The Cure headline Isle of Wight Festival 2026 with career-spanning closing set

The Cure closed the 28th edition of the Isle of Wight Festival on Sunday evening with a 26-song headline set spanning six decades of one of British rock’s most enduring catalogues.

Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Roger O’Donnell, Jason Cooper and Reeves Gabrels opened with ‘Alone’, the lead track from their Grammy-winning 2024 album Songs Of A Lost World, before moving through a set that included ‘Pictures Of You’, ‘Lullaby’, ‘A Forest’, ‘Just Like Heaven’, ‘Friday I’m In Love’, ‘Close To Me’ and ‘Boys Don’t Cry’. The drum kit carried a sunflower throughout, gifted by local charity Mountbatten. ‘The Lovecats’ was performed in the particular presence of Luvcat, the viral artist who had performed in the Big Top earlier in the day and takes her name from the 1983 single.

Earlier on the Main Stage, The Kooks delivered a set of greatest hits to a crowd clearly happy to see them, Luke Pritchard marking his band’s fourth appearance at the festival from the stage. The River Stage was headlined by The Molotovs, whose frontwoman Issey Cartlidge described sharing a festival day with Robert Smith as “an honour.”

Other Sunday performers included Shed Seven, Rose Gray, David Gray, The Twilight Sad and Level 42, who played the festival for the first time. Fugo Kid, winner of this year’s Wight Noize competition, opened the day with a set blending hip-hop and jazz, while festival founder John Giddings welcomed Suzanne Vega to the stage. Lewis Capaldi headlined Friday, Calvin Harris closed Saturday, and Wet Leg, Teddy Swims, Two Door Cinema Club, Tom Grennan and The Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter all appeared across the weekend.

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The Cure setlist:

Alone, Pictures Of You, High, Lovesong, Burn, Fascination Street, A Night Like This, The Last Day Of Summer, Push, Inbetween Days, Just Like Heaven, Play For Today, A Forest, Trust, Edge Of The Deep Green Sea, Endsong, Lullaby, Wrong Number, The Walk, Let’s Go To Bed, The Lovecats, Mint Car, Friday I’m In Love, Close To Me, Why Can’t I Be You?, Boys Don’t Cry

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