Rand New Festival Series Lands in Crystal Palace Bowl, First Shows Announced
By Palace Bowl July-August 2026
Announced Today:
Sunday 2 August: The Inaugural ‘Gospel Garden Festival’ With Kirk Franklin (Uk Exclusive), Tasha Cobbs (Uk Exclusive), Fred Hammond (Uk Exclusive), Mercy Chinwo (London Exclusive)
Thursday 13 August : Bastille And The Wombats
Tickets on sale at www.palacebowlpresents.co.uk
A brand new festival series, Palace Bowl Presents, has been announced for the iconic Crystal Palace Bowl in 2026, with an eclectic lineup of global headliners taking place between Friday 31 July and Sunday 16 August
Shows announced today include:
- The inaugural ‘Gospel Garden Festival’ on Sunday 2 August, headlined in a UK-exclusive by Kirk Franklin and Tasha Cobbs Leonard, supported by Fred Hammond, Mercy Chinwo and Jerub. Gospel Garden is set to become London’s biggest outdoor gospel festival.
- Bastille and The Wombats, who will both perform headline sets on Thursday 13 August.
Palace Bowl Presents will take place at the historic Crystal Palace Bowl, one of London’s most iconic open-air venues. Established in 1961, the Bowl and its famous ‘Garden Party’ events have played host to some of the most eclectic acts in British festival history, from prog to punk, rock to reggae, pop to the proms. As well as Bob Marley’s final London show, the Crystal Palace Bowl has seen concerts from artists including Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, Lou Reed, Curtis Mayfield, Gil Scot Heron, Ian Dury, Vera Lynn and many more.
Kirk Franklin is a 20-time GRAMMY® Award-winning artist, songwriter, producer, and music icon. For over three decades, he has been a transformative force in contemporary Gospel Music, masterfully blending Gospel, R&B, Hip-Hop, and Pop to create a unique and enduring sound that resonates across generations. Known as one of the most impactful and innovative figures in modern music, Franklin continues to expand the reach of Gospel, redefining its place in mainstream culture.
Over the course of more than a decade together, Bastille’s distinctive sound and cinematic songwriting have connected with audiences across the globe like few other British bands in recent memory.
Following a two-year hiatus from performing live, Bastille returned to the stage in autumn 2025 with their “From All Sides” UK arena tour — a celebration of their first fifteen years. Spanning nine cities across the UK, the shows will see the band perform songs from across their entire catalog, revisiting fan favourites, rarities, and defining moments from their remarkable career.
Since they emerged as leading lights of the late-‘00s indie rock scene with 2007 debut A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, The Wombats have maintained an incredible upward momentum. Headline shows at Crystal Palace and The O2 followed amid the band’s biggest touring cycle so far, taking in arenas across the globe and culminating at Reading 2024, where the band headlined a rammed Radio 1 tent overspilling with crowds of 18-24-year-olds that remain their core audience twenty years into their career.
Local residents from postcodes SE19, SE20 and SE26 will be eligible for discounted tickets for Palace Bowl Presents.
Preferred ticket access to some of the best tickets are available to Mastercard cardholders from Friday 13 February at 10AM. Check out priceless.com/music for details