Wacken Open Air will take place from July 29st to August 1rd, 2026.
Festival Details
Wacken Open Air (/ˈvɑːkən/, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a heavy metal music festival, held yearly since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is often called the world’s biggest and most renowned metal festival, or the “Mecca of heavy metal”. The four-day event involves around 200 bands, is attended by around 85,000 metalheads from more than 80 countries, and takes place on a 240-hectare site including campgrounds. Wacken has two main stages and several smaller stages, as well as areas with stalls, beer tents and entertainment; including a medieval-themed ‘Wackinger’ village and apocalyptic-themed ‘Wasteland’. Wacken Open Air has long focused on traditional heavy metal and extreme metal genres such as power metal, speed metal, thrash metal, death metal, black metal, doom metal, industrial, symphonic and folk metal. Locals had always been involved with the festival. However, in recent years Wacken has included more mainstream and alt-metal bands as headliners, become more commercialized and attracted non-metalhead ‘festival tourists’, upsetting long-time attendees.
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Def Leppard
Judas Priest
Powerwolf
Airbourne
Black Label Society
H-Blockx
In Flames
Lamb Of God
Running Wild
Savatage
Saxon
Sepultura
5th Avenue Hamburg
9mm Headshot
Alcest
Alestorm
Alfahanne
Alien Ant Farm
Allt
Anaal Nathrakh
Angelus Apatrida
Animals As Leaders
Any Given Day
Arch Enemy
Arroganz
Asrock
Battlecreek
Bear McCreary
Blaas Of Glory
Black Tish
Bleed From Within
Blood Command
Blood Fire Death
Blood Red Throne
Broken By The Scream
Brunhilde
Castle Rat
Chaosbay
Corrosion Of Conformity
Craft
Crematory
Crimson Glory
Cruachan
Crypt Sermon
Cursed Abyss
Danko Jones
Deafheaven
Dirty Shirt
Divlje Jagode
Dritte Wahl
Dubioza Kolektiv
Einherjer
Electric Bassboy
Eläkeläiset
Emperor
Employed To Serve
Europe
Evil Jared
Expellow
Faun
Finsterforst
Firespawn
Fit For An Autopsy
Focus
Future Palace
Grand Magus
Guilt Trip
Gutalax
Hackneyed
Hardline
Hatebreed
Heartless Human Harvest
Heavysaurus
Hämatom
Insanity Alert
Kadavar
Katerfahrt
Kim Dracula
Kittie
Krogi
Kupfergold
Kärbholz
Lacuna Coil
Lagwagon
Life Of Agony
Lovebites
Luna Kills
Mambo Kurt
Manntra
Mantar
Maschine
Metaklapa
Minotaurus
Misery Index
Misþyrming
Mr. Hurley Und Die Pulveraffen
Municipal Waste
Nevermore
Nita Strauss
Nothing More
Of Mice & Men
Orbit Culture
Our Promise
P.o.d.
Paleface Swiss
Paradise Lost
Phantom
Pig Destroyer
Poison The Preacher
President
Ricky Warwick
Rose Tattoo
Sacred Steel
Sagenbringer
Saviourself
Skylineband
Skynd
Spectral Wound
Stonem
Storm Seeker
Subway To Sally
Temple Of The Absurd
Ten56.
The Butcher Sisters
The Gathering
The Hardkiss
The Haunted
The Limit
The Other
Therapy?
Thrown
Thundermother
Thy Art Is Murder
Triptykon
Trold
Troops Of Doom
Turbonegro
Tuxedoo
Uli Jon Roth
Unzucht
Vanir
Velvet Rush
Vended
Visions Of Atlantis
Vogelfrey
Wytch Hazel
Wüstenberg
Year Of The Goat
Yngwie Malmsteen
Zeltinger Band
Video
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