The Horne Section headlines Cheerful Earful's fifth birthday

The globetrotting podcast festival returns to London, Melbourne, Dublin and New York this Autumn with over 100 live shows across one month, 28th September – 28th October.

Cheerful Earful began life half a decade ago as a four-day festival tucked inside a handful of London pubs. It’s since grown into the world’s funniest podcast festival - a global community of podcasters and fans, built organically from the ground up.

This year sees the largest lineup in the festival’s history, including the addition of Brighton and Edinburgh linking with the London shows, lovingly referred to as The Ear Canal. Accessibility sits at the heart of what Cheerful does, keeping the barrier to performance low for podcasters and making sure audiences don’t have to travel too far to see their favourite shows live. 

"We’re so thrilled to be hosting Cheerful Earful: Scotland this year. Having worked with the team for a few years, we’re really looking forward to furthering our relationship with them and opening our doors to the festival”. Claire McClusky, Monkey Barrel (Edinburgh)

Part of what makes Cheerful special is that you’re never quite sure who’s going to pop up. Last year, Brett Goldstein joined The Birthday Girls and the year before, James Acaster made two surprise appearances across the lineup. Discovery is baked into the DNA of this festival - wandering into a show unsure of who you’re going to see, but knowing you’ll have a laugh is what makes Cheerful, Cheerful.

“Cheerful has grown, but we’re proud to have kept the community and the feeling at the heart of what we do. Walk through the door of any venue and you feel it immediately; it’s like a purple tent has been draped over the top: distinctly Cheerful. In a world where celebrities pop out pods every two minutes, Cheerful Earful is a safe haven for comedy and podcast fans to see their favourite shows live and discover new gems.” - Giles Gear, Festival Director

“Despite its terrible name and the fact that we always mess the dates up, we love being a part of the Cheerful Earful pod fest. For us, it’s as vital a date in our calendar as Maundy Thursday, Boxing Day or Bin Day. We wouldn’t miss it for the world!”  - Matthew Crossby, Pappy’s

Descript joins the festival as the Official Muff Partner, with their branding spotlighted on every mic muff across every festival show.

Festival highlights by city

🇬🇧 LONDON & THE EAR CANAL
28th September – 28th October · The Clapham Grand, The Bedford Pub (London), Monkey Barrel (Edinburgh), Komedia (Brighton)

The home of the festival since its inception, London anchors the UK programme with two flagship venues. The Horne Section top the bill at The Clapham Grand, joined by Ghost Huns, This Paranormal Life, BudPod, and Distant Pod across a bumper opening weekend. The Bedford takes over for the following week with 20+ shows including Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown, Birthday Girls House Party, Hell or High Rollers, and Pottervision: The Last Chapter.

New for 2026, The Ear Canal extends the festival beyond London for the first time, with Edinburgh’s Monkey Barrel hosting We Saw That!, Killers Queens and Cults, and Marcel Lucont’s Whine List, and Brighton’s Komedia closing out the UK run later in October.

🇺🇸 NEW YORK CITY
 28th–30th September · Caveat, Lower Manhattan

Cheerful Earful returns to New York for its second US edition with three nights at Caveat -two shows per evening - including Were You Raised By Wolves, Three Day Champion, This Guy Sucked, and Go Touch Grass. East Coast energy, tightly curated shows, and the kind of room where you might discover your new favourite podcast.

🇦🇺 MELBOURNE
 23rd–25th October · Humdinger Studios, Brunswick

The Australian edition returns for another weekend at Humdinger Studios, delivered in partnership with the Brunswick-based production house that’s become Cheerful’s home down under. Seven shows across three days including Plumbing the Death Star, Do Go On, A Rational Fear, Prime Mates, and Gamey Gamey Game LIVE.