CBGB Festival is leaning hard into the club’s mythology for 2026, but the bill is not just a nostalgia exercise. The Sept. 26 lineup at Under the K Bridge Park in Brooklyn puts foundational names next to younger bands still testing how much speed, abrasion and melody a crowd will take in daylight.
The headliners and top-billed acts include Patti Smith, Morrissey, Interpol and the Sex Pistols, with Steve Jones, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook joined by Frank Carter on vocals in place of original frontman Johnny Rotten, also known as John Lydon.
A punk institution moves under the bridge
The festival honors CBGB, the East Village venue that opened in 1973 and became a launch site for the first wave of American punk and art-rock. Its history runs through the Ramones, Patti Smith, Television, Blondie and Talking Heads, among others. That is a heavy inheritance for any modern festival poster to carry, and the 2026 edition is clearly built to show the lineage rather than simply frame it in glass.
Classic and veteran acts on the bill include:
- Bikini Kill
- Agnostic Front
- Buzzcocks
- Circle Jerks
- Haywire
The contemporary side is represented by bands including Upchuck, Militarie Gun, High Vis, Bad Nerves and Panic Shack. That mix matters. Punk festivals often flatten decades of music into one loud logo. This one at least acknowledges that the sound has splintered, from hardcore’s blunt-force attack to post-punk’s colder angles and the current wave of hooky, nervy guitar bands.
Violet Grohl previews her first album
Violet Grohl, daughter of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, is also scheduled to perform. Her set will feature songs from her upcoming debut album, Be Sweet to Me, due May 29.
Also booked is The Return of Jackie and Judy, the Ramones tribute project featuring Sleater-Kinney and former Saturday Night Live drummer Fred Armisen. Given the festival’s source material, a Ramones tribute is less a curveball than a required inspection of the wiring.
CBGB frames the bill as past, present and future
CBGB’s Phil Sandhaus said in a statement that the 2026 edition is designed to build on last year’s festival.
“Building on last year’s CBGB Festival, we’ve worked hard to create an even stronger experience for fans this year,” Sandhaus said. “For decades, CBGB defined the punk scene and helped shape a generation of music lovers in New York and beyond. This year’s lineup honors that legacy while celebrating the past, present, and future of punk and alternative music. No other festival on the East Coast offers that.”
Last year’s CBGB Festival was headlined by Iggy Pop and Jack White, with a bill that also included former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, former Ramones drummer Marky Ramone, the Damned, Melvins, Gorilla Biscuits, Murphy’s Law, Cro-Mags, The Linda Lindas, Lambrini Girls and more.
Ticket dates
Fans can register now for presale access. Presale tickets are scheduled to go live Thursday, April 23, at 10 a.m. ET. The general public sale begins Friday, April 24, at 10 a.m. ET.
For a festival trading on one of punk’s most overused sacred names, the 2026 CBGB bill has a practical advantage: it is not pretending the story ended in 1977. It is booking the old guard, the inheritors and a few useful complications in the same park.
