Championing Gloucestershire's thriving grassroots music community, Audio Junk Food brings its 'love letter to the Shiregrown scene', Crosstown Traffic, back to Cheltenham this February 2026 – and it's bigger than ever before.
When and where is Crosstown Traffic Festival 2026?
Crosstown Traffic is taking place from Thursday 26 February until Saturday 1 March 2026, with 11 stages across five venues, including Smokey Joe's, The Frog & Fiddle, The Steam & Whistle, The Bottle of Sauce and 2 Pigs.
Who's on the lineup at Crosstown Traffic Festival 2026?
The lineup features more than 50 of the most exciting artists and bands in Gloucestershire, spanning genres from punk, emo and metal to blues, country and folk.
Kicking off the festival on Thursday 26, after being described as 'literal magic' last year, the Nashville-inspired Songs & Stories Stage returns to Smokey Joe's featuring stripped back songs performed in-the-round, once again hosted by award-winning singer-songwriter duo Saint Senara, featuring Death Is A Girl frontman Joe Green, rising country star Amy Moore, Jake Chown and Kay John from Forest of Dean rock band Mirages and blues rock powerhouse Chloe Mogg.
On Friday 27, The Steam & Whistle hosts the True Tone Music stage with performances from Jodie O, Red Swan, Cult Trexy, Oxblood Moon and Truck; cover bands The Desperados, Run Yoshi Run and Fracture get a chance to shine at The Frog & Fiddle; plus there's The Music Works stage at Smokey Joe's, too.
Saturday 28 sees The Frog & Fiddle host the Rising Stars stage in the afternoon, with performances from Smiling Politely, The Dawn Roar, Azaleas, Pebble Daisy and Deadly Nightshade; with some of the county's biggest names including Saint Senara, Thieves, Nostalgia Bias, Death Is A Girl and Broken Jaw hitting the Out Of Key Stage that evening.
While Smokey Joe's has the family-friendly Generations Stage in the afternoon and The Back Room stage in the evening; things get heavy at 2 Pigs with The Ambushed Poets, Chug and Prodigal on the Leap Audio stage; and The Bottle of Sauce hosts The House Party with performances from the likes of Sophie Kay, Dan Cooper, George Montague and Charlie Baxter x Hats.
2 Pigs is also hosting afterparties on Friday 27 with DJ Weldon and Saturday 28 DJ Sam Atlantis.
Then Lauren Harrop, Ceg, Underscore, Charlie Plews and Dhalia close out the event with The Curtain Call at The Steam & Whistle on Sunday 1 March.
How much are tickets to Crosstown Traffic Festival 2026?
Wristbands cost £13 for adults, £7 for 14 to 17s and £5 for 13 and unders – and grant access to all venues across all days, on a first-come, first-served basis, but please note some venues have age restrictions.
There are also student discounts available for NUS cardholders.
How to book tickets to Crosstown Traffic Festival 2026?
Wristbands are on sale now via Fatsoma and can be collected from any of the participating venues.
