Great Estate Festival Returns to Scorrier Estate This May with Kaiser Chiefs, Skunk Anansie and More

Just five weeks away, the Great Estate Festival is pulling together a lineup that has people across the country asking why they never paid attention to it before.

While Glastonbury sits out 2026 on its fallow year, a boutique festival tucked into 400 acres of Cornish countryside is quietly positioning itself as the place to be this late May Bank Holiday weekend. The Great Estate Festival, returning to the grounds of Scorrier Estate from the 29th to the 31st of May, has announced a lineup that would turn heads at any festival, never mind one that describes itself as “the most rambunctious garden fête.”

The Lineup

Kaiser Chiefs and Sophie Ellis-Bextor top the bill, but the bookings that are generating the most buzz are a little more unexpected.

Chevy Metal, featuring Shane Hawkins, will perform in what is being billed as a UK festival exclusive. It is one of the band’s only UK appearances since the Taylor Hawkins tribute show, making it a genuinely rare opportunity for UK audiences.

Sunday’s headline slot goes to Skunk Anansie, fronted by Skin, marking the band’s first ever headline performance in Cornwall. Fans of the band will know how rarely that kind of milestone comes around.

And then there is Simon Pegg, the actor and comedian, who will be playing a DJ set. You may find yourself doing a double take at that one, but there it is.

Rounding out the more intimate programme, the festival’s Talks at Teatime sessions will include a conversation with Skin as well as a drum clinic and Q&A with Shane Hawkins alongside Miles Elze. Also new for 2026, Clunk Magazine will take over the woodland area, curating a stage focused on cutting-edge and emerging artists.

More Than Music

The Great Estate has always leaned into its identity as something more than a conventional music festival, and this year is no different.

Included in the ticket price is a substantial programme of free activities. New for 2026 is the Great British Beard Off, a competition for the biggest, fanciest and most extreme beards. Returning favourites include a Viking Encampment, Dark Cornwall folklore experiences, the Piskie Trail, Victorian Sports Day, Hip Hop Karaoke, kids’ raves, circus skills, storytelling workshops and a vintage fairground.

For those after something a little quieter, the Sanctuary Wellness Workshop Tent will run sessions throughout the weekend including yoga, Tai Chi Qi Gong, mindful manifestations and fermentation classes. When the headline acts wrap each evening, the party carries on with the festival’s Supersized Silent Disco.

The Secret Gin Garden returns for those seeking hidden cocktails and late-night revelry.

Where It All Happens

Scorrier House sits at the heart of the estate, an elegant country house originally built in 1780 by mining tycoon John Williams. The surrounding 400 acres of private parkland and historic gardens provide the backdrop for the whole weekend.

Guests wanting to make a full event of it can upgrade to boutique glamping through The Octopus Garden, with access to Scorrier House’s private pool and sauna.

Worth Knowing

The Great Estate has been running for eight years and has previously hosted the likes of Manic Street Preachers, Primal Scream, Supergrass, The Charlatans, Leftfield, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Darkness and Happy Mondays, among others. It received a Gold award at the Cornwall Tourism Awards in 2024.

Attendance has exceeded 10,000 in previous years and the organisers say tickets are selling faster than at any previous point. Prices are due to rise to the next tier soon.

Ben Hall from the festival said: “Our vision has always been to create something completely different and stand out for all ages and interests. With this year’s diverse lineup and immersive activities, we’re raising the bar again for what a family festival can be. In a year without Glastonbury, we’re proud to offer a completely different, spellbinding festival that’s imaginative, welcoming, and rooted in Cornwall. And in true Great Estate style, the unexpected is set to be everywhere, with secret performances, roaming characters and surreal spectacles hidden across the whole estate.”

Tickets are on sale now at greatestatefestival.co.uk.