Glaston Abbey 2026: A Glastonbury Weekend Comes to Hexham Abbey

Glastonbury is taking a fallow year in 2026 — the festival periodically rests Worthy Farm's fields — so the North East has the perfect excuse to stage its own version much closer to home. Glaston Abbey returns to the cloister lawn at Hexham Abbey on Friday 31 July and Saturday 1 August, billed by the organisers as "the next best thing" while the real thing sits out a summer.

Now in its third year, the event has grown into one of the highlights of Hexham's summer. The setting is hard to beat: an open-air stage on the grass in the shadow of the Abbey's medieval tower, with the tribute-act sing-alongs running into the long July and August evenings. Both nights run from around 6pm to a strict 11pm curfew — a deliberate limit to keep the Abbey's neighbours onside.

Friday 31 July: Fleeting Rumours, Geordie Cinnamon and Jason Arnup

Friday night mixes established tribute acts with local talent. The headliners are Fleeting Rumours, regarded as one of the most authentic Fleetwood Mac tribute bands around — expect Rhiannon, The Chain, Go Your Own Way and the rest of the Rumours-era catalogue that lends the band its name.

Ahead of them, Geordie Cinnamon brings a set built around Gerry Cinnamon's cherished hits and a handful of handpicked anthems, delivered with a blend of Scottish humour and Geordie wit that is squarely aimed at getting the crowd singing. Opening the evening is Jason Arnup, a local country-rock favourite returning to the Abbey after going down well at the 2025 event.

Best for: Friday is the night for the classic-rock and singalong crowd — Fleetwood Mac harmonies followed by a full-throated Gerry Cinnamon party.

Saturday 1 August: Ed Sheeran Songbook, Arctic Flunkies and Oasis 96

Saturday leans into modern crowd-pleasers. Jack Bowater's Ed Sheeran Songbook opens things up, recreating Sheeran's one-man live sound through Bowater's vocals and his signature guitar sampling and looping — the same build-a-track-live approach that made the original a stadium act.

Arctic Flunkies follow with an Arctic Monkeys tribute, before Oasis 96 close the weekend. The Oasis tribute's headline slot went down so well in 2025 that the organisers brought them straight back, and a Britpop finale is about as reliable a way to lose your voice by Sunday morning as the North East offers. If you only come for one night, Saturday is the bigger singalong.

The setting: Hexham Abbey's cloister lawn

Part of what makes Glaston Abbey distinctive is the venue. Hexham Abbey has stood at the heart of the town for more than 1,300 years, and its cloister lawn turns into a natural amphitheatre for the weekend. It is a short walk from the railway station and the bus interchange, so it is an easy trip from Newcastle on the Tyne Valley line, and there is plenty in town — the Shambles, the Old Gaol and the market place — to fill an afternoon before the music starts.

Holding an outdoor music festival in the grounds of a working abbey is also, quietly, a fundraiser: ticket income supports the building that hosts it, which is part of why the event has been welcomed back each year.

What's new for 2026

The organisers have made a few changes based on feedback from the 2025 edition:

• Two separate bar service points rather than one, to cut the queues — and, for the first time, tea and coffee for anyone who asked.
• Both indoor and outdoor toilet access.
• More food vans, for a wider choice across the two nights.
• You can still bring camping chairs and picnic rugs, but the organisers don't especially recommend it: seated spots are placed towards the rear so that standing crowds keep their view.

Tickets and practical details

Glaston Abbey is an over-12s event — the youngest ticket band is for children aged 12 to 16, and there are no tickets for younger children. Prices have been held from last year:

• Single night (adult): £18, or £19.50 with the £1.50 booking fee.
• Two-day pass (adult): £28, or £29.50 with the booking fee.
• Children (12–16): £12 a night (£13.50 with fee), or £20 for the two-day pass (£21.50 with fee).

Tickets are selling — at the time of writing there were noticeably fewer left for the Saturday than the Friday — and are booked through the Abbey's Ticket Tailor page. Full details are on the Hexham Abbey website.

It is a compact, well-run festival in a genuinely special setting, and in a summer without Glastonbury it is about the most fun you can have on a lawn in Tynedale.

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Planning your weekend? See more of what's on across Hexham and the North East on our events calendar.