A new international music festival, Shadowlands, has been announced to take place in Canterbury, England, from July 1 to July 4, 2027. The four-day event will be held across three performance spaces at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre, located on the University of Kent campus, hosting live music sets, panel discussions, Q&As, and a film programme.
Initial Lineup and Featured Performances
Shadowlands focuses on alternative, electronic, avant-garde, and experimental music artists. The initial lineup announcement includes performances by Foetus, Lustmord, Test Dept, Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan, Regis featuring Liam Andrews, Clock DVA, The Wolfgang Press, Githead, hackedepicciotto, People Like Us, Portion Control, and :Zoviet*France:. Further artists are scheduled to be announced in August.
The festival includes several notable appearances and reunions:
- Foetus: JG Thirlwell will perform with a 20-piece chamber orchestra in a European exclusive set. The performance will feature material from the 2026 album HALT along with earlier material, marking Thirlwell’s first UK appearance as Foetus in over 25 years.
- Lustmord: The sound artist will perform live in the United Kingdom for the first time in two decades.
- Githead: The band, comprising Colin Newman (Wire), Malka Spiegel (Minimal Compact), and Robin Rimbaud (Scanner), is reuniting for the festival after a 13-year hiatus.
Event Background and Access
Shadowlands was co-founded by David Sefton, former Head of Artistic Development at London’s Royal Festival Hall and South Bank Centre, who previously created the Meltdown festival in 1993. Attendance for the festival is limited to 450 ticket sales. Early bird tickets are currently available through the venue, with on-site accommodation bookings opening in September 2026.