Tons of Rock unveils the first artists, including iconic headliners, for next year’s festival

Tons of Rock 2026 was a historic milestone. It sold out months in advance, with more than 150,000 attendees at Ekebergsletta. Festival passes for 2027 go on sale this week. At the same time, the festival lifts the veil on next year’s lineup and points the way to another massive celebration in Oslo next summer.

“2026 was a huge success, and we are incredibly proud to already be able to deliver these fantastic artists in the first announcement for the 2027 festival,” says CEO Jarle Kvåle.

Mötley Crüe at Tons of Rock for the first time

Los Angeles legends Mötley Crüe have sold more than 100 million albums and have billions of streams. Over more than 40 years they have delivered countless hits and sold out stadiums around the world. They have also reached new generations through their bestselling book and the hit Netflix film The Dirt. In June 2027, one of the fans’ biggest wishes comes true when the band plays Tons of Rock for the very first time and turns Ekeberg into a Norwegian Sunset Strip.

Judas Priest: The founders of heavy metal

Few, if any, have defined and developed heavy metal more clearly than the iconic Judas Priest, led by Rob Halford. For almost 60 years they have made history and inspired audiences and musicians worldwide, selling more than 50 million albums. This summer Judas Priest presented what may be their biggest show ever, including as headliner at Wacken Open Air. The fans have been heard, and dreams come true when the band takes the stage at Ekebergsletta in June. The return of the metal gods!

Turnstile: Headliners for a new generation

When Turnstile played Tons of Rock for the first time in 2024, Metallica vocalist James Hetfield and Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford stood at the side of the stage, singing along at the top of their lungs to the songs of their new favourite band. Since then the American band has exploded. Today they are regarded as one of rock’s most exciting and respected names, and their latest release features a collaboration with none other than Sir Elton John. Next summer, when they take over Ekebergsletta and Tons of Rock, they will prove that rock keeps finding new paths and is stronger than ever among older and new generations alike.

Iconic American rock and power metal pioneers

The announcement also features two more historic pillars:

• • Lynyrd Skynyrd: The undisputed icons who defined Southern rock in the 1970s with immortal classics such as “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”. The band has endured great tragedies throughout its history and has been deservedly inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Next summer they play Tons of Rock for the first time, bringing a grand rock legacy and their unique sound to Oslo.
• • Helloween: The German founders of power metal are celebrating their 40th anniversary. With millions of albums sold worldwide, and original icons Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske out front, they guarantee massive metal sing-alongs with megahits such as “I Want Out” (a song with more than 130 million streams on Spotify), to the delight of fans old and young.

Norwegian giants at Ekebergsletta

Norwegian music history runs through the very backbone of Tons of Rock, and this year’s first announcement kicks off a massive, genre-spanning celebration of the country’s biggest rock and metal exports!

Black metal legends Satyricon are enjoying enormous success and will pack Oslo Spektrum to the rafters in October. Next summer they invite fans to an exclusive and historically large show on home turf in Oslo. It will be a visual and musical show of force like no other!

OnklP & De Fjerne Slektningene are back. Rock knows no boundaries, and no band in Norway gets a party going like this crew. After a long-awaited break, the supergroup finally returns to the live stage, and the venue for this explosive reunion is, of course, Ekebergsletta!

The last time Seigmen played Ekebergsletta, there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd or on stage. Their concerts are full of magic and nostalgia, and they are one of the bands festival-goers have begged most to see return.

Gåte are in the form of their lives and more relevant than ever with brand-new music. They are the ultimate proof of the enormous diversity and unique explosive power of the Norwegian music scene.

World-class metal

The absolute elite of metal marches onto Ekebergsletta, and the audience can brace themselves for a massive show of musical and visual force!

Swedish metal giants Amon Amarth invite fans on an epic, thundering Viking raid, and will show that their crowds were rowing for years before football supporters around the world copied the move. Some bands only get better with age, and that of course means German legends Kreator, who deliver a relentless display of lightning-fast, classic thrash metal. Darkness truly descends when Sweden’s Watain bring their ritualistic, intense and notorious black metal show on their farewell tour, before it is all topped off with spectacular sci-fi theatre from iconic cult band GWAR.

New generations keep coming

The Tons of Rock audience keeps growing as a whole new generation of rock and metal fans takes over Ekebergsletta, and the festival proudly leads the way into the genre’s future!

Two of the modern era’s biggest American giants, Motionless In White and I Prevail, lead the charge with explosive live shows, massive stadium hits and guaranteed mosh pits. They are joined by the brand-new powerhouse project Blue Medusa, in which vocal icon Alissa White-Gluz leads an all-star lineup of female musicians delivering blistering guitar solos and crushing riffs. Rounding it all off is underground phenomenon Neckbreakker, who arrive with pure, modern and relentless metal energy.

This is living proof that rock and metal are constantly renewing themselves, and that the artists of the future are ready to dominate Tons of Rock for decades to come!

Bands in today’s announcement:

Mötley Crüe

Judas Priest

Turnstile

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Helloween

Amon Amarth

Satyricon

Kreator

Motionless In White

I Prevail

OnklP & De Fjerne Slektningene

Seigmen

Watain

Gåte

GWAR

Blue Medusa

Neckbreakker