The Castle, The Forest and the Biggest Lineup of the Summer
Forbidden Forest turns ten with their biggest lineup yet. Michael Bibi, Jamie Jones, Holy Priest and 100 more. Four days in a castle. June 4 to 7.
Secure your spot now
There are festivals that put on a show. And then there are festivals that put you in a forest in front of a medieval castle with Michael Bibi headlining and make you wonder why you ever went anywhere else. Forbidden Forest 2026 is the second kind.
Founded in 2016, Forbidden Forest celebrates its tenth anniversary in spectacular fashion at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire from June 4 to 7 2026, with over 100 world-class artists across six immersive stages. Ten editions of building something genuine, something community-led, something that has never needed a corporate rebrand or a festival group buyout to stay relevant. The anniversary edition is the biggest they have ever put together.
And it starts today.
The Venue That Makes Everything Make Sense
Belvoir Castle, meaning beautiful view, sits in hundreds of acres of lush forest surrounded by rolling hills as far as the eye can see, steeped in history dating back to 1067. This is not a repurposed car park. This is not a field next to a motorway. This is a medieval castle surrounded by ancient woodland in the heart of the English countryside, and it becomes one of the most visually arresting festival settings in Europe every June when the stages go up and the lights come on.
Six stages spread across the grounds means you are constantly moving between different sonic environments, different crowd densities, different moments. One minute you are in front of the main stage with the castle lit up behind it. The next you are in a forest clearing at 3am with a DJ you had never heard of playing a set you will spend the next year trying to describe to people. Both of those things are the point.
Each year more than 30,000 members of the Forbidden Family come together for a weekend where music and nature come alive together, creating an environment where all are equal and all are united by the love of electronic music.
The Lineup
Forbidden Forest has built its reputation on a programme that takes house and techno seriously while refusing to treat drum and bass as an afterthought. The 2026 anniversary bill is the fullest expression of that philosophy yet.
The confirmed house and techno artists:
Michael Bibi Jamie Jones Franky Rizardo Chris Stussy Patrick Topping Sidney Charles MK Nicole Moudaber Pan-Pot East End Dubs Luuk van Dijk Stella Bossi Tita Lau Jess Bays ALISHA Girls Don't Sync Gaskin Obskur Harriet Jaxxon Hannah Laing Holy Priest James Hype Spartaque Jamback
The full bill also spans drum and bass and bass music with Andy C, Sub Focus, Wilkinson, Shy FX, Hybrid Minds, Pendulum DJ set, Holy Goof, DJ EZ, DJ Q, Culture Shock, Danny Byrd, Hedex, Kings of the Rollers, Low Steppa, Bou, K Motionz, Koven, Pola and Bryson and TS7. Over 100 artists. Six stages. Four days.
The Names That Stand Out
Every name on this lineup means something. But a few stand out even against a bill this strong.
Michael Bibi headlining is the statement booking of the anniversary edition. He is one of the most in-demand names in underground house right now, a producer and DJ whose sound sits perfectly between warm melodic house and driving tech house. His sets move with an effortless momentum that makes four hours feel like forty minutes. On a stage in front of a castle at midnight, that is going to be something.
Jamie Jones bringing Paradise energy to a forest setting should not work as well as it does, but anyone who has seen him read a crowd in an open-air environment already knows exactly how this is going to go.
Franky Rizardo is the booking that makes the most sense when you think about it. He enters 2026 as the most internationally booked DJ from the Netherlands, continuing to solidify his position as one of the country's most respected exports in house music. In early 2026 he presented his new concept More To Life at a sold out Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, bringing 15,000 people together. His label LTF Records is now one of Beatport's top 10 best-selling house labels of 2025. Forbidden Forest is exactly the kind of stage his sound was built for and this set is going to go very deep into the night.
Hannah Laing has spent the past two years building a reputation for reading a crowd with genuine precision, delivering peak time sets that feel personal rather than mechanical. Her slot at Forbidden Forest 2026 is one of the most anticipated of the weekend for a reason.
Why You Should Be There
Forbidden Forest is not a festival for people who want a brand experience. It is a festival for people who want to disappear into music for four days in a setting that genuinely earns the word magical without making it sound like a press release.
The community at Forbidden Forest is built on equality, openness, and love for electronic music. Thirty thousand people come back every year not because a streaming algorithm suggested it but because someone who went the year before would not stop talking about it. That word of mouth reputation has been built across ten editions of delivering exactly what the lineup promises. The castle. The forest. The stages hidden between the trees. The sets that run until the sun is up and the birds have already started.
Ten years is a long time to keep something this good. The 2026 edition is their biggest yet. Accommodation options range from on-site camping to nearby hotels across Leicestershire, with full travel information at forbidden-forest.co.uk/travel.
The nearest major transport hub is Nottingham, well connected by rail and road from across the UK.
Tickets and full information are at forbidden-forest.co.uk.
June 4 to 7. Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire. The forest is calling and honestly, what else are you doing.
