Welcome to Rockville‘s 2026 edition is coming. Going down May 7-10 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, FL, the Danny Wimmer-presented fest is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Set times were recently revealed, and now we’re figuring out who we most don’t want to miss. We’ll definitely be sticking around for big headliners Guns N’ Roses, Foo Fighters, and My Chemical Romance, and some of the most appealing parts to us are the stages that were curated specifically to our taste in one metal subgenre (shout out most of Thursday and Friday on the Inferno stage), but there’s also a variety across the fest we’re looking forward to. Here are five artists (update: six) that we’re especially loking forward to:
Castle Rat
Get to the fest early Thursday, or you’ll be kicking yourself for missing one of the best stage shows of the weekend from the fast-rising, fantasy-themed, costumed doom rockers Castle Rat. Like GWAR, the visual aspect of this band has definitely helped propel them into your feed (and onto the cover of multiple magazines), but they’ve also got the riffs and Heavy Metal power to get crowds chanting and headbanging along like the packed venue was when we saw them open for Dethklok in NYC on Tuesday.
BONUS: Dethklok, who also rule, are also playing Welcome to Rockville.
Failure
Underrated alt rock band Failure‘s ’90s classics heavily influenced the heavy shoegaze sound that exploded over the past 10 years, but they aren’t just living in the past, having recently released their fourth new album since reuniting since 2014 (the same year they toured with Tool, for the fourth time). Not only does that mean more great tracks that are currently in rotation, but the continued chance to see the band live. Make sure to catch them Friday on the Octane stage.
Immolation
Annother veteran band with a new album out, NY death metal legends Immolation are one of the most consistent and crushing, long-running bands in the game with album after impressive album going back 40 years. They never miss, and we still catch them live any time we can. Conveniently, they go on right after the above-mentioned Castle Rat and right before fellow legends Suffocation, Death Angel & Deicide. An insane run of heaviness worth camping out for.
L.S. Dunes
Andrew Sacher’s blurb naming their 2025 LP one of the best punk albums of that year sums it up pretty well: The L.S. Dunes that emerged in 2022 with members of Circa Survive, My Chemical Romance, Thursday, and Coheed & Cambria couldn’t avoid being called a “supergroup,” but the L.S. Dunes of 2025 is just a band… and that’s a compliment. On their debut LP Past Lives, you could hear elements of all of the members’ most famous bands, and it felt like a total nostalgia rush for anyone with fond memories of the early 2000s post-hardcore scene. On their sophomore album Violet, the members’ familiar individual strengths are drowned out by the chemistry they formed after two years of touring. It’s often a slower, more ethereal album than Past Lives, and it pushes L.S. Dunes to places that none of the members’ other bands have gone before. This isn’t “Circa Survive + My Chemical Romance + Thursday + Coheed & Cambria.” This is L.S. Dunes.
BONUS: My Chemical Romance and Coheed & Cambria are both also playing the fest!
The Wonder Years
Arguably already veterans themselves as they celebrate 20 years of being a band, The Wonder Years are one of our favorite and the best bands carrying the pop punk torch, and exactly where we want to be singing along when they play the Garage on day one of the fest. Even more reason to be there: back before they announced their April 2026 tour that just finished, they said: “with the exception of a few festivals that we’ve already agreed to,” “these are the last shows we’re planning on doing for an undetermined amount of time. How long exactly? We don’t know, but unless some real bucket-list shit comes up, we’re planning on taking a step back for a bit. So, I’m just saying: if you want to see The Wonder Years in the near future, maybe take this opportunity.” Welcome to Rockville = one of those fests they mean, so don’t miss it!
Turnstile
What else is there to say that hasn’t been said? See you Friday when the hardcore giants close out Octane before Foo Fighters take over for the rest of the night.
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Welcome to Rockville tickets are on sale. Check out all the set times.
