Festival Review: The Cure at Pinkpop 2026
Elke Smits | August 2026
The legendary British band that probably every music enthusiast has heard of, The Cure, is one of the great artists that participated in this year’s summer festival lineup across Europe.
The band has played various big European festivals this year, such as Primavera Sound in Spain, the Isle of Wight Festival in the United Kingdom, and Rock Werchter in Belgium, as well as Pinkpop, taking place in the Netherlands between 19 and 21 June.
On 20 June, The Cure played a spectacular show as one of the headliners of the Dutch festival based in Landgraaf. Despite the sore feet and sweaty foreheads, the band managed to put on one of the best shows of the festival weekend.
The sultry summer evening, merged with the whimsical melodies of the tracks written by frontman Robert Smith made the show feel very intimate as the spacious field was filled with people enjoying the sounds of The Cure’s beautiful lyrics and instrumentals.
The band, founded in 1976 in Crawley, England, seems to attract people of all ages. Children being tilted on their fathers shoulders, teens whose music taste has fallen back into the 80’s and older people who saw the band live in high school when it was seen as obscure and alternative and mostly meant for the ones maintaining the gothic lifestyle. Right now, the band captures the listening ears of everyone.
The Cure’s setlist on the day was a total of two hours long, all performed with pure liveliness and passion, with the same presence that frontman Robert Smith maintained back when he was younger: red lipstick, thick black eyeliner and messy hair. Smith played together with Simon Gallup (bass guitar), Reves Gabrels (guitar), Jason Cooper (drums) and Roger O’Donnell (keyboard).
The set started off with the track “Alone,” in my opinion the best song they could’ve started with. The long introduction of the song gives the band time to settle and to keep the audience in suspense. “Alone” was followed by “Pictures Of You” with its joyous lyrics. The crowd was dancing and swinging along with the instrumentals - perfect for the painful legs felt after a three day festival.
The band certainly played famous songs like “Just Like Heaven,” “A Forest,” and “Friday I’m In Love.” These songs felt like classics that everyone sung along to and that - regardless of his age - Robert Smith masters with his voice.
Along the songs played, the stage lightning resulted in an ethereal atmosphere. Every song and every lyric its another story visualized on stage, and that alone can be adored for a lifetime. It created a scenic, mesmerizing experience that one could never get bored of.
The final song the band performed was “Boys Don’t Cry,” another classic The Cure song. During this tune, everyone sang and danced along. The vibe that the band created was phenomenal and is something I see as an incredible, timeless talent.
Towards the end of the last song, Robert Smith started walking around the stage. He thanked everyone, bowing down to not only the fans at the front, but also the back. Seeing how grateful and pure a band can be this many years into their career, has got to be one of the greatest things a music fan can encounter.
The Cure managed to get everyone, whether a new fan or an oldie alike, to fall in love with not only their music, but their passion for something they have been doing for years.
Listen to The Cure here!
Follow The Cure here!
