Rail Ale Drink & Music Festival

14 – 17 May 2026

Tickets for Rail Ale 2026 – the most atmospheric and unique music and drinks festival of the year – are on sale now!

The 2026 Festival will take place over FOUR DAYS from Thursday 14th May to Sunday 17th May with some great live music lined up. As well as the music, there will be a huge selection of over 400 beers and ciders, gins and spirits, wines and fizz and – of course – the Rail Ale trains.

Kicking off the music at Thursday’s Rail Ale Party Night will be Badness, the UK’s #1 Madness Tribute band, re-living the “Dance Crazy” days of the late 70s and early 80s. On Friday ABBA Party Band will bring the iconic sounds of the Swedish pop legends to life. Headlining Rail Ale on Saturday night will be Calling Planet Earth, the ultimate 80s experience that defines a decade. The 2026 Festival will come to a close on Sunday with a tribute to the best of country, The Luke Combs Experience.

We’ve got some more great music acts lined up throughout the Festival and we will be putting more information on here and on our social media pages over the coming months.

Festival goers can buy tickets for each session of the Festival – or treat themselves to a four-day Rail Ale Weekend Pass, which includes entry to Rail Ale Party Night on Thursday 14th May and Nashville @ The Roundhouse on Sunday 17th May.

Want to make your Festival experience even more special? Camper van, caravan and tent pitches are available for all four nights of the Rail Ale Festival – you can book your overnight stay alongside your Festival entry tickets. Pitches are available on a first come, first served basis.

To quench the thirst there will be over 400 real ales from around the country including many brewed locally in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, a great range of ciders and craft beers, gins, spirits and wines, and a sprinkling of fizz.

For music lovers there will be fantastic live music in the marquee and on the main stage from jazz and brass through acoustic, funk and soul to rock and roll.

The Street Food Court will be on hand to provide you with a tasty range of food to suit every appetite from pork pies to pizza and hog roast to noodles.

Between 12noon and 5pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the popular Rail Ale train will be running for our visitors. The dedicated shuttle bus service will also be running from Chesterfield railway station into the Festival on all four days.

Please note that although we welcome children at Rail Ale, all under 18s must leave the Festival by 6.00pm on each day. This is strictly an adults-only event from 6.00pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Thank you for your cooperation.

Thursday 15th May will be our Trade and VIP day and we are now taking bookings for this. If you are a publican, brewer or supplier to the brewery industry and would like to attend the Trade Day please email us at tradesession@railalefestival.com

If you would like further information on our Rail Ale Festival VIP packages please email: VIPevents@railalefestival.com.

For more information visit www.railalefestival.com.