EXILE ON MAINSTREAM ANNOUNCES THREE MORE LIVE EVENTS
COMING UP IN AUGUST/SEPTEMBER – BLISS MOUNTAIN VOL. 2 FESTIVAL, THE EXILE ON MAINSTREAM ROADSHOW: KEEP LEFT,
AND THE RETURN OF OSTINATO
For more than two decades, the German independent record label Exile on Mainstream has stood for a clear artistic attitude rather than chasing trends. Under the motto “Love.Noise.Freedom” Exile On Mainstream has built an international network rooted in loyalty, trust, and long-term collaboration. The label’s DIY philosophy reflects a worldview: independence, mutual respect, and creative freedom above all.
Ahead of the previously announced Love.Noise.Freedom festival – taking place in London in September and featuring Might, Bulbul, Confusion Master, Endure, and Noisepicker (tickets onsale) – Exile on Mainstream have announced three more live events.
Read on for details about Bliss Mountain Festival Vol.2, the Keep It Left Roadshow and the return of Ostinato.
Bliss Mountain Festival Vol. 2
On August 8 and 9, 2026, the terrace of the remote mountain refuge ‘Anton-Proksch-Haus’ in the Austrian Alps becomes a gathering point for music lovers. Bliss Mountain Vol. 2 brings together three distinctive acts — MIGHT, Conny Ochs, and Jacke Schwarz — in an extraordinary alpine setting. Admission is free on both days.
Bliss Mountain enters its second edition following its 2022 debut on Monte Pana in the Dolomites at the foot of the Sassolungo/ Sassopiatto massif. That first gathering set a deliberate tone: small-scale, intense, independent — a quiet but determined statement for live underground culture in alpine spaces.
The Exile on Mainstream Roadshow: Keep Left!
For years, the Exile On Mainstream Roadshow has served as a travelling celebration of uncompromising independent music, bringing together artists from the label’s extended universe and the wider underground. Regularly touring across mainland Europe and closely connected to gatherings such as South Of Mainstream Festival 2022 as well as the celebratory EOM20 and EOM25 festivals in Germany, the Roadshow has quietly grown into a respected institution within the European heavy and experimental music landscape.
In 2026, the Roadshow takes a new turn: for the very first time it will cross the Channel and head to the United Kingdom.
Together, Might, Bulbul and Noisepicker will take The Exile On Mainstream Roadshow (The Keep Left Edition) across the United Kingdom, touching down in Leeds, Nottingham, London and Brighton.
A central moment of the journey will be the Roadshow’s appearance at the Love Noise Freedom Festival in London, where the travelling line-up meets fellow sonic explorers Confusion Master and Endure for a special festival night within the tour — a convergence of artists united by a shared dedication to creative independence and the enduring vitality of the underground.
Featuring MIGHT · Bulbul · Noisepicker
17.09.26 – Leeds, The Duck & Drake (Free Admission / Donations Welcome)
18.09.26 – Nottingham, The Tap & Tumbler (Free Admission / Donations Welcome)
19.09.26 – London, Downstairs @ The Dome – Love Noise Freedom Festival (+ Confusion Master, Endure, tickets
20.09.26 – Brighton, The Pipeline (Free Admission / Donations Welcome)
OSTINATO RETURN: Post-Rock Pioneers Debut New Material at Special Live Event in Alexandria, DC
After nearly two decades of relative silence, broken only by a handful of select festival appearances, Ostinato are back. The band that released one of the most influential cinematographic & soundscape rock albums of its time with Chasing The Form in 2006 is returning with new material—and an expanded lineup.
Between 1997 and 2006, the trio carved out a distinctive space between psychedelic soundscapes, post-hardcore intensity, and experimental force. During that time they recorded two albums for the German label Exile On Mainstream, toured extensively, and built a reputation for immersive and uncompromising live performances before stepping away for an extended hiatus.
Now, nearly twenty years later, Ostinato return as a quartet, bringing new sonic depth and momentum to their unmistakable sound. Fans will get their first opportunity to hear the new material live on May 28, when the band performs at Galactic Panther Art Gallery in Alexandria, DC. The concert takes place as part of the American edition of the Making Vinyl Conference, which is being held this year in Washington/Alexandria.
The evening promises to be particularly compelling with the first-ever performance of a new collaborative project featuring musicians who have shaped the independent and post-hardcore scene of the U.S. East Coast for decades. Among them is Joe Lally, legendary bassist of Fugazi and current member of The Messthetics. Joining him on stage is Jerry Busher, a long-time collaborator within the Fugazi circle and member of bands such as Shadow Riot and Fidelity Jones, as well as Yanni Papadopoulos of Stinking Lizaveta, whose guitar work—moving effortlessly between doom, jazz, and noise—has set its own benchmarks for years.
