Three days
Northlight Festival 2026
Forty acts, four stages and a field that holds twelve thousand, on the moor above Kellow from Friday 17 to Sunday 19 July 2026. Bring a tent and a coat that works in both kinds of July.
Lineup
Five names are confirmed and thirty-five are not. Start with the acts closing each night, then work back through the Barn and the Lantern Tent.
Rundown
Three Days
on the Moor
Thu 16 Jul
Early
Campsite opens
Pitch up from 4pm, walk the site while it is still quiet, and eat before the queues learn where the food village is.
Fri 17 Jul
Day one
Gates and first sets
Arena opens at 2pm. Six acts before dark, then Fallow Hours close the Moor Stage at 10:40 and the Lantern Tent runs to 3am.
Sat 18 Jul
Day two
Brass, workshops, late tent
Screen printing and the beginners brass workshop from 11am, The Brass Tundra at 6, Nocturne Signal in the Lantern Tent until the sun comes up.
Sun 19 Jul
Day three
Slow start, loud finish
Bakery tent at 7am, the acoustic stage by the water at noon, Vela Kanto at 8, and lanterns along the treeline at 11.
On site
More than the main stage
Four stages
The Moor Stage on the ridge, the Barn, the Lantern Tent for the late sets, and an acoustic stage by the water.
Art after dark
A light trail along the treeline, lit from dusk until the last set, with new commissions every year.
Food village
Twenty traders, a bakery tent open at 7am, and a bar that keeps serving after the music stops.
Workshops
Screen printing, brass for beginners, and a Sunday choir that anyone on site can walk into.
Tickets
Three ways in
Every ticket covers all four stages, the art trail and the workshops. Camping is the only add-on, and it is the one that sells out first.
- Day ticket £64
One day — Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Valid from 11am. No camping.
- Weekend pass £149
All three days, all four stages. Leave the site each night.
- Weekend + camping £189
All three days plus a tent pitch from Thursday, showers and hot water.
Under 12s come free with a ticketed adult. Campervan pitches are £60 on top of any weekend ticket.
Travel
Getting here, and staying over
- By car
- One road in, signed from the A-road junction six miles south. Parking is £15 for the weekend and sits a ten-minute walk from the gate. Arrive before 4pm on Friday or expect to queue.
- By train and shuttle
- Trains reach Kellow Halt every hour. Our shuttle meets each one from Thursday noon to Sunday midnight — £6 return, booked with your ticket or paid on board.
- By coach
- Coaches run from four cities on Friday morning and head back on Sunday evening. Seats are added to a weekend pass at checkout, never sold on their own.
- Camping
- Two fields. Low Field is flat, sheltered and quiet after midnight. High Field is neither. Pitches are first come, first pitched, and both open at 4pm on Thursday.
- Campervans
- Sixty hook-up pitches in the east paddock at £60, on top of a weekend ticket. They go before the end of May every year, so book the van before you book the time off.
- Access
- Step-free routes to all four stages, a raised viewing platform at the Moor Stage, accessible showers beside Low Field, and a free carer ticket. Tell us what you need when you book.
FAQ
The questions we get every January
What time can I arrive?
Campers can pitch from 4pm on Thursday. The arena opens at 2pm on Friday. Day tickets are valid from 11am on the day printed on them, and the gate closes at 9pm.
Can I bring my own drink?
Into the campsite, yes: one crate of cans or soft drinks per person, nothing made of glass. Nothing is carried from the campsite into the arena, so keep the good stuff for the tent.
What is the weather like up there?
It is a moor in July. Pack for sun and for sideways rain in the same afternoon, bring boots rather than trainers, and peg the tent properly. The festival runs whatever the forecast says.
Can I bring children?
Under 12s come free with a ticketed adult and do not need a ticket of their own. There is a family camping field next to the showers, and ear defenders are free from the welfare tent.
Are tickets refundable?
Up to 30 days before the gates open, minus the booking fee. After that a ticket can be transferred to another name once, free of charge, up to the Wednesday before the festival.
What happens if an act drops out?
We replace the slot and say so on this page and by email. A change to the lineup is not a refund, because the ticket buys the weekend rather than any one set.
Testimonials
Worth the drive
“We drove four hours, camped in the rain and lost a tent peg on the first night. The brass set at six on Saturday was still the best hour of my year.”
PRIYA NANDRA
Camped in Low Field, 2025
Testimonials
The field went quiet
“Somewhere in the last song on Friday, twelve thousand people stopped talking at the same time. I have never heard a field do that before.”
DECLAN MOSS
Weekend pass, 2025
Testimonials
We book before the lineup
“Small enough that you keep running into the same people all weekend, big enough that the sound is right. We stopped waiting for the lineup years ago.”
INES FERROW
Third year running
