150,000 fans attended Tons of Rock 2025 in Norway and early bird tickets for next year sold out at record speed. If last year’s success continues, the festival will once again create waves far beyond Ekeberg and Oslo – both economically and historically – and that was all before the event confirmed its biggest artist announcement ever.
Tons Of Rock 2026 will take place from the 24th to the 27th June 2026 and feature a festival lineup stretching from rock’s greatest legends to the most innovative and uncompromising bands. What unites both the bands and the festival is the genre’s extraordinary growth and the constant recruitment of new fans. This year’s Tons of Rock success looks set to continue into 2026, both in ticket sales and next year’s lineup.
Iron Maiden, Bring Me The Horizon and Limp Bizkit top the most diverse and spectacular announcement in the history of Tons of Rock, as three of the most influential and popular bands in the world right now. Alongside legends such as Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister, audiences will experience a programme where generations meet and rock’s many expressions are celebrated.
Back as the kings of heavy metal, Iron Maiden remain the very definition of heavy metal and a global phenomenon, having sold over 100 million albums and played for millions of fans worldwide. With classics such as ‘The Number Of The Beast’, ‘Run To The Hills’, and ‘Fear Of The Dark’, they have shaped the genre for more than five decades. “When Bruce Dickinson once again shouts ‘Scream for me, Oslo!’, we know Tons audiences will experience one of the greatest moments in the festival’s history,” said festival director Jarle Kvåle.
In just a few years, Bring Me The Horizon has become one of the world’s biggest bands, with Grammy nominations, a BRIT Award win and over one billion YouTube views. With their explosive mix of metal, electronica and alternative rock, they’ve stormed both festivals and the charts and Tons of Rock 2026 will be their biggest Norwegian concert ever.
Nu-metal icons Limp Bizkit will be performing in Norway for the first time. From the late ’90s into the 2000s, Limp Bizkit set the standard for an entire generation. With tracks like ‘Break Stuff’, ‘My Way,’ and ‘Rollin’’, they became the soundtrack to an era. Now they’re back at the top of the bill – ready to deliver a show where both nostalgia and raw energy explode from the stage.
Shock rock’s godfather Alice Cooper makes a long-awaited return to Norwegian soil. His macabre rock theatre filled with guillotines, blood, and timeless hits like ‘School’s Out’ and ‘Poison’ makes him an indispensable part of rock history – and the festival. At the same time, glam rock giants Twisted Sister return to the stage, ready to shout ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ along with thousands of fans at Ekebergsletta.
Pioneers of black metal, Mayhem has been uncompromising and dark for four decades, and still one of the genre’s most influential forces. While New York thrash metal heroes Anthrax’s legend is writ large one of the big four of the genre alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth.
The festival has also secured Dumdum Boys and Raga Rockers. Both are living institutions in Norwegian rock, each in their own way having defined Norway’s musical history – a history that The Carburetors ha also become part of, to the delight of fans at Ekeberg. Fans will also get Blood Fire Death – A Tribute to Bathory – an exclusive homage to the late Quorthon – as performed by members of Watain, Enslaved, Mayhem, and Emperor. Young, uncompromising bands Kublai Khan TX and Die Spitz will be there to prove that hardcore, punk, and alternative rock are alive and thriving. As too will Queensrÿche and Blood Incantation, both bands represent rock’s ability to constantly reinvent itself from progressive metal to cosmic death metal.
For more inspirations about the festival and a trip to Oslo, Norway check out the websites Tons Of Rock and Visit Oslo.
