Foo Fighters, Florence + The Machine, Nick Cave, Twenty One Pilots, Lorde, Moby and Pulp are some of the confirmations announced this Monday 10 November by the Mad Cool festival in Madrid for its most special edition, the tenth. This anniversary will take place from 8 to 11 July at the Iberdrola Music Space in Villaverde. In total there are more than seventy names that make up this manifesto, artists to whom others will soon be added. According to the festival organisation, they are part of “a new, renewed artistic proposal, characterized by days with their own identity”.
The Madrid event recovers Wednesday, to the detriment of Sunday, and does so with the Foo Fighters, who had already visited the festival a few years ago. This will be the only opportunity to see them in Spain next year, as part of their world tour. Take control of the tour. On the 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 by two women: Florence + The Machine and Lorde. The first sets foot in this venue in 2022 and returns to Madrid to present it Everyone screamstheir new album. The second, the New Zealand singer Lorde, makes her debut in a highly anticipated concert, where she will present her fourth album, Virgin. Also among those chosen on Thursday is Jennie, a South Korean artist and solo project of the popular band Blackpink.
Twenty One Pilots reigns on Friday, one of the “most requested requests from the public,” according to Mad Cool. Attendees will also be able to see Kings of Leon, which dropped from the billboard last year. Together with 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 has chosen the “best master of ceremonies”, the “iconic” Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Also leading this day will be Pulp, Jarvis Cocker’s historic band who passed through Bilbao this summer and returns three decades later to Madrid with their latest release, Moreover. In addition to The Black Crowes and David Byrne, the historic founder of Talking Heads, he will present his new album. The public will also be able to see Kasabian or The Vaccines.
Mad Cool 2026 will not feature the special electronic day that took place on Sunday last year, but will see the participation of big names of the genre, who will pass on its legendary stage The Loop. Richie Hawtin, Boys Noize, Polo & Pan, Nina Kraviz and Swimming Paul are some of the most notable. Furthermore, the manifesto does not forget the Spanish bands and programs of artists such as La Paloma and will once again announce its famous band competition: 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 which, according to the organization, “will mark a before and after in the history of the festival”. It is, he assures, a renewed format, designed to offer greater comfort, larger spaces and a more relaxed atmosphere, in line with how the public has moved in recent years.
Its goal is to become a closer and more exclusive festival, redesigned to prioritize the fan experience and well-being. “We want to celebrate it by making a leap in quality. The new model is born from listening to our audience, putting their needs at the center and offering them a space to enjoy music with maximum quality and comfort. They are the essence of the festival and with them we will continue to build the future”, explained the organization.
According to Mad Cool, since 2023 they have implemented an improvement strategy based on the direct opinion of their participants. “Every year, thousands of people participate in our satisfaction survey, allowing us to identify needs and opportunities for change. Their comments inspire us to improve,” they underlined in a statement. For this reason they have announced the following improvements: capacity adjustment (the festival will limit it to 50,000 people per day), program adjustment (opening times will be delayed to avoid high temperatures), redesign of the spaces, more sustainability and a renewed artistic proposal with days with their own identity to strengthen coherence in the programming of each of the four days.
ticket office
Tickets will be on sale starting November 17th on the website www.madcooltickets.com. Below are the details of the two types of presale and official sale, as well as the ticket prices:
- Pre-sales for Santander customers: Santander bank customers, from November 17th at 10am to November 20th at 9.59am, will be able to purchase first season tickets (225 euros plus commissions) and day tickets (85 euros plus commissions) for Mad Cool 2026.
- Pre-sale for Festival members at a special price: From 17 November at 10am to 20 November at 9.59am, Festival members will be able to purchase first season tickets (225 euros plus expenses) and day tickets (85 euros plus expenses).
- General sale of season tickets and day tickets: The general sale of season tickets (240 euros plus expenses) and day tickets (95 euros plus expenses) will start on November 20th at 10.00 am.
