CRYSTAL PALACE HITS IT OUT OF THE PARK THIS SUMMER

WORDS MAISIE JANE DANIELS

There’s something about nostalgia—particularly when it comes to music—that burrows deep into your being and helps shape who you are. Certain songs don’t just soundtrack moments; they form identities. They make you feel seen, understood, and articulated in ways you couldn’t quite manage yourself.

This summer, Crystal Palace Park opens its gates to the artists who did exactly that for generations of listeners. From Southern California punk pioneers The Offspring and the raw, cathartic songwriting of Alanis Morissette, to Northern Irish alt-rock titans Snow Patrol and modern-day West Belfast and Derry disruptors Kneecap, this season’s programme spans eras, emotions and movements. These are the artists who didn’t just make music, they made marks.

Read on for a rundown of the unmissable shows lighting up South London in summer 2026.

THE OFFSPRING

My first favourite band was The Offspring (with the sole exception of 5ive—you’ll always have my heart). I used to line up my teddies—one of them a 5ive bear I got at their Manchester Arena show, which I famously slept through on a chair—and pretend they were The Offspring, blasting Americana at full volume.

At seven years old, it was the first album that made me fall properly in love with music, singing along to wildly inappropriate lyrics I definitely didn’t understand at the time (“give it to me baby” springs to mind). So when I heard they were playing Crystal Palace Park, I jumped at the chance to finally see them live—and I know I won’t be the only one reliving a formative musical obsession.

Tickets on sale via www.ticketmaster.co.uk.

ALANIS MORISSETTE

Finding out that Alanis Morissette was also set to take the Crystal Palace Park stage felt like the ultimate ’90s revival—like my favourite artists had collectively returned to scoop me up and drop me straight back into my teenage bedroom.

Jagged Little Pill soundtracked years of lying on my bed, feeling devastatingly emotional, singing my heart out to what I thought was true heartbreak (if only I knew what my twenties had in store). Three decades on, Alanis remains one of the most influential women in contemporary music, celebrated for her deeply expressive songwriting and uncompromising performances.

Since her 1995 breakthrough, she has released nine further acclaimed albums, while tracks like Ironic, You Oughta Know, Hand In My Pocket and Thank U remain as resonant now as they were then. This is a chance to experience an artist whose work continues to connect across generations.

Tickets on sale via www.ticketmaster.co.uk.

SNOW PATROL

Taking us back to the noughties, Northern Irish alt-rock juggernauts Snow Patrol will also be gracing the open-air stage this summer.

The band broke into the mainstream with 2003’s Final Straw, followed by the multi-platinum success of Eyes Open (2006), and continued their run with A Hundred Million Suns (2008) and Fallen Empires (2011). After a six-year hiatus, they returned with Wildness in 2018, and most recently scored a Number One album with The Forest Is The Path last September.

With Chasing Cars clocking up a staggering 1.7 billion Spotify streams, Snow Patrol have clearly mastered the art of writing songs for the collective consciousness. They’ll be joined by Rag’n’Bone Man, alongside indie-pop newcomer Nieve Ella—check out her exclusive Day In The Life feature on F Word.

Tickets on sale via www.ticketmaster.co.uk.

KNEECAP

Kicking off the summer with their biggest headline show to date, Kneecap are set to shake Crystal Palace Park to its foundations. One of the most talked-about groups in the world right now, this is hip-hop at its most thrilling: a confrontational, intelligent and revolutionary force that smashes bans, barricades, censorship—and the occasional bottle of Buckfast.

Their fiercely original 2024 concept album Fine Art, produced by Toddla T, propelled them into the mainstream alongside their BAFTA-winning feature film Kneecap, starring Michael Fassbender and shortlisted for an Academy Award. Joined by special guests The Mary Wallopers, Fat Dog, Biig Piig, Gurriers and Madra Salach, this is shaping up to be one of the most explosive line-ups of the summer—and one that promises memories long after the final beat drops.

Tickets on sale via www.ticketmaster.co.uk.