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BEARDED THEORY FESTIVAL 2026 - Photo Review

A blazing weekend of music and sun produce many stage delights

Wednesday, 27 May 2026


For those attending the Bearded Theory Festival back in 2024, it was a historically wet weekend which appeared to be as close to being cancelled as possible. The River Trent which snakes through the Catton Hall Grounds was within an inch of the top of its banks. I only mention this to compare the weather pendulum swing to the opposite extreme for this year, it seems the weather for this event is predictably unpredictable….


The essential requirements were water and sun screen, with possibly little else needed to get through to the other side, time to enjoy the sunshine and the increasing temperatures from Thursday through to Monday. With the usual wide ranging menu of musical delights to dive into there was as usual a lot of fast walking between stages.


It was good to see what appeared to be a busier Thursday and Friday, maybe the festival goers were keen to get to site early this year to make the most of the weather and avoid the customary Friday travel congestion. 


This review is in essence photos of primarily the artists involved at the Festival running in day order. There were many highlights, I will give thought to that and hopefully add my personal top 5 at the end. If you were there, these will serve as memory joggers or you may realise what you didn’t get to in time!



Thursday 21st May


liines at bearded theory 2026

Liines



Split Dogs



Bloodworm



A Certain Ratio



Venus Grrrls



Venus Grrrls



Venus Grrrls - Woodland Stage



BCUC



The Leisure Society



Big Special



Big Special





The Unthanks



Lambrini Girls - Rough Trade Signing



Lambrini Girls



Lambrini Girls



Lambrini Girls



Lambrini Girls




Friday 22nd May





Adult DVD



Westside Cowboy



Westside Cowboy



Westside Cowboy



Better Joy



Better Joy



Better Joy



Girl Scout



She's In Parties



The Molotovs - Rough Trade Signing



The Molotovs



The Molotovs



The Molotovs



The Molotovs



P.W.E.I



P.W.E.I



P.W.E.I



Panic Shack



Panic Shack



Chalk



Chalk



Chalk



Sprints



The Damned



The Damned



The Damned



The Damned



Getdown Services



Saturday 23rd May


The Pale White



The Pale White



Little Grandad



Amelia Coburn



Pet Needs



Pet Needs



Pet Needs



Pet Needs - Their Photographer



Pet Needs



Jon Spencer



Jon Spencer



Jon Spencer



Katacombs



Opus Kink



Opus Kink



Opus Kink



Idlewild



Idlewild



Idlewild



Idlewild



Bad Nerves



Bad Nerves



Bad Nerves



Bad Nerves



Bad Nerves



Bad Nerves



Bad Nerves



Heartworms



Heartworms



CMAT



CMAT



CMAT



The Wedding Present



The Wedding Present



The Pixies



The Pixies



The Pixies



The Pixies



The Pixies - On The Main Stage



The Pixies



The Pixies



The Horrors



The Horrors



The Horrors




Sunday 24th May


The Pallet - Main Stage



Lawnmower Deth



Newdad



Newdad



Newdad



Temper Trap



Miki Berenyi Trio



Neville Staple - From The Specials



Neville Staple - From The Specials



Everything Everything



Everything Everything



Honeyglaze



The Wildhearts



The Wildhearts



Garbage




Garbage




Garbage




Garbage




Garbage




Garbage




Garbage




Garbage




Garbage




Garbage




Garbage



Garbage - On The Main Stage


And so another Bearded Theory Festival has come to a close.


I promised my top 5 acts of the weekend and they are as follows:


5 - Adult DVD

4 - Jon Spencer

3 - The Pixies

2 - Idlewild

1 - Bad Nerves




All photos in this Review by Dan Reddick



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