicol
As You Were
No Resolve
