A festival to fall for: We Love Green 2026 demonstrated the potential of city-based festivals

It's a Friday afternoon and the sun is teasing through the clouds as we walk alongside a tree-lined road; there’s the sound of horses cantering in the sand at a nearby equestrian centre and several squeaks of bicycle bells as cyclists attempt to make their way on the footpath, but little to suggest we are approaching a festival site, or that we are on the outskirts of the notoriously busy French capital. 

Located in Paris’ largest public park, Bois de Vincennes, We Love Green is one the city’s biggest music festivals, attracting a 40,000 crowd daily and more than 100,000 people across its three-day run. The festival was established in 2011 with a core mission of demonstrating how eco-friendly practices can apply to a live music setting; the festival runs on renewable energy, limits single-use plastic, offers compost toilets, curbs the use of cars as a transport option and encourages sustainability in its vendors via vegetarian food offerings and sourcing alcohol from a tight radius. 

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Labelling itself as a home of "eclectic" musical offerings, the line-up for this year's edition follows suit. Headliners Addison Rae, Gorillaz and Theodora lead proceedings, backed up by a range of compelling live acts such as Little Simz, Role Model, Overmono, Oklou, Dijon, Soulwax and The xx, plus, for the dance-inclined, appearances from some of the biggest DJs in the biz, including KI/KI, Charlotte de Witte, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U, KETTAMA, DJ Gigola, Bambounou and HAAi. That expansive list of artists which gives We Love Green the feeling of a mini-Primavera Sound, with many also appearing there as it takes place concurrently, 1000km away in Barcelona. 

But really, what I notice more than anything, is the diversity of the crowd. Each of We Love Green's five stages differs greatly in mood. Upon entry, we are quickly embedded within Lalaland, a greenhouse-inspired, clear-top marquee that plays host to the majority of the festival's DJ sets — complete with a domineering LED screen and a DJ booth surrounded by dancers to give that real, Ibiza superclub feel. The crowd here is young, dressed to the nines, hiding their various levels of intoxication with sunglasses while clacking fans against the laser-drenched air, even as the sky begins to turn grey overhead in the late afternoon. Once we ascend through to La Prairie, a relay tower-lined expanse of a main stage that will be familiar to anyone who has even dipped their toe in a festival, the scale of the festival becomes clear. Tens of thousands of punters are taking in Sudan Archives as the clouds part overhead. And then, at the second biggest stage La Clairière - a big top tent with an immersive soundsystem designated for the more intimate performances - there are children whizzing around underfoot donning ear defenders as their siblings snooze in a wheeled trolley, middle aged mums and dads swigging wine on picnic blankets alongside their adult offspring, groups of mates taking pictures of various landmarks trying to meet up while wearing matching T-shirts in what we, can only assume, is some sort of hen or stag do.

The festival's talks stage, the Think Tank, undergoes a chameleon-esque vibe-shift as day approaches night, turning from a serene setting to munch down on (vegan) catering options while checking out a comedian or panel, into full-blown rave by the late-evening — transforming into an even grittier, smaller-scale version of the Lalaland stage, on which we catch rowdy offerings from Brazilian funk diva Clementaum and the discord-enlivening computer sonics of Ninajirachi.

Each of the festival's performances feel like a moment. Gorillaz take the stage for their headline slot on Friday fronted by a beret-donning Damon Albarn, sliding through beloved anthems including 'Feel Good Inc', 'Dirty Harry', 'Rhinestone Eyes' and 'Clint Eastwood'. A hefty crew of guests join the party, including Omar Souleyman, Bootie Brown and De La Soul's Pos, to the delight of the crowd. There's even a trademark admonition from Albarn as he addresses the crowd during 'On Melancholy Hill', seemingly irate that the crowd aren't belting the lyrics back at him. A year on from her sparkling self-titled debut album and fresh off a much-talked-about Primavera set the night before, girly pop trailblazer Addison Rae demonstrates the showmanship which has turned her into a sensation, with nary a palm away from chests as she delivers bangers such as 'New York', 'Fame is a Gun' and 'Diet Pepsi', even eliciting a blood-curdling scream from the sea of Parisian fans as she delivers her vocal from the A.G. Cook remix of Charli xcx's 'Von Dutch'. On Sunday, the main stage field is bathed in dark, incandescent light as recently-reunited trio The xx deliver a dreamy, wide-spanning selection of both their biggest hits and newfangled creations. 

