Shadowlands, a new international music festival at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre in Canterbury, England, has added 16 acts to its debut edition running 1-4 July 2027, bringing the final line-up to 35 names across the alternative, electronic, avant-garde and experimental fields. The additions, announced 10 September, include These New Puritans, Matmos, Årabrot, Hula, Barry Adamson, Sunroof, JG Thirlwell (solo), Negativland, Globo, The Soft Pink Truth, Carl Stone, 2nd Gen, Mischievous Misappropriators, Monosum, M.C. Schmidt and Obel Feldi, and Rangelova as DJ.

The festival launched on 2 July with 19 acts already confirmed, among them Foetus performing as a 20-piece chamber orchestra, Lustmord, Test Dept., Clock DVA, The Wolfgang Press, Portion Control, :Zoviet*France, Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan, Regis (with Liam Andrews) and People Like Us. The event spans three performance spaces on the University of Kent campus, alongside a programme of talks, Q&As and film screenings.

Several of the new additions mark returns or firsts. Sheffield industrial funk band Hula are reforming for their first live show in almost four decades. Barry Adamson is premiering a new solo show, “Gone Undercover.” JG Thirlwell performs his solo soundtrack to the 1962 Harry Smith film “Heaven and Earth Magic” in the UK for the first time. Negativland play the UK for the first time in eight years, and 2nd Gen for the first time anywhere since 2009. The Soft Pink Truth, a Matmos offshoot, makes its first UK appearance since 2008, while M.C. Schmidt and Obel Feldi, another Matmos-related project, make their UK debut.

Sunroof, the duo of Mute Records founder Daniel Miller and producer Gareth Jones, add a rare live outing to the bill. Githead – Colin Newman of Wire, Malka Spiegel of Minimal Compact and Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner – reunite after a 13-year hiatus, with Newman and Spiegel also performing separately as Immersion. Rimbaud joins Vicki Bennett of People Like Us and Carl Stone for a rare live outing of their trio project Mischievous Misappropriators.

As previously announced, JG Thirlwell’s Foetus set is a European exclusive drawing on his 2026 album “HALT” and earlier material, presented as a large orchestral format for only the second time and his first UK appearance as Foetus in over 25 years. Lustmord plays the UK for the first time in almost a decade.

Shadowlands is co-founded by David Sefton, former Head of Artistic Development at the Royal Festival Hall/Southbank Centre in London, who originated the Meltdown festival in 1993. Co-founder Gerard Myers stated the festival’s line-up was built around artists he and Sefton wanted to see together rather than genre or era, adding that some acts agreed to reform once approached. Sefton described the goal as identifying “the most exciting line-up of the most adventurous music ever made” and then booking it.

The festival has 450 tickets available, including a three-monthly-payment option, with on-site accommodation bookable now via the official site. Canterbury’s proximity to London, mainland Europe and major airports is positioned as part of the event’s appeal.

Shadowlands 2027 full line-up

Foetus (20-piece chamber orchestra), Lustmord, Test Dept., Clock DVA, The Wolfgang Press, Portion Control, :Zoviet*France, Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan, Regis (feat. Liam Andrews), People Like Us, These New Puritans, Matmos, Årabrot, Hula, Barry Adamson, Sunroof, JG Thirlwell (solo), Negativland, Globo, The Soft Pink Truth, Carl Stone, 2nd Gen, Mischievous Misappropriators, Monosum, M.C. Schmidt and Obel Feldi, Githead, Immersion, and Rangelova (DJ).

About Shadowlands

Shadowlands is a new boutique international festival taking place across four days at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre on the University of Kent campus in Canterbury, England, from 1 to 4 July 2027. It was co-founded by David Sefton, former Head of Artistic Development at the Royal Festival Hall/Southbank Centre in London and originator of the Meltdown festival, together with Gerard Myers. The festival describes itself as “The Outside Of Everything,” positioning its programme around artists spanning industrial, electronic, avant-garde and experimental music rather than a single genre or era. Beyond concerts, the festival includes talks, Q&As and film screenings across three venues. Several headline acts connect to Side-Line’s own coverage history: Clock DVA issued a remastered “Sensorium” single ahead of its “Thirst” 45th-anniversary reissue earlier in 2026, and its member Adi Newton also performs at Shadowlands as T.A.G.C. The Canterbury debut follows a first-wave announcement of 19 acts on 2 July, expanded to 35 with the additions confirmed on 10 September.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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