Organisers behind Stockton Calling have revealed the first headline acts for its 2027 return, with Red Rum Club and Adult DVD confirmed to lead two of the festival’s stages next Easter.
Taking place on Saturday 27th March 2027, the multi-venue festival will once again bring established names together with some of the UK’s best new and emerging artists for more than 10 hours of live music across Stockton town centre.
Organisers have kicked off the 2027 line-up with two bands arriving in Stockton on the back of major years.
Liverpool six-piece Red Rum Club will headline the main stage at ARC, while Leeds six-piece Adult DVD, fresh from the release of their debut album, will top the bill at The Georgian Theatre.
The announcement is the first taste of the 2027 line-up, with further headliners and dozens more artists still to be revealed.
For Red Rum Club, Stockton Calling comes as the band continue a rise that has taken their unmistakable, brass-driven indie from Liverpool’s grassroots venues to major stages across the UK.
Fronted by Fran Doran, the six-piece have carved out a sound of their own, built around huge choruses, cinematic guitars and the soaring brass that has become one of the band’s signatures.
Across a run of acclaimed records and years spent on the road, the band have steadily built a fiercely loyal following, earning a reputation as a live act capable of turning increasingly bigger rooms into something that still feels intimate.
That journey has accelerated considerably in recent years.
A huge 2025 saw Red Rum Club perform at festivals including Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Tramlines and Y Not, tour with The Wombats and play an 11,000-capacity hometown headline show at Aintree Racecourse.
The band are currently back on the road for another major UK tour and will play London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town on Thursday 8th October – the night after their Stockton Calling headline appearance is announced.
Their Stockton date will bring them into the heart of ARC for a headline set that promises to be one of the biggest moments of next year’s festival.
Across town at The Georgian Theatre, Adult DVD arrive at a very different but equally significant point in their story.
The Leeds six-piece have rapidly become one of the most talked-about new names emerging from the UK’s alternative scene, building a reputation around a sound that combines hook-heavy indie, synths and electronics with the pulse of ‘90s acid house.
The result is music designed as much for movement as it is for the traditional indie gig, bringing together guitars, electronics and dancefloor energy in a live show that has increasingly taken them beyond the venues where they first made their name.
On 25th September, Adult DVD released their self-titled debut album through Fat Possum Records, meaning the record will have been out for less than two weeks when their Stockton Calling headline appearance is announced.
It follows a breakthrough period which has seen the band receive support from BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6 Music, with single ‘Real Tree Lee’ landing on the BBC 6 Music A-List.
Adult DVD were also named among Rolling Stone UK’s Ones to Watch for 2026, while their increasingly busy live schedule has taken them far beyond their Leeds beginnings.
The band have completed debut tours of the USA and Japan, appeared at SXSW and played festivals including Glastonbury, Green Man and End of the Road.
Their Georgian Theatre headline slot will give Stockton Calling audiences the chance to catch the band in an intimate setting at a point when their profile is growing quickly both at home and internationally.
It is exactly the kind of booking Stockton Calling has built its reputation on – putting established festival favourites alongside artists whose biggest moments may still be ahead of them.
Chris Cobain, of festival partners Tees Music Alliance, said: “This is exactly the kind of announcement we wanted to start with. Red Rum Club are a brilliant live band who have built a huge following through years of touring, while Adult DVD are right in the middle of a really exciting moment.
“Their debut album has just arrived, they’re playing packed rooms and there is a genuine feeling around them that you’re watching a band moving very quickly.
“Putting them into The Georgian Theatre is what Stockton Calling is all about. You’re going to get the chance to see a band at a really exciting point in their career in a brilliant, intimate venue.”
Jimmy Beck, of KU Promotions, added: “Red Rum Club have been friends of ours for a long time and we’ve watched them grow into a band capable of commanding some seriously big stages. Having them headline ARC feels like a perfect fit.
“They’ve built their following the right way – through great records, touring and connecting with audiences – and they’re exactly the sort of band we know will deliver a brilliant headline set at Stockton Calling.
“Then you’ve got Adult DVD at The Georgian Theatre, who are one of those bands everybody seems to be talking about right now.
“And this is only the start. We’ve got a lot more artists still to announce across the festival and we’re really excited about how the 2027 line-up is coming together.”
Stockton Calling has been bringing live music to the heart of the town since 2010, developing a reputation for putting established artists alongside acts at the beginning of their careers.
Previous editions have welcomed the likes of Sam Fender, Self Esteem, Blossoms, Circa Waves and The Reytons, while the 2026 festival saw Hard-Fi, Young Rebel Set, Gurriers and The Molotovs lead a line-up of more than 60 artists.
Thousands of music fans again descended on Stockton for last year’s event, moving between venues from lunchtime until late and turning the town centre into one large live music circuit.
Rather than remaining at a single stage, Stockton Calling gives audiences the freedom to build their own route through the day, moving between different venues, genres and artists within a few minutes’ walk.
That spirit of discovery will return in 2027, with audiences able to move between ARC, ARC2, KU Stockton, The Social Room, The Georgian Theatre, The Green Room and The Link throughout the day.
Red Rum Club and Adult DVD are the first headliners to be announced, with further headline acts and the wider 2027 line-up to be revealed over the coming months.
The next Stockton Calling will take place on Saturday 27th March 2027.
Tickets are on sale now.
For tickets and information, visit the Stockton Calling website.
