Live at York Museum Gardens returns – all the info

Live at York Museum Gardens returns from Thursday, July 9, to Saturday, July 11, followed by the York Comedy Festival at the venue on Sunday, July 12.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (Image: Supplied)

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark will start this year’s festival, organised by the Leeds-based Futuresound group and York Museums Trust, with a sold-out headline performance on the Thursday.

The synth-pop duo from Wirral will be joined by Heaven 17 and China Crisis as well as rising star singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin.

Self Esteem (Image: Supplied)

Self Esteem will headline the gardens on the Friday.

The Mercy Prize nominated artist will be joined by London-based indie group the Big Moon, South African “future ghetto funk” pioneer Moonchild Sanelly and Nigeria-born now Sweden-based spoken word artist and musician Joshua Idehen.

Super Furry Animals will close the music festival on the Saturday.

The Welsh rock band will be joined by indie musician Baxter Dury, indie-pop’s Los Campesinos!, Nottingham-based alt-country band Divorce and Welsh Music Prize nominees Pys Melyn.

Super Fury Animals (Image: Supplied)

Gates open at 5pm for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Self Esteem, and at 4pm for Super Furry Animals.

Last entry is 8.30pm for all three days of the music festival with 10.30pm the event curfew for each show.

Set times for each act will vary per event, with attendees asked to check Live at York Museum Gardens’ social media channels on the day for the timings.

Attendees have also been told there is no readmittance to Live at York Museum Gardens after leaving the venue.

York Comedy Festival line up

Meanwhile, York Comedy Festival will see performances from Russell Howard, Ross Noble, Joanne McNally and more.

Gates open at 3pm for the comedy festival with last entry at 8.15pm.

Stage times for the comedy festival are:

• Russell Howard: 9.30pm – 10pm
• Ross Noble: 8.35pm – 9.05pm
• Joanne McNally: 7.40pm – 8.05pm
• Russell Kane: 7.10pm – 7.35pm  
• Suzi Ruffell: 6.15pm – 6.40pm
• Barry from Watford: 5.45pm – 6.10pm
• Jeff Innocent: 4.50pm – 5.15pm
• Nabil Abdulrashid: 4.20pm – 4.45pm

The box office at the festival will be located adjacent to the general admission entrance via Museum Street, while the newly situated premium ticket entrance is via Exhibition Square.

Russell Howard (Image: Supplied)

Live at York Museum Gardens’ premium area has been moved to a new location closer to the stage, with a ‘hang out area’ featuring seating, premium facilities and exclusive food vendors.

The premium area also has a first come first serve, free flowing ‘premium standing platform’ with a better view of the stage.

There is no allocated parking for Live at Museum Gardens, with attendees travelling by car recommended to park at nearby council car parks.

The site is half a mile to York railway station and also served by several bus stops.

York’s park and ride service is also adding an extra bus for Route No 2 for each event day, which travels from Museum Street to Grimston Bar. The last bus will depart from Museum Street at 22.45pm. The car park will be locked at midnight.

Third festival of its kind at historic venue

Live at Museum Gardens 2026 will be the third festival of its kind in at the historic venue, after York’s Shed Seven topped the bill for the first event in 2024.

The 2024 event marked the first time Museum Gardens had hosted live music since bands such as Roxy Music performed there in the 1970s.

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Shed Seven, who rose to fame during Britpop, paved the way for future events at Museum Gardens that have been headlined by internationally renowned artists including Nile Rodgers and Chic.

Rachel Hill, project manager at Futuresound, said the group is “so proud of how Live at York Museum Gardens has grown”.

“We’re looking forward to seeing the changes we’ve made to the site this year, ensuring that everyone enjoys their time in such a beautiful space,” she said.

Rachel Hill, from the Futuresound group, with Jocelyn Palmer, from York Museums Trust, in Museum Gardens (Image: Dylan Connell)

“None of this would have been possible without the continued collaboration, trust and support of the team at York Museums Trust; the opportunity to put together such an incredible bill for the summer makes us excited for the future of our partnership.”

Tickets remain available for Self Esteem, Super Furry Animals and the York Comedy Festival. For more information about the festival and tickets, visit: https://www.futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events