Airbourne — Ed Fest, Knebworth - 11th July 2026

Airbourne — Ed Fest, Knebworth

11 July 2026

Review by Robert Corich

There are opening acts, and then there is Airbourne — a band that appears to have arrived with one objective: turn the fucking volume up and kick everybody squarely in the bollocks before the big boys even get on stage.

Never have I heard the word fuck used as many times in one sentence as I have at an Airbourne gig — and today was certainly no exception. Joel O’Keeffe was in his usual foul-mouthed, full-throttle form as the Aussies tore through a short but suitably brutal set, opening with Ready to Rock and wasting absolutely no time getting the Knebworth crowd moving.

Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast, Breakin’ Outta Hell, Back in the Game, GUTSY and Runnin’ Wild provided exactly the sort of no-nonsense, beer-in-the-air rock ’n’ roll that an Iron Maiden crowd could ask for. Even a snippet of Sabbath’s Paranoid and Alive After Death (Last Plane Out) got thrown into the mix.

As openers for the big boys, Airbourne were fucking good — actually, they were fucking fuckin’ good entertainment.

They came, they swore, they rocked, they sweated, they probably pissed off the neighbours and they swore some more — and they left Knebworth suitably warmed up for Iron Maiden.

Airbourne? Fucking brilliant!