Live at York Museum Gardens and York Comedy Festival is getting ready to return for its third year – here’s everything you need to know.
Live at York Museum Gardens 2026 will see the already sold out headliners, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, kick off the series on Thursday 9 July with Sheffield’s own Self Esteem performing on Friday 10; Welsh art rock legends Super Furry Animals on Saturday 11 July and the return of the York Comedy Festival on Sunday 12 featuring Russell Howard, Ross Noble, Joanne McNally and many more.
What’s on
9 July
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Heaven 17, China Crisis, Andrew Cushin
10 July
Self Esteem, The Big Moon, Moonchild Sanelly, Joshua Idehen
11 July
Super Furry Animals, Baxter Dury, Los Campesinos!, Divorce, Pys Melyn
12 July
Russell Howard, Ross Noble, Joanne McNally, Russell Kane,Suzi Ruffell, Barry from Watford, Jeff Innocent, Nabil Abdulrashid
Timings
Live at York Museum Gardens gates will open at 5pm for OMD and Self Esteem and at 4pm for Super Furry Animals. Last entry is 8:30pm for all three and the event curfew for each show is 10:30pm.
Set times for each act will vary per event, check Live at York Museum Gardens social media channels on the day where set times will be published ahead of time. Please note, there is no readmittance to Live at York Museum Gardens; once you leave the site you will not be allowed to re-enter.
York Comedy Festival will open its gates at 3pm with last entry at 8:15pm. Here are the stage times (subject to change):
- Russell Howard: 9:30 – 10:00pm
- Ross Noble: 8:35 – 9:05pm
- Joanne McNally: 7:40 – 8:05pm
- Russell Kane: 7:10 – 7:35pm
- Suzi Ruffell: 6:15 – 6:40pm
- Barry from Watford: 5:45 – 6:10pm
- Jeff Innocent: 4:50 – 5:15pm
- Nabil Abdulrashid: 4:20 – 4:45pm
Audience areas
Live at York Museum Gardens
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The Box Office is located adjacent to the General Admission Entrance via Museum Street whilst the newly situated Premium Ticket Entrance is via Exhibition Square.
The Live at York Museum Gardens Premium Area has been moved to an entirely new location closer to the action with a Hang Out Area featuring seating, premium facilities, an exclusive food vendors, along with access to a new first come first serve, free flowing Premium Standing Platform with an unparalleled view of the stage.
York Comedy Festival
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How to get there
Traveling to and from Live at York Museum Gardens using public transport wherever possible is advised. York Museum Gardens is located just half a mile from York Train Station and there are numerous bus stops nearby. Find bus timetables and more information here.
There is public parking in close proximity to York Museum Gardens, find more parking information in York here.
York has six Park & Ride sites located on the outskirts of the city, providing regular bus services to and from the city center.
On event days, the Park & Ride service is adding an extra bus for Route No. 2, which goes from Museum Street to Grimston Bar. The last bus will depart from Museum Street at 22:45. Please note that the car park will be locked at midnight. You can find more information on these Park & Ride services here.
Food & Drink
Food and drink may not be brought into the event. However, a wide range of food and drink options will be available inside, catering to all dietary requirements.
Customers are permitted to bring one empty refillable plastic water bottle (up to 500ml in size), which can be refilled at designated points. Alternatively, customers may bring one unopened plastic water bottle (up to 500ml) into the event.
There are water points available on site and free drinking water is also available from the bars.
Rachel Hill, project manager for Futuresound Group, said: “We’re so proud of how Live at York Museum Gardens has grown, and 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.
“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.”
For more information and to buy tickets, visit their website here.
To stay up to date with show information, follow Futuresound Group on social media via Facebook and Instagram.
