With Takedown just weeks away, Therapy? have been drafted in to headline the Kerrang! Stage after Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons were forced to step down…

Words by Felix Bartlett | 10 March 2026

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Therapy? have been confirmed as Friday night headliners at Takedown Festival 2026, stepping in after Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons were forced to withdraw.

The Northern Irish alt.rock veterans will take the Kerrang! Stage on April 3 at Portsmouth Guildhall, after Phil Campbell’s ongoing medical condition ruled out his band’s appearance at the two-day event.

Festival organiser Kai Harris addressed the news directly: “Phil’s health and family comes first of course and we are sure you will join all of us at Takedown Festival in wishing him a speedy recovery.”

Harris went on to describe the replacement booking as something of a personal milestone. Therapy? were the first band he ever saw at a big venue and he called them “purveyors of the finest bouncy riffage and hooks to die for.”

The lineup additions don’t stop there. Jack Bennett, better known as Grumble Bee, has also been confirmed for the weekend, alongside the three winners of the Amplead: Apply To Play scheme – Blacklight Vice, Monochrome and Stone Soup.

Takedown runs April 3-4 at Portsmouth Guildhall. The full bill also features PRESIDENT, WARGASM, As It Is, Graphic Nature, Mouth Culture, Vower and Zetra. Tickets are on sale now.