Forest Live, hosted by Forestry England is an annual music festival that takes music and its listeners into the woodland landscapes, to enjoy both nature and amazing live performances simultaneously. With an environmental cause – “For over 100 years, we have been growing, shaping and caring for over 1,500 of our nation’s forests for the benefit and enjoyment of all, for this generation and the next” – Forest Live shapes our natural habitats, provides outdoor escapes for England’s wilderness enthusiasts and strives to restore ecosystems for future generations of fauna and humans.
On top of this noble, environmental cause, Forest Live hosts an exciting line-up of bands and artists for the 2026 rendition of the festival. Amongst artists such as Billy Ocean, Fatboy Slim and UB40, (and many others) Forest Live has announced that they will be hosting two other co-headliners.
Skunk Anansie, a rock and punk band, will be joining the festival on 18th June 2026. Known for a “diverse sound—ranging from aggressive riffs to soulful ballads”, Skunk Anansie helped to shape the alternative rock landscape of the 1990s. Their albums Paranoid & Sunburnt and Stoosh went platinum during this period, they previously headlined for Glastonbury in 1999, as well as found themselves nominated for Best Live Act and Best Group for the MTV Music Awards in 1997, previously having been awarded Kerrang!’s Best British Live Act in 1996.
After an early 2000s hiatus, they then reunited in 2009 and since then been touring and releasing new music. We are now seeing the opportunity to witness the greatness of the 1990s cult musical movement at the Forest Live festival. Through their music, Skunk Anansie (their name being derivative of West African folklore) grew to be recognised for tackling “political and social issues, addressing themes of race, gender, and power with raw emotion and unapologetic energy”.
Skin, the band leader, leads the movement with powerful, energetic and boundless vocals in combination with beautiful and funky instrumental harmonies. In songs such as Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good), she charms the audience from beginning to end, making an unforgettable impression in the memories of the audience. The energy is exquisitely built upon by other band members such as Cass on bass and guitar, Ace on guitar and Mark Richardson on drums.
In May of this year, Skunk Anansie released a new album titled The Painful Truth, with a deeply nostalgic sonic architecture of 90s punk. After 9 years of radio silence, the album became a huge marker of their return. The Painful Truth continues Skunk Anansie’s legacy of political commentary, additionally touching upon intimate issues such as identity. An Artist is an Artist, the first album track, wittily reminds that once one becomes an artist, one always has been and will be an artist (like Skin herself – hiatus or not).
Alongside Skunk Anansie, on the 18th of June, it’s confirmed that the 1990s legendary American band, Garbage, will be co-headlining Forest Live, too. Playing since 1993, Garbage have risen to popularity thanks to their fusion of grunge, electronica and other energetic genres. Equally charming and powerful, the band vocals are led by Shirley Manson, with Duke Erikson on the keys, electric and bass guitar, Steve Marker on guitar and keyboards and Butch Vig on percussion and drums. Their lyricism explores themes such as “identity, technology, and emotional complexity”. Just as pertinent, in May this year, Garbage released their newest album, Let All That We Imagine Be The Light, fusing modern electronica with traditional rock. This album has been produced with recent international conflicts in the background of their minds, inspired by the Irsaeli-Palestinian conflict, Ukrainian-Russian war, as well as the Congo-Rwanda battle. Placing an unexpected emphasis on love and positivity, as quoted on Wikipedia from Spanish media sources, Manson explained that: “we all thought that if we immersed ourselves in indignation we would probably die of a broken heart. So we tried to look for something a little more positive, and the album is very much about finding love in the world as a tool to combat all the hate we feel”.
Internationally acclaimed as an influential band, in 1995, Garbage debuted on the UK Charts on the 12th position with their album Queer, then became nominated for the Brit Awards for the categories of Best New Band and Best International Newcomer. The song #1 Crush was also nominated as Best Song From a Movie for the MTV Movie Awards in 1997.
Both Skunk Anansie and Garbage, brave and bold, continue their politically, socially and musically relevant heritage, growing with today’s music movements whilst staying true to their core identity and sound.
2026’s Forest Live line-up will be seeing an amazing set of artists joining the stage. Including artists that have shaped histories of musical genres, they promise a very entertaining and meaningful experience. The tickets are live and available for purchase on the Forestry England website, linked below, as per. The shows will be stretched across four venues of the festival: Cannock Chase Forest, Delamere Forest, High Lodge Thetford Forest and Westonbirt Arboretum, each offering different headliners, so make sure to check out all the details online.
Go and cop those tickets for your favourite shows as soon as possible, support Forest Live’s environmental cause (plant some trees, touch some grass), and enjoy what Skunk Anansie, Garbage alongside many other fantastic musicians have to offer!
Purchase Tickets here: Forest Live Home
Article by Rozalia Lewandowska for Musik Magazine 2025
