Foo Fighters, Florence + The Machine, Nick Cave, Twenty One Pilots, Lorde, Moby and Pulp are some of the most notable confirmations that the Madrid festival announced this Monday, November 10, for its most special edition, the tenth. An anniversary that will take place from July 8 to 11 at the Iberdrola Music space in Villaverde. In total, there are more than seventy artists that make up a poster, which according to the organization, is part of a renewed artistic proposal characterized by programming days with more of its own identity.
In this way, the Madrid event recovers Wednesday’s day, at the expense of Sunday’s, and does so with Foo Fighters, who had already visited the festival a few years ago. This being the only opportunity to see them in Spain next year, as part of their world tour. Take Over Tour. That same day they will be accompanied by Moby, The War on Drugs, Wolf Alice or The Blaze.
The second day, Thursday, is dominated by them, specifically two women: Florence + The Machine and Lorde. The first set foot in this venue in 2022 and returns to Madrid to present Everybody Screamtheir new album. The second, the New Zealand singer Lorde, debuts in a highly anticipated concert, where she will present her fourth album, Virgin. Among those chosen on Thursday is also Jennie, the South Korean artist and solo project of the popular band Blackpink.
Twenty One Pilots reign on Friday, one of the “most requested requests by the public,” according to Mad Cool. Attendees will also be able to see Kings of Leon, who fell off the bill last year. And alongside them, the American Pixies will also perform next summer in Madrid to celebrate their fortieth anniversary.
The closing of Mad Cool will take place on Saturday and the festival describes in its announcement that it has chosen the “best master of ceremonies”, the “iconic” Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Leading this day will also be Pulp, Jarvis Cocker’s historic band, which passed through Bilbao this summer and returns three decades later to Madrid with its latest release, More. In addition, The Black Crowes and David Byrne, historic founder of Talking Heads, who will present his new album, will perform that day. The public will also be able to see Kasabian or The Vaccines.
Mad Cool 2026 will not feature the special electronic day that it held last year on Sunday, but it will feature big names in the genre, who will pass through its legendary The Loop stage. Richie Hawtin, Boys Noize, Polo & Pan, Nina Kraviz and Swimming Paul are some of the most notable. In addition, the poster does not forget Spanish bands and programs artists like La Paloma and will once again announce its famous band contest: Mad Cool Talent and Mad Cool DJ Talent by Vibra Mahou.
New format
A few days ago the festival presented to the media a change of model that, according to the organization “will mark a before and after in the history of the festival.” They assure that it is a renewed format, designed to offer greater comfort, larger spaces and a more relaxed atmosphere, in line with what the public has moved over recent years.
Its goal is to become a closer and more exclusive festival, redesigned to prioritize the experience and well-being of fans. “We want to celebrate it by taking a qualitative leap. The new model is born from listening to our audience, putting their needs at the center and offering them a space where they can enjoy music with the highest quality and comfort. They are the essence of the festival and with them we will continue building the future,” the organization explained.
According to Mad Cool, since 2023 they have implemented an improvement strategy based on the direct opinion of their attendees. “Every year, thousands of people participate in our satisfaction survey, thus allowing us to detect needs and opportunities for change. Their comments inspire us to improve,” they highlighted. For this reason, the music event has announced the following improvements: capacity adjustments (the festival will limit it to 50,000 people per day), schedule adjustment (the opening time will be delayed to avoid high temperatures), redesign of the spaces, more sustainability and a renewed artistic proposal with days of its own identity to reinforce coherence in the programming of each of the four days.
Ticketing
Tickets will go on sale starting November 17 on the website. Below are the details of the two types of pre-sale and the official sale, as well as ticket prices:
- Presale for Santander customers: Santander bank customers, from November 17 at 10 a.m. until November 20 at 9:59 a.m., will be able to purchase the first passes (225 euros plus fees) and day tickets (85 euros plus fees) for Mad Cool 2026.
- Presale for Festival Members with a special price: From November 17 at 10 in the morning until November 20 at 9:59 in the morning, festival members will be able to purchase the first passes (225 euros plus expenses) and day tickets (85 euros plus expenses).
- General sale of passes and day tickets: The general sale of passes (240 euros plus expenses) and day tickets (95 euros plus expenses) will begin on November 20 at 10 in the morning.
