After day two’s pop-leaning bill, the third day of Mad Cool 2026 swung to a more alternative flavour, replete with some absolutely storming performances. Twenty One Pilots closed out the whole day with a set full of death-defying stunts and humongous hooks (read our review of their set here), while they were also joined by artists on different points of the spectrum of rock.
There’s still one more day of music left for this year’s edition of the festival – its 10th anniversary – but until then, check out the photos of all the action from yesterday here, or read on for NME’s highlights from day three.
Words: Rhian Daly, Liberty Dunworth, Andrew Trendell
Halsey (6.55pm, Region Of Madrid)
Beware not giving your all at a Halsey show – she will notice, and she will call you out. That’s exactly what happened as they kicked off day three, demanding the audience jump and get low at various points in her set. “I’m sorry, I thought this was the coolest festival in Spain?” she teased them, taking a tough love approach to encouraging everyone to cut loose.
Halsey isn’t an artist who does things by halves, and their Mad Cool set was in keeping with that ethos. During ‘Dog Years’, she wrestled with a chain around her neck, breaking free from it like a rock star Houdini by the end of the song. As her set began to wrap up, she brought more heat to Madrid with flames licking the front of the stage, and the staircase she’d implanted in the middle of the stage.
The setlist, too, was heavy; filled with her more rock-leaning songs like the punchy ‘Nightmare’ and the grinding thrills of ‘I Am Not A Woman, I’m A God’. Songs, meanwhile, that might not typically be in that circle of sound, like Chainsmokers collab ‘Closer’, were given riff-heavy makeovers. (RD)
Pixies (8.20pm, Region Of Madrid)
Even with a stacked line-up including Kings Of Leon, Twenty One Pilots, Interpol and more, it was pretty hard to miss the impressive number of Pixies t-shirts throughout the crowd at day three of Mad Cool 2026. Back at the site for the first time in four years, the alt-rock legends brought their massive 40 World Tour to the Region of Madrid stage, and did exactly what has made them into festival favourites over the past four decades: strip things back to basics and rattle out raw, gritty performances of fan favourites.
When they weren’t leaning into the summer atmosphere with mellow renditions of ‘Monkey Gone To Heaven’, ‘Here Comes Your Man’ and their version of Peter Ivers & David Lynch’s ‘In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)’, Black Francis and co. were more than happy to bring the energy with punk tinged ‘Nimrod’s Son’ and a performance of ‘Debaser’ that was intense enough to give the headliners a run for their money. (LD)
Pixies credit: Javier Bragado
Cliffords (9.45pm, Mahou Cinco Estrellas)
“There are so many of you here,” beamed frontwoman Iona Lynch to a packed-out tent. It was an impressive crowd for Cork upstarts Cliffords, especially when you consider they were up against the almighty end of Pixies’ set and Spain beating Belgium in the World Cup on the big screen outside. “I can’t get over this. Are there any Irish people in?” A huge wave of oh-so-Irish cheers responded. “Jesus Christ! Ryanair flights are cheap.”
Cliffords were worth the airfare alone. ‘My Favourite Monster’ with a healthy dose of trumpet thrown in offered arena-sized indie-noir worthy of The National, while the closing of the shoegaze grunge gem ‘Sleeping With Ghosts’ into mini epic ‘Bittersweet’ proved the walls of this tent can’t hold their ambition. Our attention was most drawn to two newbies: the pained folk of a life torn apart with ‘Horses And Divorces’ and the furious punk-meets-desert-rock of ‘Off My Back’.
Ultimately: the new stuff slapped, Cliffords looked cool as fuck and Lynch was giving future icon. They’re the best new band this writer has seen this year, and you should hop on any plane, train or automobile to see them as soon as you can. (AT)
Cliffords credit: Paco Poyato
Interpol (0.45am, Orange Stage)
“If I’m going to bother being away from my family and bother doing anything, then I better do it really fucking well and make it really worthwhile,” frontman Paul Banks told NME last month about his approach to band life since recently becoming a father. With all the buzz that surrounds their upcoming eighth album ‘This Mirror Weighs A Ton’, the excitement from their intimate secret show in town the night before, and the masses of Spanish goths that gathered to see the NYC gloomsters in the wee hours, it certainly felt like Interpol had arrived with a newfound sense of purpose.
From those chilling crystal opening notes of ‘Untitled’ to the hypnotic dissonance of ‘The New’ via the pure indie staple bangers of ‘Evil’, ‘Slow Hands’ and ‘No I In Threesome’, Interpol absolutely owned the witching hour, with Matt Barrick of The Walkmen and Banks’ side-project Muzz offering some new flavour as he stepped in on drums. New ones ‘Wings On Fire’ and ‘See Out Loud’ leant a new compulsion to that classic Interpol essence, and guitarist Dan Kessler’s fancy footwork on closer ‘PDA’ sealed it up with style. We couldn’t understand any of Banks’ fluent Spanish crowd banter aside from “fuck yeah”, but we agreed with that sentiment entirely. Mission accomplished. (AT)
Interpol credit: Andres Iglesias
NME is the official media partner of Mad Cool.
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