FYA Fest is back for its 12th year, and the 2026 edition is shaping up to be one of the most explosive lineups the festival has ever put together. Returning to the Orlando Warehouse on January 10–11, FYA 12 delivers a blistering mix of legends, rising names, and some of the heaviest hitters in modern hardcore — a lineup that captures every corner of the genre.
Year after year, FYA has earned its place as one of the most influential festivals in hardcore. It introduces new bands, celebrates the ones who paved the way, and creates an environment where the entire scene collides in one room. For 2026, the festival leans even harder into that identity, offering a bill stacked with diversity, aggression, and nostalgia all at once.
Headliners That Set the Tone
Hatebreed’s return is one of the major draws this year — a band that has defined metallic hardcore for more than two decades. Their presence alone guarantees chaos, pile-ons, and the kind of full-room eruption only a band of their stature can bring.
Drain also returns to deliver their signature brand of high-energy, surf-thrash hardcore. After dominating festival circuits the last few years, their appearance at FYA 12 feels like a victory lap — and if history is any indication, the crowd is going to lose it from the first note.
Gorilla Biscuits stepping onto the bill adds a whole different layer of hype. Their influence is written into the DNA of hardcore, and seeing them on a lineup built for newer generations creates a rare and powerful bridge between past and present.
A Lineup Loaded With Standouts
Beyond the headliners, FYA Fest 12’s lineup is ridiculously deep. The festival continues to spotlight bands carving their own lanes in the genre:
- End It — Baltimore’s kings of high-energy wildness return with crowd-killing intensity. Expect the floor to turn into a warzone within seconds.
- Mindforce — One of the most consistent modern hardcore bands, bringing riffs, groove, and unmatched stage presence.
- Merauder — A legendary name that adds weight and credibility to the entire event just by being on the poster.
- Haywire, Gridiron, I Promised the World, Sin Against Sin, Turmoil, Wits End — bands that represent all the newer flavors of hardcore, from fast and raw to heavy and metallic.
- Nasty, Mongrel, Seed of Pain, Everybody Takes One — international and domestic acts bringing their own styles of aggression.
The full flyer reads like a who’s who of hardcore’s present and future — a perfect storm of scenes colliding under one roof.
Why FYA Continues to Matter
FYA isn’t just a festival — it’s become an annual checkpoint for the culture. A place where photographers, bands, labels, zines, and fans gather to celebrate the growth of the movement. For many younger bands, playing FYA is a milestone. For veterans, it’s a reminder of the impact they’ve left.
The Orlando Warehouse has become the beating heart of this event — a venue that’s raw, packed tight, and built for the kind of honest energy hardcore lives on. There’s no barricade, no disconnect, no gatekeeping — just pure interaction between band and crowd.
Looking Ahead to January
With tickets dropping fast and hype spreading across the scene, FYA Fest 12 is set to kick off 2026 in the loudest way possible. If the energy matches the lineup — and it always does — this year’s edition may go down as one of the most memorable in the festival’s history.
Hardcore is alive and thriving, and FYA Fest continues to be one of the best places to witness its evolution.
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