Rebellion Festival 2026: Part 1

It’s that time again. For this, the 30th anniversary of this beloved festival, we’ve made some changes. No more road trip, no service station buckets of coffee: we’re letting the train take the strain. And we’re a day early to soak up the atmosphere and catch a band or two outside of the Winter Gardens pressure cooker. While some of England melts, Blackpool is in the grip of a fierce and biting gale which is whipping the sea up into a kind of chocolatey spume. Otherwise it’s comfortable and familiar: aggressive, corpulent gulls fighting over takeaway scraps, splashes of colour from mohawks. Punks old and new mingling and snatches of well-loved songs bursting from every bar. We’ve mingled, met old friends and settled in to very acceptable B&B a little way out from the centre, but the trams are good so we’re all set. We end up at the Rhythm & Brew Room and catch Brazilian punksters Subalternos whose tight set is well-received by a hearty crowd jammed into the small room. If that room was full before, it’s heaving for The Dollheads later on. We love these guys, teenage siblings from Las Vegas who are outrageously talented. Their confidence and presence belies their youth and they deliver a scorching set of perfect power pop. If this is the future of punk, it’s in very good hands. We return slightly refreshed to our residence in, and full of, good spirits ahead of the first full day of Rebellion Festival.

The Rebellion Festival flag is flying from Blackpool Tower as we head in for the first show of the festival proper, and it’s the hugely engaging David Delinquent (Delinquents / David Delinquent & The IOUs) on the Almost Acoustic stage, although he’s not almost, this is just acoustic. He’s hanging like a bat after last night’s shenanigans which ended, unsurprisingly for a Scotsman on the lash, with a traffic cone in his bedroom. He’s pulled a good crowd who lap up his wonderfully tuneful and heartfelt set. A fine songwriter and performer who should be a lot higher in the pantheon of contemporary Scottish artistes. Even if you’re not a fan, who could pass up the chance to sing along “you insufferable cunt” with a room full of appreciative friends?

Moving swiftly along, but not far, we enter the Arena Stage, it’s early on a Thursday which can be a little eerie, but it’s not long before it gets busy and Blackpool’s Litterbug hit the stage with a set of eclectic punk. This set was one of their best, and we’ve seen many. Litterbug have changed line up fairly recently and a new bass player adds to a subtle change in style of sound, along with a drummer that settles this band, their songs may touch on the melodic side of punk, but they have retained enough edge to set them apart.

After catching The Dollheads last night in the cramped confines of the Rhythm & Brew Room it’s a given we were going to repeat the experience in the ‘slightly’ more spacious Empress Ballroom. This is The Dollheads third year on the bounce at Rebellion Festival, they originally appeared on the Introducing Stage and have been a staple of the main stage ever since. Despite a bass heavy mix The Dollheads give it everything, from their debut album to new and as yet untitled songs, along with a well chosen cover of Nena‘s 99 Red Balloons, which is a automatic crowd pleaser, it also fires up the large German contingent who are here for Die Toten Hosen. You get the impression that The Dollheads are enjoying every second of their set, for us they remain a bright hope for the future. 

A bit of pre-show research tells that we’re in for some Norwegian punk in the Empress Ballroom. The Good, The Bad & The Zugly are a new name for us but they’re eight albums into a 15 year career, so this promises to be a good show. It’s a dramatic intro, with Ennio Moriccone‘s theme from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly building a bit of tension before the band burst into their opening number. What follows is a set of pummelling accomplished rock that’s full of drama and energy that’s poorly served by an uncharacteristically muddy mix. Powerful stuff and a band well worth checking out to see if their recorded output matches their live energy. One of the features of Rebellion Festival is the relentless contrast of styles and a truly global line up, with a soundtrack that is constantly shifting.

Already mid afternoon in the Opera House and Blyth Power are the band this time, having founding member and drummer vocalist Joseph Porta (Zounds / The Mob) still giving the folk/punk songs just the right amount of authority that they deserve. This is a song writer who is very under the radar when it comes to lyrical brilliance, but what always comes across in the music, and especially live, is how passionate his followers are. This passion filters out to Blyth Power newbies and then you’re hooked, its what some would refer to as ‘melodic anthems for the thinking man’, we prefer to just call it ‘great music!’

Much-loved by the punk community, The Courettes have pulled a large and enthusiastic crowd. We’re hoping for a better mix than the previous two bands have endured and as the band sound check, things seem a bit more promising. The Danish/Brazilian two-piece take to the Empress Ballroom stage to a huge roar and we’re off on a energetic  60s-coloured adventure. Channeling all that is good about bubblegum pop without being sickly, The Courettes have an edge and a punk sensibility that makes this a joyous celebration. Simultaneously retro and very now, they have earned the respect they’re given. This is not a gig, it’s an exuberant celebration that has the big Empress Ballroom crowd enthralled. Excellent.  

Keeping the aforementioned constant clash of styles going are Dorset’s Black Water County who deliver a whirling set of foot stamping Celtic punk in the Opera House. The venue is seated as is their co -vocalist and bassist, apparently there is a good reason for this but this tale is not shared due to time restrictions, although we did found out afterwards that this related to an attempt to out high kick another band member that didn’t end well. Black Water County are back on tour in the UK this October, and if you need a fix of energetic Celtic punk, replete with tin whistle and mandolin, albeit with one uncharacteristically static member, then we’d recommend catching them if you can.

