This year’s iteration of Welcome to Rockville will most certainly be a memorable one. Kicking off Thursday, May 7 and spanning rock, metal, pop punk, and everything in between, this year’s four-day lineup is custom-made for anyone who’s ever rocked a facial piercing or bleached their own hair, however successfully.
Day one alone carries serious weight — from the very first band of the day, Dorothy, to a string of post-hardcore, pop punk, and metalcore bands we know AP readers would be stoked to see: Story of the Year, State Champs, Mayday Parade, Senses Fail, Atreyu, the list goes on… not to mention, Guns N’ Roses headline.
Read more: 10 most criminally underrated Bring Me The Horizon songs
Failure and Winona Fighter take some of Friday’s first slots, and the day only gets louder as it goes on — with performances by Poppy, the Offspring, Turnstile, finishing the day with a massive set from Foo Fighters.
Saturday starts off with an earlier set from Amira Elfeky, before bands ranging from Black Veil Brides to Simple Plan hit the stage — all leading up to Bring Me the Horizon as headliner.
The final day of the festival begins with the Ataris, features a reunion show from From First to Last, sets from Sleeping With Sirens, Yellowcard, Underoath, all capped off by My Chemical Romance — whose over-the-top theatricality and throwback tracks will be sure to stick in your head all the way home.
But that’s only a rough sketch. Each day is jam-packed with bands — ones you know, ones you don’t know, ones you’ve been reading about in AP magazines for decades, and ones you’ll be bragging about having seen this weekend for years to come. It’s pretty overwhelming — and while it was painfully hard to narrow it down, we’ve come up with a list of 5 must-see artists at Welcome to Rockville 2026.
Violent Vira
We all love to scream and cry to the soundtrack of our teenage years, but it’s equally important to identify and support the next generation of alternative icons. Somewhere in the middle of metalcore and heavy rock, Violent Vira’s vocal capabilities alone — which have been compared to both Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Kittie’s Morgan Lander — are enough evidence she’s one to watch. Though her sound leans heavier and more into metal than otherwise, Vira’s an emo girl at heart, and it does show. For fans of Poppy, Pierce the Veil, Jack Off Jill, and Bullets-era My Chemical Romance.
The Paradox
Two months into existence, the Paradox had a co-sign from Travis Barker and Jack White. Soon after, they opened for Green Day. They went viral. But that’s not new news. Since, they’ve proven to be much more than a TikTok video or one-off performance — they’re one of the most prominent young acts in today’s pop-punk scene, with the sticky earworms and high energy to pave the way for the genre’s future. If you’ve had “My Friends Over You” stuck in your head since 2002, it’s time to hear — and see — the Paradox in 2026.
L.S. Dunes
We’re fans and friends of L.S. Dunes — in all of their forms. Made up of My Chemical Romance’s Frank Iero, Circa Survive’s Anthony Green, Tucker Rule and Tim Payne of Thursday, and Coheed and Cambria’s Travis Stever, however adverse to the “supergroup” label they are themselves, there’s no better way to put it. These are the post-hardcore Avengers. Outside of their primary groups, they let themselves take creative and emotional liberties, experiment, and draw outside the lines with sound. It’s cathartic and fresh, magical and psychotic — and makes for a live experience you won’t want to miss.
Turnstile
Everyone should experience a Turnstile show. Whether you’re a lover or hater, it’s hard to deny something special is happening, something momentous as the band, as silhouettes, amble onstage against their signature striped projection. A moment of stillness, as “NEVER ENOUGH” starts, and then it hits the climax, Daniel Fang tears into his kit, and the crowd goes completely insane. Through their sets, Brendan Yates, an undeniably great frontman, acts as a wild conductor, bringing the crowd along for the journey rather than leaving them behind as the songs oscillate between their earlier, grittier hardcore tracks and the more recent, softer, pop-leaning ones. Really, Turnstile aren’t unlike the festival itself, offering a spectrum of heaviness.
My Chemical Romance
Few bands hit like My Chemical Romance — musically and emotionally. Their songs are alt anthems, the soundtrack to so many of our lives growing up. With a band like MCR, it’s less about nostalgia and more about the catharsis of screaming along to every word with a crowd of strangers who are screaming just as loud. Every show, whether it’s at a stadium or at a festival, is uniquely and massively theatrical. This band do not bring anything but their best — and more. Whether you’ve been listening for decades, or you’re just discovering them, whether you’ve got a marching band costume under your bed or you’re just curious about the hype — this is the kind of show people talk about long after the lights go down.
