Rochdale Feel Good Festival headliners revealed
Legendary singer-songwriter Gabrielle will top the bill on Saturday, 8 August 2026. The 2-time BRIT award winner and pop-soul star will be performing on the main stage at Rochdale Town Hall Square this summer, along with indie rock chart toppers Ash, Starsailor and a host of other acts to be announced, together with live music across indoor venues, a food and drink village and other entertainment.
Gabrielle’s 1999 number one album ‘Rise’ was one of the most successful of the era, certified 4 x platinum, a status matched by her greatest hits compilation ‘Dreams Can Come True.’ 6 of her albums have reached the top 10, including 2018’s ‘Under My Skin’ and 2021’s ‘Do It Again.’ With 16 top 40 singles including 2 number ones, she’ll be bringing sing along anthems to Rochdale including ‘Rise’, ‘Out Of Reach’, ‘Sunshine’, ‘Give Me a Little More Time’, ‘When A Woman’, ‘Don’t Need The Sun To Shine’ and of course, ‘Dreams.’
One of the UK’s most iconic stars, Gabrielle continues to captivate audiences of all ages. On top of her BRIT awards, she’s achieved 2 MOBO Awards and an Ivor Novello. After earning a new generation of fans during performances on ‘The Masked Singer’ she’s performed with some of the world’s biggest artists including joining Adele at 2 sold-out BST Hyde Park shows. In 2025 Gabrielle embarked on her biggest UK tour, with incredible shows at Manchester’s AO Arena and London’s O2 Arena. Later this year she joins Rick Astley and Michael Bublé on their live tours. Her latest release ‘Dreams – The Remixes’ EP features reworkings of her classic debut track by international dance producers and this year she collaborated on the single ‘Sad Song’ by Middleton born singer/songwriter JP Cooper.
Ash have cemented their status as one of the UK’s most enduring and vibrant live rock acts over the last 3 decades.
Indie rock chart-toppers Ash will also be taking to the main stage in Rochdale. The Northern Irish group, behind a stack of hits including ‘Girl from Mars’, ‘Shining Light’, ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Oh Yeah’ and ‘Kung Fu’ have cemented their status as one of the UK’s most enduring and vibrant live rock acts over the last 3 decades. Their debut album ‘1977’ went straight to number one in 1996 and they returned to the top spot with ‘Free All Angels’ in 2001. Their latest ‘Ad Astra’ hit the top 20 last year. Known for energetic, melodic, guitar-driven power-pop and fronted by Tim Wheeler, Ash have been rocking stages worldwide since that classic debut album, including headlining Glastonbury, where they returned to for the 8th time last year as well as touring the UK with fellow rockers The Darkness.
Another big name confirmed for the main stage line-up is rock band Starsailor – famous for hit albums including ‘Love is Here’ and ‘Silence is Easy’ plus 10 top 40 singles including ‘Four To The Floor’, ‘Good Souls’, ‘Silence Is Easy’, ‘Alcoholic’ and ‘Fever.’ In 2025, the critically acclaimed band, renowned for their melodic indie rock completed a sell-out European tour celebrating their 25th anniversary and still with the original line-up, they’re sounding as good as ever. Their 2024 album ‘Where The Wild Things Grow’ reached number two on the Official Independent Albums Chart.
Starsailor are renowned for their melodic indie rock.
Councillor Sue Smith, cabinet member for communities and co-operation, said:
“Gabrielle is one of the UK’s most influential singer-songwriters, so to have her performing in Rochdale is very special, together with 2 hugely popular indie rock bands. Now this festival is bi-annual, it’s more eagerly awaited than ever, with early bird tickets snapped up in record time and second phase tickets selling fast too, which will only increase with these main stage announcements.”
Once again, to cut single use plastic, tickets include a re-usable drink cup to be collected upon arrival at the festival site.
The night before the festival (Friday, 7 August 2026) synth-pop icons Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are performing a headline show at Rochdale Town Hall Square alongside post-punk legends Peter Hook and The Light, and Manchester’s post-punk/funk band – A Certain Ratio. OMD’s Summer of Hits, plus special guests Peter Hook and The Light, and A Certain Ratio
More acts will be announced in the coming weeks, and while early bird tickets have already sold out, another phase of discounted tickets are available for £25 plus a 7.5 per cent booking fee. VIP upgrade packages are also available.
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