Saturday at EddFest had one job: build up to Iron Maiden's only UK show of 2026, and it did not mess around getting there. Four support acts, one main stage, and a crowd of 50,000 that only got louder as the day went on.
The Almighty and Airbourne opened things up with straightforward, pub-rock swagger — the kind of set that's less about reinventing anything and more about warming a field full of strangers into one crowd. It worked. By the time Airbourne wrapped, the day already had momentum.
THE HU STOLE THE AFTERNOON
Then came The Hu, and the temperature changed completely. Their Mongolian folk metal sound filled the whole site, throat-singing and horsehead fiddles going up against a stadium PA and somehow winning. They looked as stunned by the reception as the crowd was by them — genuinely one of those festival moments you don't see coming.
Fifty thousand people who came for one band and left talking about four.
THE DARKNESS BROUGHT THE BANGERS
The Darkness followed, and while opening with a deep cut from last year's Dreams On Toast got a fairly muted response, they clawed it back fast — a run through Permission To Land highlights, a cheeky Led Zeppelin cover thrown in for good measure, and a euphoric blast of the title track from One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back. Job done.
THEN MAIDEN CAME HOME
When UFO's Doctor Doctor hit the PA, everyone knew what it meant. Maiden opened with a run of Di'Anno-era tracks under a huge LED backdrop, Bruce Dickinson in full voice, Steve Harris's bass doing the heavy lifting underneath. The real treat was Infinite Dreams — a track the band hadn't played live in decades — dropped in as the one change from last year's setlist. From there it was the hits: 2 Minutes To Midnight, Powerslave, Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. A masterclass, fifty years in the making.
Four support bands, one legendary headline set, and a field full of people who'd spent all weekend in Maiden World. That's a Saturday well spent.