Motocultor 2026 : More People, Bigger Ambitions, Same Spirit ?
After a successful 2025 edition that left its mark, Motocultor was ready to open its doors once again and welcome us for four days under a blazing sun. But what should we take away from this edition? Where is Motocultor heading, and what can we expect for 2027?
What could be more natural than arriving on Wednesday to collect your wristband, settle in, and already enjoy the atmosphere before the concerts even begin? I was pleasantly surprised by the great atmosphere in the festival campsite, the speakers already blasting music, and the number of bottles that had already been emptied.
Because let's be honest: festivalgoers are here to have a good time, and they won't let anyone ruin their fun or put a stop to the party! From Wednesday evening onwards, the Macumba was blasting its most eclectic playlist, while the first stalls at the festival campsite were serving their first hundreds of meals and beers. A well-deserved reward after a queue that could reportedly last up to three hours (according to feedback I received from some festivalgoers) just to get into the campsite.
In that regard, I didn't notice any major changes compared to last year. The atmosphere was just as strong, and the stalls were packed yet incredibly quick and efficient! The biggest noticeable change this year was undoubtedly the Bruce Dickinscene getting its “roof” back. The atmosphere there is slightly different, but no less lively. We were also told about a slight change to the layout of the festival campsite, which seemed to be well received, while the Bed & Smile village made quite an impression, with 110 to 120 bookings during its first year. Yann Le Baraillec also said that the festival plans to continue in this direction next year, with more tipis and even chalets.
It has to be said that this year, Motocultor surpassed 61,000 admissions! Its founder also expressed his desire to keep the festival at this human scale.
"It’s been another wonderful year—two wonderful, productive years in a row. Now that we’ve surpassed the 60,000-entry mark, the goal is to maintain that level going forward.”
The festival is growing and evolving, and it shows both through these changes and through the scale it is reaching. The 61,000-admission mark comes close to last year's record, but does not surpass it. We can see that there were “1,000 fewer four-day passes compared to last year. On the other hand, 20% more one-day festivalgoers.”
Once again, this is more of an evolution than a change: the festival partnered with Equimauve to improve the monitoring and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as the support provided to victims. And, rather unexpectedly, the festival also introduced something quite uncommon but which probably deserves to be implemented elsewhere: a team dedicated to looking after people who may have had a little too much to drink, helping them get back to their tent or even welcoming them if necessary, alongside the event's regular security team.
All of this shows some real strengths and very positive aspects of the festival, but as with any growing organisation, there are always areas that can be improved. While Mr. Le Baraillec was very satisfied with the number of volunteers on site this year and with how things went overall, I personally received different feedback from some volunteers. Whether these were isolated cases or not is impossible to say. But I also received very positive feedback from other volunteers, so I would say this is probably something worth keeping an eye on.
The other area I would probably improve concerns the press area. The festival and its founder seemed very happy to welcome, for the first time this year, a partner area for the roughly fifty current partners (with a goal of reaching 200 within the next year or two). This is a very positive development, but some aspects of the organisation of the press area — particularly the availability of bottled water — seemed somewhat neglected.
I do think, however, that there is something positive to take away from both of these points: the festival is growing and requires more resources and more organisation, and I think it is only natural that everything cannot be perfect during a year of transition.
photo : Eden Bisiot / @bisiot.photos
So much for the organisational side of things. Now, let's talk music!
The festival has always made a point of offering a wide range of choices, both in terms of genres and the popularity of the bands, allowing festivalgoers to enjoy major names as well as discover some of tomorrow's favourites. We got to see major headliners (Airbourne, Judas Priest, Within Temptation, Arch Enemy…) as well as lesser-known bands (Coltaine, Filth…) and even rising stars (Revnoir, Ashen, Kim Dracula…). British, American, Australian bands… And plenty of French ones. During our interview with Yann Le Baraillec (available here), he told us that, as a Breton festival, it was important to him to bring local bands to the festival. This year, we therefore got to see Celkilt (with the Bagad de Quimper), Komodrag And The Mounodor and Denez Prigent, among others.
photo : Eden Bisiot / @bisiot.photos
“The idea is pretty simple: there’s a French metal scene, so it makes sense to highlight it.”
And that's how we also got to see Les 3 Fromages, Shady Fat Kats and Sidilarsen, announced just 48 hours before the festival began.
But among this year's lineup, one name didn't seem to please everyone: Slaughter To Prevail. And yet, most of the photographers/journalists who had complained about their presence were right there with me in the photo pit when the evening came. There were so many of us that the photographers had to be split into two waves. The same went for the crowd: the weekend hadn't even begun yet, and there was already a sea of people stretching as far as the eye could see. Alex Terrible also took the time to address the crowd about his own journey and experience, a speech that I have shared below.
« So, as I said before, I have a beautiful wife, I have a beautiful family. I miss them so much. Today and tomorrow we have a festival and we're gonna go back to see our families and stuff. So it's beautiful, but I really believe this world is a huge place and it's fucking difficult. Fucking difficult.
And a lot of us have a bad fucking life, have a bad situation. Shit happens every fucking single day. And every time a lot of people want to change something in this world, in a good way. And I really believe if you want to change something in this huge fucking place, you start with your fucking self, guys.
Listen, ten years ago I was a completely different person. I almost died because of the drug addiction. And I started to ask myself who the fuck I am, what I'm living for and all this stuff, you know. So I started to change myself, I started to change my mindset, my thoughts. I started to work on myself, my fucking body and all the other shit.
And I started to be a better version of myself every single fucking day, you know. I'm still a piece of shit, don't get me wrong. But I'm trying so fucking hard. And after ten years I realized the whole world changed completely with me. Because I changed.
Right now I can help animals, right now I can help people. So, let's change ourselves, guys. »
There is certainly a lot to take away from this festival, which, for me, remains an experience in its own right. I can only encourage you to experience it for yourself, surrounded by a supportive crowd that knows how to have a good time, a campsite filled with beers and laughter, and a festival site that genuinely looks after its festivalgoers.
Of course, the festival experience isn't for everyone, but if you enjoy breathing in dust during a circle pit, doing ten-minute crowd surfs, or simply discovering a whole bunch of artists live, we hope to see you there in 2027!
Early-bird tickets are already on sale and selling like hot cakes! It has to be said that the first names announced for the lineup are already drawing crowds from all over the country (I'll leave the lineup below; it will speak for itself far better than I ever could by singing its praises).
I'll keep telling you a little more about this edition in my upcoming articles, so don't forget to follow us on social media to make sure you don't miss what's coming next!
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