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Running later than the rest of the festival offering, with a liberal 1:AM finish, Lalaland hosts the majority of We Love Green's DJ sets. As we arrive on Friday evening, Ed Banger affiliate Tatyana Jane dishes out a dazzling array of peak-time bangers, including a racuous edit of PinkPantheress' 'Tonight', while on Sunday afternoon, KETTAMA is joined by a plethora of balloons and cowboy hat-donning partygoers, though his voluminous trance-meets-UKG selections feel less impactful as those on the outskirts catch the last of the day's sunshine. It's unsurprising that the daytime action feels muted when compared to  the after-hours energy towards each day's end. The highlight of the entire weekend is undeniably ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U; considering his seemingly now-endless tour schedule, it's baffling how the Osaka-hailing, multi-deck wizard manages to curate the perfect set for this setting. Furiously mixing through his trademark barrage of hard-as-nails slammers, intricately entwined Prodigy anthems and leftfield rave cuts, he sends the crowd into a frenzy with, what else, Daft Punk — blistering through 'Rollin' n Scratchin, 'One More Time' and 'Superheroes'. Très bon. 

That feeling of bringing something a little bit special, something of note, extends beyond the main stage action. US R&B breakthrough star Dijon showcases his new live set, featuring a Sound of Metal-esque camera pan capturing each drumstick slap and guitar strum on La Clairière, sending Friday hearts-a-flutter as he surprises with a rendition of Justin Bieber's 'Love Yourself', in a nod to his regular collaborator. Paris-based experimental pop queen Oklou packs out the same tented arena on Saturday, which is quickly filled by unbridled singalongs of 'Harvest Sky', 'Obvious' and 'god's chariot'. Debuting a string of new productions that will likely feature on their forthcoming album, 'Pure Devotion', alongside downright naughty drops of 'So U Kno' 'Good Lies' and 'Is U', Welsh sibling duo Overmono deliver a blistering bass-filled hour and a half that evening. The brotherly love only continues the next day with Ghent-hailing legends Soulwax soundtracking the hot afternoon with a meandering set, operated from their trademark "biggest knobs of all time" and vocals from David Dewaele.  

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Another highlight is London-based Aussie DJ HAAi's b2b with Parisian party starter Bambounou, who close the festival on Sunday with tracks such as Timaya's 'Balance' and Ruff Driverz 'Dreaming'. By this point all other arenas have closed down, the bars are running dry, yet the crowd seems to be completely and utterly entranced, unbothered by the prospect of the journey home or work in the morning.  

Across its three-day run, there's a noticeable lack of teething problems at We Love Green; sets start on time, entry is hassle-free, the crowd flows easily throughout the site, and top up on the (sigh) cashless wristband is easily achieved via We Love Green's app. While the festival - which is usually cursed with adverse weather - was blessed this year with (mostly) sunshine, it really feels as if we're amid a well-oiled machine. 

That isn't to say there isn't room for improvement; the festival site often feels more like a "one stop shop" rather than just a spread-out music arenas, with its range of restaurants, private bars, VIP areas and of course, brand activations. Much of this could be due to the festival's newly-expanded relationship with AEG - the infamous events giant behind California's Coachella and London's All Points East - which has seemingly left its brand-activation mark across the green-fringed expanse. There's a Fever Tree gin cart, an Orange mobile tent with eager workers standing outside handing out leaflets, a VIP area sponsored by Visit Costa Rica... it all feels a little too commercial in the face of a festival seemingly established outside of those ideals. Due to its location in Bois de Vincennes, We Love Green limits the decibel levels to protect local wildlife — which, while totally understandable, means the energy at the main stage is often muted as day turns into night. 

Though these are minor issues, the majority of We Love Green feels like a perfect mixture of city festival ease and large-scale music mecca. As we take in the last of the afternoon sun on Sunday, surrounded by a vibrant atmosphere, brought on by the festival's diverse crowd and impeccable programming, a harkening back to the '00s glory days of the Hyde Park-based Wireless or '10s Field Day. And we hope it remains that way. 

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, get in touch with her here.