Alice Cooper and Social Distortion headline the first confirmations for the 24th edition of the Azkena Rock Festival

Azkena Rock Festival today unveils the first headliners for its next  edition, which will be held on June 18, 19, and 20, 2026, in Vitoria Gasteiz. This first batch of confirmations is led by the incombustible  legend Alice Cooper, who will turn Mendizabala into a veritable rock  horror theater, and Social Distortion, pioneers of Californian punk rock  who return to the city five years after their last visit to the festival in 2021,  both with exclusive dates in Spain. The first preview of artists who will  turn Mendizabala into the capital of rock also includes Imelda May,  Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Old Crow Medicine Show, Sleaford Mods,  SUGAR, The Adicts, Evaristo, Circle Jerks, Corrosion of Conformity,  Therapy?, The Damn Truth, The Del Fuegos, Discharge, Split Dogs,  Starbenders, Tropical Fuck Storm, Voivod, Rodeo and Nhil. 

Coinciding with its 24th edition, this first preview of the program once  again reflects the festival’s commitment to what makes it unique: a 

first-rate artistic program and a wide-ranging and diverse lineup. Once  again, Vitoria-Gasteiz will welcome big names linked to rock and roll  in all its forms, offering the public a genuine three-day experience  marked by eclecticism, quality, and a stylistic plurality that embraces  both the classics and the most groundbreaking proposals. 

Alice Cooper will return to Mendizabala in 2026, seventeen years after  his last visit, with a theatrical show marked by horror, burlesque, and  vaudeville. The godfather of shock rock and an essential figure in rock  since the 1970s, he will offer a performance full of provocation, charisma,  and immortal songs. This summer he released The Revenge of Alice  Cooper, an album that reunites his original band more than five  decades later and whose songs will be added to a repertoire that will  also revisit many of his classics, on his only date in Spain. 

Four years after their last visit, Social Distortion will return to Vitoria Gasteiz with an exclusive stop to offer an authentic masterclass in punk  rock & roll. Emerging from Californian punk more than four decades  ago, Mike Ness’s band has earned the respect of several generations  thanks to its evolution towards classic rock & roll, country, and blues.  Their live show will feature anthems about loss, addiction, and  redemption, turned into songs with the emotion and class that only  they know how to convey. 

The festival will offer unrepeatable moments, with exclusive concerts  and performances that are out of the ordinary. Imelda May will offer a  unique show alongside Darrel Highman, showcasing their chemistry on  stage as they recapture the purest essence of classic rock & roll, relying  on their vocal strength and electrifying stage presence. The audience  will also witness the reunion of SUGAR, who will make a unique stop on  the peninsula thirty years after their breakup and having made history  with albums such as Copper Blue. For their part, Therapy? will perform  Troublegum in its entirety, one of the key albums of 90s noise rock,  whose virtues managed to bring together punks, metalheads, hardcore  fans, and other lovers of the most distorted sounds. 

Straight from Nashville, the multi-award-winning Jason Isbell & The  400 Unit will arrive in Mendizabala to give a masterclass in alternative  country, southern rock, and roots folk, with songs that honestly address  the complexity of human relationships, performed by the former Drive-

By Truckers member and his band with the mastery that has earned  them several Grammys. From the same city and sharing that narrative  spirit and storytelling, Old Crow Medicine Show will also be landing at  the festival, celebrating their 25-year career with a new album and a  review of classics such as Wagon Wheel and Remedy in what will be  their first ever performance in Spain. 

