John Smith Rock Festival reveals first wave of bands for 2026 edition

John Smith Rock Festival, that takes place in Peurunka, Laukaa, has revealed the first wave of bands for the 2026 edition. The lineup so far includes Floor Jansen, The Gathering, Decapitated, Nestor, Tiamat, Masterplan, Kaunis Kuolematon and Sparzanza.

Sometimes it’s like this: great joy and incomprehensible honor!

She and her work hardly need any introduction, but for those of you who need more information, let it be said that the voice that will finally heat up the stage at the John Smith Rock Festival is a voice from the front lines of the big stage – Floor Jansen!

The singer, who has been at the forefront of symphonic metal with After Forever, ReVamp, and Nightwish, will perform a comprehensive cross-section of her impressive history to date.
Such a journey is rarely seen in JSRF circles, so we welcome this with great joy. As well as those of you who want to experience this with us.

Let the oppressive calm subside, it’s time for some unreasonable noise. If you can do it more wildly, then do it, we’ll do it this way. Kill the Cult!

As members of the Poland-Finland Society, we want to bring a touch of Polish flavor to the groundwater of Laukaa and to the listener’s plate. The best way to do this is to drag one of the hottest live bands of the moment onto the stage, where all the meat within reach will be hung on red-hot hooks and marinated.

The John Smith Rock Festival offers a hell of a party, with thirty years of experience, and the world’s toughest waiters serving under their aprons – Decapitated!

Let the excessive noise subside, it is time for moderate calm. If you can do it more elegantly, then do so, we will do it this way.

Oh time, where are you rushing to? The time has come to celebrate the birth of a landmark work in music history and its thirty-year journey with familiar and safe sounds. The experienced The Gathering, Anneke & “Mandylion” return to our delight with the atmosphere of the end of the last millennium… We thank you and bow in honor, and wish you all a long life.

May the surface of Lake Peurunkajärvi and the listener’s soul be calm and mirror-like for a moment as “Mandylion” and other selected gems from decades past float by.
Cool elegance and moving warmth in the same package, a must-experience! Exclusively at the John Smith Rock Festival.