If you could bottle Bad Cop Bad Cop‘s energy, you could sell it for a fortune. Bad Cop Bad Cop are a formidable quartet from San Pedro, CA and they’re ready to party. Their rollicking punk power pop is a joyous battering and the Club Casbah crowd is loving it. Gloriously infectious stuff, slightly dangerous and politically spot on. There’s serious moshing going on as the band keep firing salvos of sublime tuneful guitar artillery. Crowd participation is a given and this becomes more than a show. It’s a communion and we’re converted. Now it’s time for the inevitable and necessary break to refuel for what will be a late night, and maybe some light refreshments.

Post tacos and liquid refreshment we head into the Opera House to catch 80s indie darlings The Primitives, lead singer Tracy Tracy is decidedly more animated than the last time caught them at Rebellion Festival‘s outdoor cousin R Fest a few years back. She pirouettes deliriously around the stage as the band deliver a set that includes early essential cuts such as Stop Killing Me, Thru’ The Flowers, Sick Of It, Really Stupid, and of course Crash. The crowd pleasing set is diligently delivered, maybe not with the energy they had back in the day, but then again that also equally applies to us. The night is drawing on and we are fighting fatigue on all fronts, but as the first day still has unmissable acts in the offing we aren’t going anywhere yet.

Rolling on into the late evening now and Club Casbah is the venue for the return to Rebellion Festival of The Adolescents. This vast hanger is not where I’d choose to see this band, as they are what you would call an original garage hardcore band and they definitely would suit that atmosphere better, but they filled the space with some heavy and vocally powerful tunes. If you didn’t leave with ringing in your ears then you didn’t stay long enough, and that would have been a loss, and not just for your hearing.  Having eleven studio albums to fill a set with was always going to be lead to some tough choices, but even hearing one song from The Fastest Kid Alive meant so much.

The Carpettes are from the North East Of England and this appearance at Rebellion Festival is their first since a reunion back in 1996 which saw them play the original Holiday In The Sun Festival. This 1977 melodic punk quartet have a kind of cult following and many of them seemed to be right here in the Rebellion Conference Circle Stage which is a new stage for this year. Not being an ardent fan this set was pretty much a new experience for us, and you could feel the love for them as the audience sang along to pretty much every word, this was a welcome time out from the heavy stuff going on in parts of the Winter Gardens.

What can you expect when you see Pizzatramp at 9pm on a Thursday night at Rebellion Festival, well pretty much the same as always, a full on Jimmy drunk or not, and fast as hell songs that without the relentless crowd abuse in-between songs would blur into one and probably make the set finish just before you could down your pint.  So is this what we got?, hell yeah of course it was. This was an energetic, booze fuelled and frenetic half hour.

When you get to almost 10pm on the first day of Rebellion Festival, your mind can feel like it’s ten paces behind your body, but then a band who were called in after a cancellation hit your senses with something that you don’t hear that often, if at all. Deadbeat At Dawn’s Punk/Rap/Ska hit the After Dark in Pavillion stage with a set that is so damn life affirming it has the body and mind slamming back together in unison, this is refreshing and much needed. The one song that describes and always stands out as ever is the brilliant Skapocalyptic, you could see the crowd knowing they’ve seen a band that deserves calling back for next year, and on a bigger stage.

As ever the day is peppered by escapes into the fresh air, wanders down to the sea and necessary breaks for food and respite from the relentlessness of Rebellion Festival, which often involve alcohol in some form, so we can head back into the fray once more. Keeping the 80s flashback going are Bow Wow Wow who are delivering the tribal sound of the early eighties. Most of the vintage acts appearing over the Rebellion Festival weekend are still recording and are playing new material in amongst the crowd pleasers, this is however an unashamed nostalgic trip back to early to mid 80s that seems to divide the crowd in the overheated Opera House. Bow Wow Wow delivered a welcome opportunity to dip into our adolescent past ahead of heading back to the future for Millie Manders & The Shutup.

We’ve witnessed Millie Manders‘ ascendancy from solo acoustic slots to headlining these big rooms. The rise of the band’s fortunes is down to two key factors: relentless hard work and talent. We’re not alone in being excited. The Club Casbah crowd is swelling as we watch. Credit too to the diehards at this end of the day. There has been some ‘fixture congestion’ today resulting in large numbers of attendees all trying to move around the Winter Gardens at the same time. It has been a slog. Endurance has been the key. Millie Manders & The Shutup enter to a thunderous fanfare. This new sense of drama just adds to the anticipation. They kick off with a rapturously received Fun Sponge and it’s helter skelter ride from there on. Every song sounds like it should be a hit. The pure exuberant energy emanating from all of the band carries the show. Millie Manders is confident and delivers new levels of energy, bringing the ecstatic audience with her. This band have shifted up another gear. They are confident, secure in both their stagecraft and firm in their convictions and really, really up for a good time. Millie Manders is a star. Her band are fantastic. That is all for today, apart from maybe a snack on the way home.

Words and photography in varying quantities by Mark Cartwright, Peter Hough and Phinky.