British rock icons The Cure and American duo Twenty One Pilots will headline the 2026 edition of Electric Castle, one of Romania’s largest music festivals. The event will take place on July 16–19 at Banffy Castle in Bonțida, near Cluj-Napoca.
Festival passes are available on the event’s website, with early bird prices offered through midnight, Thursday, October 16.
The Cure’s performance marks a major moment for the festival, bringing one of the most influential alternative bands of the past four decades to the Transylvanian stage. Since their formation in 1978, the group led by Robert Smith has become synonymous with genre-defining songs such as Just Like Heaven, A Forest, Friday I’m in Love, and The Caterpillar.
Known for their distinctive sound and emotional depth, The Cure have released 14 studio albums, including Songs of a Lost World in 2024, their first in nearly 16 years, which earned widespread critical acclaim.
Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, the band continues to attract both loyal fans and a new generation of listeners inspired by artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Yungblud. Smith once summed up their enduring appeal with characteristic understatement: “We are not trendy. We are permanent.”
Joining them on the Electric Castle main stage will be Twenty One Pilots, returning to Bonțida after the performance in 2022. The Ohio-based duo, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, have built a reputation for blending rock, pop, and hip-hop into a distinctive, high-energy sound.
The band holds a Guinness World Record as the first act to have every song on two albums – Vessel and Blurryface – certified Gold by the RIAA. With Grammy, AMA, and MTV awards to their name, they continue to evolve musically through their recent albums Clancy (2024) and Breach (2025).
Their upcoming Electric Castle show will be among their final European appearances before an extended global tour running through 2029, according to the organizers.
Tickets are available on the festival’s website with four-day passes priced at EUR 159 plus fees, VIP passes at EUR 279, and Youth Pass 21 tickets for attendees aged 21 or younger at EUR 139.
irina.marica@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: the organizers)
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