Bearded Theory 26-30 May 2026, Catton Park, Derbyshire

Thursday

It’s hard to describe our joy at arriving at Bearded Theory, it’s literally like the sign that summer is starting and the festival season is upon us. It’s made even more special by the atmosphere you experience as soon as you arrive on site. All the people you meet are so friendly and chilled, it’s no wonder we often hear people describe it as ‘how Glastonbury used to be’.

This year was even more special given that the Thursday was a perfect day for setting up your tent, warm, dry but still a bit cloudy (for now!). Of course many people had been there since Wednesday so some were already grateful for the shade at the Woodlands stage as they checked out The Leisure Society. They provided a perfect laid back start to our festival. There was a busy crowd who seemed as keen to step up their ‘fuelling’ and chat with old friends and make new ones, exactly what makes Bearded Theory so special.

Big Special were on the main Pallet stage for the first time and (we think) filling the same slot as Fat Dog last year. Thankfully, their set didn’t suffer from issues resulting in an early finish as happened to Fat Dog. But, like that band, they seem to have been booked as the official party starter band. It’s an unsubtle sound but one that certainly does its job by really bringing the crowd to life and getting them set for a BIG weekend.

There are still plenty of other bands and DJs performing into the Thursday night. We elected for Chris ‘The Hawk’ Hawkins who had been moved to the bigger Woodland area, which was a good move given this is a very BBC 6 music audience and festival. Sadly, he’s still totally lacking in charisma or genuine DJ skills, but he knocks out all the expected indie tracks and it certainly keeps the festival party atmosphere going.

Friday

The first band we see on the Friday is Better Joy and it’s not our first rodeo seeing her as we have been following her for a while and seen her at previous festivals! Her song, ‘What A Day’ is appropriately titled given the weather is perfect. We’ve previously commented on how we love the way she straddles between pure pop and indie rock n roll. If we’re honest, we’re surprised that some sad media mogul (think Simon Cowell!) hasn’t snapped her up and forced her into being ‘just a pop star’. She has the style, charisma and pop writing skills to be the U.K. Taylor Swift! Hopefully, she gets the success she deserves by sticking to her own more unique style.

She’s In Parties are a fairly good segway from that. Clearly more indie and less pop and with a front person who you feel will inevitably draw Florence and Kate Bush comparisons. There is also a sense of kooky pop to their sound. They benefit from a packed out Woodlands, where people are already enjoying the shade as well as the great music.

When it comes to pop pleasures you’ll struggle to find better than the band next up, Taylor More Swiftly! Whether you’re a punk or a Swiftie you need to lose all your pretensions and just take this band for what they are……really great fun!

The tent for Pop Will Eat Itself is absolutely rammed, and his seems to be the type of band this festival was built for. They are perfect in terms of the demographic and their sound. But to be clear, this is no nostalgia act and the tunes sound fresher than ever. In fact they seem bigger and just as ‘now’ as they did back in the day. The likes of Yard Act, Fat Dog etc are really just poor imitation of PWEI. They absolutely nail it!

Just as enjoyable but in a totally different way are The Everly Pregnant Brothers, ridiculous but brilliant. They take indie classics and put a hilarious spin on them. We’re sure many people will hate it…we loved it! The Damned understandably attract a huge crowd. Perhaps more surprising is the makeup of that audience. There is a huge mix of ages and music taste which shows what an iconic band they have become. They’re probably a band that many didn’t think they’d ever get to see.

The final act of the day we get to see is Peter Hook who similarly offers up the opportunity to see a legend and experience live some of the greatest indie songs you will ever hear. Just hearing a song like ‘Control’ live is a great experience. We were a little surprised that the response to Blue Monday actually seemed a little muted, we expected the crowd to blow the roof off when that started. Despite that, the inclusion of songs like ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ meant it was a real crowd pleaser of a set and was the perfect end to a great day (well, live music wise anyhow…there was still the unadulterated joy of the silent disco for us!).

Saturday

Pet Needs are Bearded Theory stalwarts and therefore seemingly drag everyone out of their beds. Whether their sore heads could handle the punk rock that the band delivered, may have been up for debate. But it’s clear very quickly that the band want the crowd to react and be part of the show and they certainly do. Their set allows them to celebrate not only the singer being a new dad but also apparently having the number one album sold in record shops. It’s a fast paced punk rock show and is lapped up by the crowd

Jon Spencer, take that rock n roll sound and if anything make it even more ferocious. It’s a hell of a racket for just a three piece band. You don’t get much rawer blues rock n roll than this. A band who’ve influenced loads of the stuff we like, eg Jim Jones and His Lordship. They don’t disappoint and the energy levels are ridiculous given the heat that builds up in the tent

Bad Nerves are a band that have our names written all over them. That’s from the name, the image and most importantly the music. It’s a trashier rock n roll than most of the bands at the festival. Sure it’s indie rock but with the added glitter punk and throwaway style that you’d associate with someone like the New York Dolls or the Manics (when they loved Hanoi Rocks). They’re not necessarily as glamorous as those bands, but there’s a lot of punk spike to their sound and they don’t lose the catchiness of the songs. It’s the first band where we see a circle pit forming. Definitely a contender for our new band of the festival award!

