The best new and upcoming bands in 2026

There’s nothing quite like catching a band just as things start to click. Before the hype, before the headlines, when the songs are still spreading by word of mouth and live shows feel like a secret worth keeping. It’s part bragging rights, part instinct, and part falling in love with something new.

To save you digging through the noise, we’ve pulled together a list of the UK’s most exciting new bands heading into 2026. From underground favourites building real momentum to early signals of something much bigger, these are the artists shaping the year ahead, and the ones you’ll want to say you saw coming.

Scroll on. Your next favourite band is probably already in here.

Prostitute

After years of relentless gigging across their hometown of Dearborn, Michigan, Prostitute bulldozed onto the global scene at the backend of 2025 with their incendiary debut, Attempted Martyr. A loose concept record chronicling the rise and fall of a doomed zealot, it fuses electronic and Arabic-influenced noise rock into something serrated, volatile, and built to detonate on stage - soundtracking a world coming apart in real time. If there’s one band you catch live in 2026, make it Prostitute.

The Itch

A dance-punk duo out of Luton splicing classic indie instincts with an LCD-esque synth-dance spine, The Itch feel poised to take their fun-centric, free-form sound far beyond the underground in 2026. With a drip-feed of singles hinting at a larger project coming this year, Georgia Hardy and Simon Tyrie are a sonic itch we have no interest in scratching away.

PISS

Canada’s exhilarating new punk outlier PISS are a band best understood live. With no recorded material yet, their reputation has spread on the strength of shows that swing from slowcore introspection - vocalist Tay Zantingh delivering searing, apoplectic monologues - to walls of unrelenting hardcore noise. Equal parts vulnerable and rage-filled, they also stand out for the care they show their audiences, foregrounding physical and mental safety through pre-set warnings and a visibly thoughtful approach to the room. A vital band for a jilted generation, and one we hope we hear on record as 2026 unfolds.

Silver Gore

Born from the slow-burning chemistry of bandmates turned romantic partners, Silver Gore are a London duo on a quiet but confident ascent. Singer-drummer Ava Gore and cult producer Ethan P. Flynn channel catharsis through synthy, spacey pop, with debut EP ‘Dogs In Heaven’ marking their first fully formed statement in late 2025. With more already waiting in the wings, Silver Gore feel like a project built on instinct, intimacy, and momentum - and we can’t wait to get our ears around what comes next.

Girl Group

A Liverpudlian five-piece cocktail of Gen-Z girlhood, Spice Girls–esque swagger, and pure celebratory energy, Girl Group are feminist pop at its most abundantly fun. Championing their inherent weirdness and youthful rebellion - pausing occasionally for a well-timed yearn - they make music that conjures Bratz dolls, teenage house parties, and refreshing silliness. Crashing into the conversation in 2025, Girl Group feel primed to make an even bigger dent in 2026.

Madra Salach

A six-piece Irish folk act revelling in the ancestral while forging folklore of their own, Madra Salach have built a following through spellbinding live shows and a small but alluring run of releases. Taking cues from the recent resurgence of leftfield folk - comparisons to Lankum aren’t misplaced - the band twists tradition into something darker and stranger, firmly on their own terms. It’s a sound that’s beginning to travel beyond the Emerald Isle, and one that feels increasingly impossible to ignore heading into 2026.

MORN

South Wales exports now embedded in London’s Speedy Wunderground / Windmill DIY ecosystem, MORN have already generated serious buzz despite having just a single track to their name. That alone was enough to land them on Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent longlist, with debut release ‘Modern Man’ - part of Speedy’s Single Series - balancing doom and beauty with impressive restraint. Early days still, but for anyone tuned into the Speedy sound, MORN feel hard to ignore in 2026.

Bleech 9:3

Another potent export from Ireland’s seemingly endless production line, Bleech 9:3 are a fervent four-piece building serious momentum on the strength of their electric alt-grunge live shows. Word of mouth - bolstered by support slots alongside the likes of Keo - has travelled fast, with the band delivering screeching sermons that push against the dominant narrative and leave sweat-soaked converts in their wake. A must-see live prospect heading into 2026.

Rabbitfoot

A folky post-rock outfit shrouded in mystique, Rabbitfoot have built serious word-of-mouth momentum without a single release on streaming. Frequent Windmill shows and standout sets at major new-band showcases - including a widely lauded appearance at Left of the Dial - have made their idiosyncratic arrangements and leftfield instrumentation hard to ignore. Rarely does a band generate this level of buzz without recorded music, and it makes Rabbitfoot one of the most intriguing prospects heading into 2026.

Truthpaste

A Manchester six-piece who bask in their own weirdness, Truthpaste fuse electronic folk and pop into something playful, expansive, and deeply human. Their songs capture the whirlwind of tight-knit lives, dressed up with drum machines, sax, and violin, and powered by an energy that keeps pulling you back for more. Inherently fun and full of coming-of-age warmth, Truthpaste feel poised to find a much wider audience as 2026 rolls on.

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