Punk will be well represented in this first preview of the lineup thanks  to bands that have left their mark on the genre from different parts of  the map. The flagship of Alava punk, Evaristo will offer a complete show  in which he will perform the great anthems of La Polla Records along  with songs from his other projects – Gatillazo and Tropa do Carallo – reaffirming his inexhaustible energy and his commitment to the most  rebellious and combative message. From the United Kingdom,  Discharge will arrive with their renowned forcefulness, considered the  fathers of D-Beat and an essential reference for the most extreme forms  of metal such as thrash, grind, and black. Also from the British Isles,  specifically Nottingham, Sleaford Mods will highlight the  uncomfortable truths of the present: unemployment, precariousness,  consumerist culture, and social crises, in an electronic post-punk  proposal that is as uncomfortable as it is necessary. Crossing the  Atlantic, from Hermosa Beach (California), Circle Jerks will review four  decades of history with Keith Morris at the helm, in a live show loaded  with short, fierce songs and social satire that is still relevant today. From  the same Californian scene, The Adicts will arrive in Mendizabala with  their farewell tour Adios Amigos after five decades of irreverence, in a  great melodic and delirious punk party where anthems such as Viva La  Revolution! will be sung in unison. From Australia, Tropical Fuck Storm  will present Fairyland Codex, their new work: an incursion into digital  chaos, contemporary conspiracies, and human fragility, in the key of  experimental punk.  

American heavy metal icons Corrosion of Conformity will arrive at the  festival as a prelude to their new double album of covers of great  classics, the Riffissippi Studio Jam Sessions, from which they have  already released a cover of Free’s Fire And Water. Rounding out the  representation of the most extreme sounds, Voivod will forcefully  defend their position as a cult band of the genre and their unique blend  of thrash, progressive metal, and dystopian science fiction.

The lineup is completed by more recent bands that bring a breath of  fresh air to the current rock & roll scene. These are projects with their  own identity, brimming with attitude and looking to leave their mark  on Mendizabala. From the direct street punk and fast-paced riffs of Split  Dogs to the references to 70s and 80s rock of Starbenders, close to new  wave and glam. Canada’s The Damn Truth will arrive like a veritable  rock & roll machine, fronted by Lee-La Baum—vocals and guitar— overflowing with power and stage presence, and from Gipuzkoa, Nhil 

will deploy their elegant fusion of pop, soul, and funk, presenting songs  from their third album, Etxea. while Rodeo will perform songs from  their latest album, X, to demonstrate why they are considered one of  the benchmark bands of Basque stoner. 

Finally, The Del Fuegos join these first confirmations after their reunion  last year, fronted by brothers Dan and Warren Zanes, the latter being  the author of the official biography of Tom Petty and the essay that  inspired the recent biopic of The Boss, Springsteen: Deliver Me From  Nowhere. 

The fan waiting list to get festival passes opens today and will remain  open until Friday, October 31, at 12 noon. Those who have attended  previous editions of the festival will have access to an exclusive presale  starting tomorrow, Wednesday, October 29, at a special price. Fan sales  will begin on Monday, November 3, at 10 a.m., and general sales will be  available from Tuesday, November 4, at the same time at  azkenarockfestival.com at a promotional price. In addition to passes for  the three days of the festival, those under 24 can purchase the Gaztea  Pass (€100 + fees) and, following its success last year, the Cuadrilla Pass will be available again, a treat for all groups of friends who mark their  ARF date on the calendar every year and for which they will receive 6  passes for the purchase of 5. As in previous editions, installment  payments will be available for both presale and general sale, and  admission will be free for children under 14. The festival will once  again offer organized bus trips with stops adjacent to the entrance to  the venue and from nearby towns such as Bilbao, Pamplona,  Donostia/San Sebastián, Zarautz, Arrasate, and Alsasua. 

The image design for this edition is by The Zuzenders, an artistic  collective from Vitoria-Gasteiz that has already collaborated on previous  editions of the festival, creating postcards, stamps, and animated  audiovisual pieces. For 2026, this drawing-music action group wanted  to pay tribute to the iconography of Vitoria-Gasteiz, placing a raven  in the center of the image: present on the city’s coat of arms and  undoubtedly one of the most enigmatic animals linked to the imagery  of rock & roll. 

The Azkena Rock Festival is much more than a musical event: it is an  authentic celebration of rock in all its forms and, year after year, offers  an unforgettable experience. Its loyal and passionate audience returns  year after year to Mendizabala, a comfortable venue surrounded by  green areas, just a few steps from the heart of Vitoria-Gasteiz. The city,  recognized as a Green Capital and an emblem of Basque gastronomy,  adds value to a festival that combines music, environment, and  community. Behind it all is Last Tour, an independent cultural promoter  certified as a BCorp company, committed to a responsible model with  values.