NOS Alive 2026 • Festivals • DIY Magazine

Along the coast of Portugal’s Algés, thousands of festival-goers are streaming into the gates of NOS Alive on a warm July afternoon. The festival has historically offered a tantalisingly eclectic lineup, hosting the best in pop, rock and dance across its eight stages – and this year is no exception. Surrounded by scrumptious food stalls, a row of mock terraces housing plenty of fun brand activities and the warm sun shining down, we’re in for a treat at NOS Alive’s 19th edition.

We kick off proceedings on Thursday, where crowds pack into the Heineken tent to catch a glimpse of Keanu Reeves. You heard right: when he’s not filming blockbusters, Reeves is casually playing bass on festival stages with his recently united band, Dogstar (who, by the way, were also responsible for Weezer’s first ever gig). The trio run through a slew of serviceable alt-grunge tunes, making for an impressively starstruck festival opening.

Later in the same tent, Alabama Shakes stun the crowd with their collection of soulful country-rock songs. Frontwoman Brittany Howard strides out, looking like the coolest reverend to ever rock out: donning an enormous white robe, an ‘ICE OUT’ badge pinned to her guitar strap completes the look. Today is especially momentous for the band; they’ve announced their first album in 11 years, ‘I Must Be Dreaming’, and treat the audience with a taste of what’s to come. ‘I Feel Hope Coming’ is a gentle, swaying song that soothes our nerves to prepare us to fight for the future: “Whatever’s coming, let it come / There’s no man that can make me run,” Howard coos. ‘Another Life’ is a tender meditation on heartbreak that leaves the audience breathless, while ‘American Dream’ unleashes the inspired rage and passion Howard is so beloved for.

Headliner Nick Cave - and his trusty Bad Seeds - continue this spirited fervour with a rousing two-and-a-half hour set celebrating his back catalogue. Cave has long been interested in notions of transcendence, and that’s on full display as he assumes a messianic stage persona, radiating an intimidating physicality as he rages through ‘Train-Long Suffering’ and standing on the crowd to sing ‘City of Refuge’.

Of course, there’s space for more tender, reflective moments, too. Cave puts his vulnerability on display when singer Janet Ramus joins him to duet the haunting murder ballad ‘Henry Lee’, and he later dedicates ‘Wide Lovely Eyes’ to his wife, Suzie (“It’s the only song she likes because it’s about her”). By the time the set ends, you’re left feeling somehow galvanised and cleansed. That’s the magic of a Nick Cave performance: he gives a damn good rock show without the overly manufactured masculinity or pretence, preserving all the rawness instead.

Friday arrives, as hot as the day before. Judging by festival-goer fashion, it looks like Father-Daughter day: middle-aged men boast Foo Fighters merch, while tween daughters in tow are bedazzled with sequins and glitter. Presumably, they’re here to see Zara Larsson, when she performs at the eye-watering time of 1.15am – and to become acquainted with the lineup of iconic female-fronted rock bands who begin today’s bill.

Savages’ Jehnny Beth puts on an electrifying solo show at the Heineken stage, while Skunk Anansie take to the main stage for a powerful set of their own. Dressed in a baggy shirt with a cross stamped on a swastika, frontwoman Skin announces gleefully that she’s bleeding just a few songs in, then launches into the vocal acrobatics of ‘Charlie Big Potato’. Ripping through further classics like ‘Hedonism’ and ‘Weak’, Skunk Anansie prove why they remain a vital and pulsing force in punk rock, with Skin later exclaiming, “This is a bit of a fucking fantastic lineup, isn’t it? Every band is fucking fire – you lucky bastards!”

Later in the day, Wolf Alice grace the main stage with a giant silver tinsel star looming over them – an apt metaphor for how monumental the London quartet have become. Since dropping their recent album ‘The Clearing’, Ellie Rowsell has adopted a more theatrical stage presence, dishing out power poses and fierce stares while showing off her pipes on ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’ or more meditative tracks like ‘The Sofa'. Of course, the band go extra hard while playing ‘Lisbon’, pulling out all the stops to give the city a proper rockstar performance as they swing around their instruments with wild abandon. Despite it all, they still manage to sustain this energy throughout their set – and by the time they close with ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’, you’re left with no doubt of Wolf Alice’s star power.