Cortney Dixon then bring some real glamour to the festival. Fair play if, as she stated, she set up her tent in the same outfit!. The glamour also presents itself in the music where she has some great indie/pop punk songs but with a bit of disco glitz added in. ‘If you love somebody don’t fuck it up’ is a smasher of a song! So just one band later, maybe she’s our favourite new artist of the festival!

CMAT is undoubtedly one of the key signings for the festival bill and we expect is the act many were most looking forward to seeing. The field is totally packed and we pitied any bands playing at same time. She now has a festival set packed full of crowd pleasers and they sound even better on a perfect summers afternoon.

The legends keep on coming and going by the volume of T-shirts we saw, The Pixies might well be the most popular band playing this year. It’s no wonder the crowd go right back to the stalls on the edge of the field (although that’s partly due to the number of chairs being used…not a debate we will get into!) They include plenty of songs to enthuse both the hardcore and the more casual fans (Where Is My Mind and Monkey Gone To Heaven). But it did seem a bit of a misstep not to play Debaser which disappointed both those there for the big songs but also many of their long term fans.

Sunday

Sunday is yet another scorcher of a day. We begin seeing Pete Hubbard in the Mau Mau tent. He delivers his own brand of Americana and Country music. He certainly starts off on the right foot with a fast paced Johnny Cash song that immediately wins over the crowd. His set is a reminder that country was outlaw music and not the shmaltzy commercial stuff which most people now associate with it.

One of the great things about a festival is the opportunity just to wander around and see other things. That might be some spoken word material or a dance at Big Ed (with sets covering virtually all music styles). As part of our wander to get a cool beer, we pop into the Comedy tent and luckily catch a brilliant Spanish comedian called Ignacio Lopez. His set included material that was perfectly pitched for the festival crowd.

One of the acts we were most looking forward to was Danny McCormack and his latest outfit Danny Wildheart And The UK Reprobates. We get a bit worried when the band are late arriving and setting up for the show. It’s immediately evident there is a problem when Danny hits the stage and croaks that his throat is knackered. As a true rock n roll survivor he still wants to try and put on a show so takes a gulp of honey and gives it all he can. It makes for a bit of a tough watch but is worth it just for the chance to hear some classic Yo Yo songs like Sunshine Girl being performed live (Uppers and Downers remains one of our favourite ever albums). Sadly there is only so much that Danny’s voice can handle so whilst we also get some Main Grain tunes it is sadly a greatly reduced set.

It’s somewhat of a coincidence that the next band is the one Danny will probably always be most associated with, The Wildhearts. Despite the tragic news of Ginger’s cancer diagnosis, they are in absolutely amazingly fine fettle. We’d definitely have these firmly in the legendary bands category, especially for us who love dirty rock n roll. Weirdly, despite loving their early stuff in particular, we’re not sure we have ever seen them live. We’ve seen plenty of the off shoots eg Ginger and The Sinners and the aforementioned Yo Yos. It was definitely worth the wait. The set is a real mix of their stuff, from the beginning through to a song from a new album due later in the year. Hearing some of the old classics like ‘Nothing Changes But The Shoes’ is a highlight of the festival. One thing you’re guaranteed with this band is a good time and much of that is due to the presence of an awesome and charismatic front person in Ginger. There’s certainly few people who can lead a band better than him. Inevitably their set over runs and it’s hilarious seeing the poor stage crew trying to get them off stage as they blatantly ignore them and play an extended ‘Baby Is A Head Fuck!’. The Wildhearts win the band of the festival award by some distance.

Garbage are obviously a big and hugely successful band but you know from the opening moment that they are a special band. Shirley Manson is an iconic and powerful front person. But equally the band are strong and powerful and their sound really travels across the field, something that not all bands, even of this calibre, are always capable of. They do of course benefit from having a set of crowd favourites like ‘Stupid Girl’.

As good as they are, we always prefer to devote as much time as possible to smaller bands and therefore our festival headliner is the last act in the Mau Mau tent. Papa Shango are certainly something a bit different! There are over 10 people on stage who create a wild and mad sound. The show includes fire eaters; human darts and songs about sailors and biscuit barrels (where members of the band dish out biscuits to the audience!). There is absolutely no doubt that they are very well suited to headlining this wacky stage. Their entire set is an absolute ball and there could not be a more fun way to wind up a very hot and brilliant weekend.

Will another festival match Bearded Theory this year? It’s going to be bloody difficult! The fact that the early early bird tickets for next years festival sold out immediately tells you how special a festival this really is. See you there next year!