Co-founded back in 2018 by three New York music industry vets and longtime friends, former Lorimer Beacon founder and head Mike Bell, Kanine Records‘ founder and label head Lio Kanine and Kepler Events‘ and Dedstrange Records co-founder Steven Matrick, The New Colossus Festival has quickly established itself as the first stop in New York and/or the first stop in the States for a growing number of emerging and buzzworthy artists and bands, who make the pit stop in town before heading down to Austin for SXSW.
In previous editions of the festival JOVM mainstays GIFT, Penelope Isles, The Orielles, Thus Love, as well as acclaimed acts like Pom Poko, Pom Pom Squad, Sid Simons, Sobs, Water From Your Eyes, Peel Dream Magazine, Kiwi Jr., and a growing list of others have made a names for themselves playing New Colossus showcases across a handful of Lower East Side-based venues and clubs.
The New Colossus Festival’s seventh edition will take place on March 3, 2026 – March 8, 2026 and will offer attendees a chance to discover the next wave of talent across multiple independent venues across NYC’s Lower East Side, including Arlene’s Grocery, Berlin Under A, The Bowery Electric, The Francis Kite Club, Niagara, NUBLU, The Parkside Lounge, Piano’s and Sour Mouse.
Yesterday, festival organizers announced the first wave of artists for the 2026 edition, and it’ll include Runner (Dublin), DBA! (Liverpool), TRAVO (Lisbon), DeafDeafDeaf (Manchester), Junk Drawer (Belfast), We Hate You Please Die (France), Tukan (Belgium), Surma (Lisbon), Sunset Images (Mexico City), MAGDA (London), Winter McQuinn (Melbourne) and many more. The full list of first wave artists can be seen below.
In addition to the showcase, festival organizers are proud to announce the return of their partnership with Ditto Music for Colossal Conversations, a music industry-related panel series for independent artists and industry professionals.
There’ll be more announces in the coming weeks and months. So keep check this space for news.
2026 First Wave Lineup
activemirror (AW)
Adult Leisure (UK)
ALFAH FEMMES (PL)
BEDDE (IE)
Bindy (US)
Blankslate (US)
Bonnie Trash (CA)
Bussy Kween Power Trip (US)
DBA! (UK)
DEADY (US)
DEAFDEAFDEAF (UK)
Dermabrasion (CA)
Diary (US)
Die Anstalt (DE)
Ditch Days (PT)
EATT (US)
eve claret (US)
Fake Pollocks (US)
FAT CONCUBINE (UK)
FVNERAL (AU)
Georgian (UK)
Ghosts on TV (FI)
Heaven’s Club (US)
Holy Void (CA)
I WANT POETRY (DE)
ira glass (US)
In The Pines (US)
J Mahon (DE)
Junk Drawer (IE)
Ken Park (NY)
Krooked Tongue (UK)
Lucy Dreams (AT)
MAGDA (UK)
Marketplace (UK)
Midnight Rodeo (UK)
MOLD! (US)
Mo Yung (US)
None Shall Remain (US)
Nory (US)
Oswald Slain (UK)
Pearl Charles (US)
Perennial (US)
Pillowprince (US)
PINKLIDS (US)
Pleasure Centre (UK)
Pleasure Pill (US
Punchlove (US)
Runner (IE)
Shallow (CA)
Shunk (CA)
Ski Club (US)
Sloe Noon (DE)
Spyres (UK)
Spitcurl (US)
Star’s Revenge (US)
Suburban Speed (US)
Sunset Images (MX)
SURMA (PT)
Tea Eater (NY)
The Cavs (UK)
The Dutch Kills (US)
The Roebucks (UK)
The Sewing Club (US)
The Shelter (MX)\
The Slates (UK)
Thelma’s Dream (FI)
Tilden (US)
Tipa Tipo (US)
TRAVO (PT)
TUKAN (BE)
Ultra Lights (US)
Welcome Strawberry (US)
Winter Gardens (UK)
Winter McQuinn (AU)
Wolfschmidt (SE)
Zinnia’s Garden (US)
Check out The New Colossus Festival Playlist featuring the first wave artists of 2026.
You can purchase festival badges through Dice.fm here: https://dice.fm/event/92qpx9-the-new-colossus-festival-2026-badges-3rd-mar-arlenes-grocery-baker-falls-berlin-bowery-electric-niagara-nublu-nublu-classic-parkside-lounge-pianos-sour-mouse-new-york-city-tickets?lng=en-US
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