Foo Fighters make an equally dramatic arrival, signalling their start by firing a number of acrid flares into the air. Dave Grohl and co. appear amidst the smoke; they vow to play as many songs as they can, and make good on that promise. The Foos open with a stacked run of ‘All My Life’, ‘The Pretender’ and ‘Times Like These’; in fact, it's incredible just how many crowd-roaring hits the band have produced. Grohl shows off his drum skills during ‘Tap Dancing in a Minefield’, and dedicates ‘Aurora’ to late drummer Taylor Hawkins.

Strangely, though, there’s no songs from their newest record - ‘Your Favourite Toy’, which dropped back in April. It’s a disappointment, and feels like somewhat of a betrayal of the album; but if the crowd has complaints, nobody’s making any. When you’ve got hits like ‘Best of You’ and ‘Everlong’, who could want for anything more?

As the Foos continue their headline rampage, a hefty huddle of teenagers fill the Heineken stage to the brim a full hour and a half before Zara Larsson is due on. Their wait pays off; the Swedish popstar makes good on her recent renaissance with an all killer, no filler show. She commences with the song that sparked her return to fame, ‘Midnight Sun’, and from there, she hits every single note and dances her ass off (who else can twerk, then jump into the perfect split?). There’s a tear-jerking moment when Larsson invites an avid fan who’s travelled all the way from Brazil to perform the ‘Lush Life’ dance – of course, he absolutely nails it. From her recent collaborations with PinkPantheress and Tyla, to airing classic summer hits like ‘Never Forget You’ and ‘Symphony’, Larsson’s set asserts just how long she’s put her glittery stamp on pop music.

Saturday seems to be NOS Alive’s most packed and hectic day; we weave through streaming crowds to catch Florence Road, who attract a huge audience for their debut show in Lisbon. The Irish band power through their grunge-inflected tunes, frontwoman Lily Aron possessing the steady charisma and confident voice of a young Ellie Roswell. Then, there's Alessi Rose, the Derby pop upstart who performs in front of a huge stained glass window design bearing her name. She, too, possesses a strong voice and infectious stage presence, prancing around in a pink slip dress while singing ‘First Original Thought’ and ‘That Could Be Me’. Her audience might not be as large as the Irish quartet's, but it’s certainly as dedicated; girls audibly bawl when she sings ‘Dumb Girl’, and scream when Rose plucks a giant Portugal flag from the crowd to wear as a cape.

Lorde takes to the main stage shortly afterwards, bringing a visually stunning set to accompany her latest album, ‘Virgin’: she climbs on top a huge LED-clad box to have her body photocopied in real time for ‘Shapeshifter’, and lies on top of the box as it lifts several feet in the air to sing ‘Current Affairs’. These grand staging tricks never detract from Lorde’s ability to simply perform a banger, though; ‘What Was That’ is a monstrous crowd-mover on festival speakers, while the Kiwi strips back the staging to simply dance and belt classics like ‘Green Light’ and ‘Ribs’.

Throughout the gig, Lorde is able to effortlessly inject her down-to-earth personality into her every move; she playfully consoles Portugal over their recent loss at the World Cup (“We don’t have to talk about it”), and later on, she marvels at opening for Florence + The Machine, recalling how her mother used to blast the band’s debut album from her car speakers: “It’s so amazing to have these women and feel like they’ve been above me for such a long time”.

The festival ends with Florence + The Machine, who bring their majestic show to NOS Alive. The band is already able to sustain a whole tour on the sheer nerve of frontwoman Florence Welch, but the addition of choreography this time around elevates their set to dizzying heights. The dancers act as ritual members, who rise from the ground like dead bodies under Welch’s spell and headbang in communion with her. ‘Everybody Scream’, her most recent album, explored the intersection with womanhood and physical pain, and watching the band members act out Welch’s inner turmoil is cathartic and riveting to watch.

Still, they know when to pare back the theatrics; ‘Dog Days’ sees Florence implore the audience to put their phones away, and she responds by dancing maniacally across the stage, it shaking as she jumps. As the music fades, a cold breeze swirls around the sweaty heat of the audience – a truly heartwarming, purifying end to NOS Alive 2026.