With Glastonbury, the U.K.\u2019s biggest and most-beloved festival, taking a fallow year in 2026, the market for summer events and festivals had been blown wide open for many punters. The European festival circuit has never looked more appealing for those wanting to combine seeing some of the touring game\u2019s biggest names and combine it with a jaunt to a holiday destination.<\/p>\n
More from Billboard<\/p>\n
Mad Cool, held in Madrid, Spain (July 8-11), is a top option for punters in 2026 and has been for over the past 10 years. First held in the Spanish capital in 2017, the festival has become a magnet for acts looking to play in the city on tour: Arctic Monkeys<\/a> (2018), Depeche Mode <\/a>(2018), Green Day<\/a> (2017), The Cure<\/a> (2019), Metallica<\/a> (2023), Dua Lipa<\/a> (2024), Olivia Rodrigo<\/a> (2025) and more have all entertained locals over the years.<\/p>\n The 2026 lineup is similarly stacked: Foo Fighters returns for their the group\u2019s show in the city in nearly a decade, with Twenty One Pilots, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Zara Larsson, Jennie, Wolf Alice, Florence + The Machine and more set to hit up the festival. The festival\u2019s offering for fans of electronic music are impressive, too, with Polo + Pan, Boyz Noise, Palms Trax and more all gearing up for performances. Musicians from Madrid and the wider Spanish market are also present with Luxi Villar, La Paloma, Hoonine among the acts flying the flag for local talent.<\/p>\n With little under a month to go, planning is no doubt a priority for those who have made the (smart) decision to pick Mad Cool as their 2026 summer party. These are the acts that ought to be part of any schedule for attendees.<\/p>\n Foo Fighters<\/p>\n When: Wednesday, 22:00, Region of Madrid Stage Moby<\/p>\n When: Wednesday, 22:50, Orange Stage Zara Larsson<\/p>\n When: Thursday, 21:40, Orange Stage Boyz Noize<\/p>\n When: Thursday, 23:15, The Loop Iberdrola Stage Swimming Paul<\/p>\n When: Friday, 21:10, The Loop Iberdrola Stage Interpol<\/p>\n When: Friday, 00:55, Orange Stage Jalen Ngonda<\/p>\n When: Saturday, 18:40, Region of Madrid Stage Luxi Villar<\/p>\n When: Saturday, 18:50, The Loop Iberdrola Stage Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds<\/p>\n When: Saturday, 22:00, Region of Madrid Stage David Byrne<\/p>\n When: Saturday, 00:05, Orange Stage Best of Billboard<\/p>\n Sign up for Billboard’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With Glastonbury, the U.K.\u2019s biggest and most-beloved festival, taking a fallow year in 2026, the market for summer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40875,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[19143,19141,13345,82,8797,19142,19140],"class_list":["post-40874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-madrid","tag-coachella-festival","tag-depeche-mode","tag-foo-fighters","tag-madrid","tag-olivia-rodrigo","tag-orange-stage","tag-zara-larsson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
What to expect: Though the band\u2019s 12th LP Your Favorite Toy met a middling chart response (No. 23 on the Billboard 200, their lowest for a studio album since their 1995 debut) the band\u2019s live show remains a formidable force and a massive attraction. It\u2019s been nearly a decade since the Foos\u2019 last show in the city (at Mad Cool\u2019s 2017 edition, no less), so expect a rapturous response for Dave Grohl and a long, hard-rocking night.<\/p>\n
What to expect: While Justin Bieber and Karol G earned the biggest post-Coachella boosts<\/a> in 2026, electronic icon Moby\u2019s set was a surprising talking point at the end of the weekend. Made up largely of his classic albums Everything Is Wrong (1995) and Play (1999), via the festival\u2019s livestream, the set travelled well beyond the Mojave stage and offered a potent reminder of his catalogue. A run of European shows this summer should generate similar intrigue and fervor.<\/p>\n
What to expect: 2026\u2019s breakout star isn\u2019t much of a new artist at all. Zara Larsson has been releasing stellar pop for over a decade now, but since 2025\u2019s Midnight Sun LP, the Swede\u2019s star has risen spectacularly \u2014 boosted by a support slot behind Tate McRae and a Billboard Global 200-topping collaboration with PinkPantheress (\u201cStateside\u201d). Back on this side of the Atlantic for the European festival circuit following a sold-out North American headline tour, these shows will be flashy, fun and a well-earned victory lap.<\/p>\n
What to expect: Earlier this year German-Iraqi DJ and producer found a new audience with the punishing remix album Nine Inch Noize, a collaboration with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails. Debuted at Coachella festival in April, the reworked songs showed the breadth \u2013 and sheer power \u2013 of Boys Noize\u2019s compositions, which have already seen him work with acts like Depeche Mode, Skrillex and Tame Impala. Strap in\u2026<\/p>\n
What to expect: Amidst the festival\u2019s electronic offerings, there\u2019s one mystery: Swimming Paul. Little is known about the artist other than his origins are from Paris, France and that his first two studio LPs (Smiling Through the Pain 1 + 2) have amassed millions of streams despite his anonymity, and have landed him a collaboration with Tiesto. His 90 minute slot at The Loop stage will invariably be full as punters look to grab a glimpse of one of the scene\u2019s rapidly rising stars.<\/p>\n
What to expect: Much like their contemporaries The Strokes, NYC\u2019s Interpol is a band that seems to only get bigger with time. A free show at Mexico City\u2019s Z\u00f3calo in 2024 drew 160,000 punters and their new material from the incoming LP This Mirror Weighs a Ton (Aug. 26) sounds as potent and urgent as their 2000s classics. As the world spins out of control, it\u2019s no surprise that gloom rockers like the \u2018Pol are more popular than ever.<\/p>\n
What to expect: The soul revivalist has bewitched Olivia Dean and Elton John, both of whom call themselves fans of the Liverpool-based U.S. singer and performer. The recently released Doctrine of Love, his sophomore LP on the Daptone label, will no doubt continue that acclaim, and a sunset slot in the peak of the Madrid summer could be something magical, indeed.<\/p>\n
What to expect: Grab your high-vis and hard hat, Villar warns on her Instagram page, because you\u2019re about to enter the \u2018Hardgroove Zone.\u2019 In her sets and shows across the continent so far, the DJ, who splits their time between Madrid and London, promises big beats, euphoric sounds and (yes) some hard grooves for good measure.<\/p>\n
What to expect: It\u2019s been two years since the Bad Seeds\u2019 last album (Wild God, 2024) but that tends not to matter one jot when they hit the road. The legendary vets\u2019 live setlists from recent shows are career-spanning epics including greatest hits (\u201cRed Right Hand\u201d), fan favorites (\u201cInto My Arms\u201d) and everything in between.<\/p>\n
What to expect: Byrne\u2019s American Utopia shows were his best in several decades, evoking memories of the Talking Heads\u2019 iconic Stop Making Sense-era gigs. Its follow-up Who Is the Sky? is stylistically and thematically similar \u2013 a diverse cast of players performing in choreographed set pieces \u2013 and has been deservedly lauded for its setlist, visuals and Byrne\u2019s perpetually lithe stage presence. He\u2019ll give Mad Cool a fitting finale on its last night.<\/p>\n