iHeartRadio Turns the Kia Forum Into a Modern Alt-Rock Pressure Cooker
There are festivals that coast on nostalgia, and then there are nights that remind you why alternative rock still thrives as a living, mutating organism. The 2026 edition of iHeartRadio ALTer EGO, presented by Capital One, firmly landed in the latter category, transforming the Kia Forum into a sold-out crucible of urgency, legacy, and forward momentum.
From the moment doors opened, the energy felt deliberate. iheart put ALTer Ego together as a statement night, built for an audience that still wants guitars loud, choruses communal, and history acknowledged without being embalmed.
Before the bands ever hit the stage, Skratch N Sniff made its presence felt in a way that blurred the line between radio and ritual. Skratch N Sniff’s host Malcolm Riker opened the night onstage alongside DJ ALSO, setting the tone with a high-octane, no-frills warm-up that felt less like an intro and more like a call to attention. It was a reminder that ALTer EGO isn’t just curated by alternative culture it’s actively powered by it in a sort of symbiosis.
Once the music began, the night never let up. The lineup, featuring Green Day, Twenty One Pilots, Cage the Elephant, Mt. Joy, Almost Monday, Gigi Perez, and Good Charlotte, played less like a playlist from a radio show, and more like a relay race. Each act carried the momentum forward, no cooldowns, no filler, just hype and great music.
The emotional axis of the night arrived with Sublime. One week after the passing of Bob Weir, the band paused their set for a moment of collective stillness. Frontman Jakob Nowell, performing despite a recent leg injury, led the Forum through a tribute that felt earned rather than ceremonial—culminating in a raw, crowd-locking take on “Scarlet Begonias.”
It was a striking reminder of Sublime’s unique cultural position: a band born from punk, reggae, and Southern California chaos, now confidently carrying intergenerational weight. Their set threaded classics like “What I Got,” “Santeria,” and “Wrong Way” with newer material, underscoring the sense that this era of Sublime isn’t about replication—it’s about continuation.
That theme echoed across the night. Good Charlotte’s return to a major Los Angeles stage after nearly a decade felt triumphant rather than nostalgic. Green Day, ever the standard-bearers, played with the precision of veterans who still believe the songs matter. Twenty One Pilots turned the arena into a synchronized release valve, while Cage the Elephant reminded everyone how dangerous a rock band can still sound when they mean it.
ALTer EGO 2026 worked because it understood something essential: alternative music survives by honoring its past without being trapped by it. For Skratch N Sniff and iHeartRadio, it was a flex. For the crowd, it was proof. And for alternative rock in 2026, it was a reminder that the pulse is still there, beating strong.