Overview
- The revived Darker Waves festival will take place Nov. 14 at Huntington Beach City Beach in California with Morrissey and Smashing Pumpkins as headliners.
- The 2026 edition is set as a single-day event featuring about 35 artists across three stages, a setup that is likely to create tough set-time choices for fans.
- The lineup highlights ’80s new wave mainstays such as the Psychedelic Furs, Simple Minds, Adam Ant, Gary Numan, and Soft Cell alongside punk staples including Bad Religion, Circle Jerks, Buzzcocks, and Marky Ramone.
- Later-era and revivalist acts fill out the bill, including Manic Street Preachers, Silversun Pickups, EMF, Spacehog, Gene, the Sounds, Cold Cave, TR/ST, Mariachi El Bronx, and Purest Form.
- Tickets go on sale April 2, following a three-year gap since the festival’s 2023 debut that featured New Order and Tears For Fears.