The Blackdoor Outdoor Festival is back with its most ambitious lineup to date. Set for June 25–27, 2026, in the rural surroundings of Thyrnau, Bavaria (Wingersdorf 15, 94136), this outdoor gathering has built one of the most credible track records in the European heavy underground, consistently delivering genuine discoveries alongside established names across Stoner, Psych, Doom, and Heavy Rock.
Headlining the 2026 edition is Elder, the Massachusetts-born, now Berlin-based quartet whose evolution from Stoner/Doom heavyweights into one of Progressive Rock’s most adventurous forces has been one of the defining stories of the last decade. Six albums in — from “Dead Roots Stirring” to “Innate Passage” — their long-form compositions, built around the interplay of Nick DiSalvo‘s guitar and Michael Risberg‘s keys, remain virtually unmatched in scope and imagination. In 2024, they opened for Tool on a US arena run. The full Blackdoor headline slot feels like a natural next chapter.
Alongside them: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (Pigs x7), the Newcastle five-piece who since their 2017 debut on Rocket Recordings have carved out a reputation as one of the UK’s finest live acts — their 2025 album “Death Hilarious” further expanding their palette of Sabbathian Doom, angular Noise Rock, and cyclical Post-Metal fortissimos. And Slomosa, the Bergen quartet whose self-coined “Tundra Rock” — a Scandinavian reworking of Desert Rock’s DNA, Heavy on Grunge and Punk energy — took them to Hellfest and Mastodon support slots, and won them the Rock category at Spellemannprisen, Norway’s equivalent of the Grammys.
The supporting cast is equally strong. Elephant Tree, the London quartet whose Sludge, Psych, and Blues-Heavy Doom has been a benchmark since their 2013 formation, return to the European festival circuit. Godsleep, the Athens foursome fronted by the charismatic Amie Makris, bring their Fuzz-drenched Heavy Rock to their third decade of relentless European touring — their 2023 album “Lies to Survive” being their most abrasive work yet. Child, Melbourne’s Heavy Blues power trio now signed to Heavy Psych Sounds, deliver a visceral experience where delta mud meets hard rock riffage; and The Heavy Eyes, from Memphis, Tennessee, offer their own brand of psychedelic Blues Rock — as their Bandcamp puts it, the sound of “a skeleton driving a speed boat on a flaming Mississippi River headed back to 1969.”
The European contingent is well represented: Samavayo (Berlin), one of Germany’s hardest-working Stoner Rock acts since 2000, bring over 700 live shows of accumulated fire; Giöbia, the Milan quartet on Heavy Psych Sounds whose latest album “X-ÆON” (2025) pushes their Space Rock and neo-Psychedelia into uncharted, heavier territory; Kombynat Robotron (Kiel), whose improvisation-based Krautrock recently found a new home on Fuzz Club Records with their seventh album “AANK,” their heaviest and most focussed to date; Gavial (Berlin–Dresden–Leipzig triangle), whose Progressive Blues/Heavy Psych on Exile On Mainstream is fresh off their January 2026 LP “Thanks, I Hate It;” Fomies (Vevey, Switzerland), the Garage-Fuzz quintet whose 2025 album “Liminality” blends Krautrock, Heavy Psych, and raw Punk energy into something genuinely hard to categorise; Lazer, the Austrian Heavy Psych Rock act who have been quietly building a strong reputation on the Central European circuit; and Bongloard (Utrecht), the Dutch Noise-Punk/Alt-Rock trio whose Fuzz-Heavy live sets have been turning heads since their 2022 debut and their 2024 V2 Records album “DYTYR?.”
Additional confirmed names include Odysseus and Jon Kenzie, with further announcements expected in the coming months.
Past editions of Blackdoor — which has been running since 2019 — have featured Stoned Jesus, Truckfighters, The Ocean Collective, Monkey3, Black Rainbows, Nightstalker, Greenleaf, Acid Mammoth, and Dirty Sound Magnet, among many others. The festival also places strong emphasis on a respectful, inclusive atmosphere with dedicated awareness contacts on-site throughout the event.
Early Bird tickets are on sale now.
Info & Tickets: https://blackdoor-festival.com/
Official Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1961506224798670/
— Blackdoor Outdoor Festival 2026 —
Elder • Slomosa • Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs • Godsleep • Child • Elephant Tree • The Heavy Eyes • Samavayo • Giöbia • Kombynat Robotron • Bongloard • Fomies • Gavial • Lazer • Odysseus • Jon Kenzie & many more