SNS & iHeartRadio Turns the Kia Forum Into a Modern Alt-Rock Pressure Cooker
It’s not every night you get to open one of the biggest alternative rock festivals on the planet.
But on January 17, 2026, that’s exactly what happened.
The 2026 edition of iHeartRadio ALTer EGO, presented by Capital One, transformed the Kia Forum into a sold-out, full-throttle collision of modern alternative rock—and before a single band hit the stage, Skratch N Sniff had already set the tone for the night.
“Alter Ego was fire,” said Skratch N Sniff host Malcolm Ryker. “It’s not every night you get to open up one of the biggest alt-rock festivals on the planet. We were humbled to open up iHeartRadio ALTer EGO 2026. Nothing like pumping up 20,000 ALT 98.7 fans.”
Joined onstage by DJ ALSO, Ryker didn’t simply warm up the crowd—he ignited it. What could have been a ceremonial intro instead became a full-scale hype moment, with radio culture stepping out from behind the mic and straight into the spotlight. The Forum snapped to attention immediately, shifting from an arena waiting for bands into a frenzy of excietment and noise.
It was a reminder that ALTer EGO isn’t just a festival curated by alternative music, the fest is powered by the people who live and breathe it and Skratch N Sniff didn’t just open the night as a formality; they opened it as a statement that ALTer Ego 2026 was going to be a big one.
Once the music began, the momentum never dipped. The lineup—featuring Green Day, Twenty One Pilots, Cage the Elephant, Mt. Joy, Almost Monday, Gigi Perez, and Good Charlotte—played less like a radio playlist and more like a relay race. Each act picked up where the last left off, keeping the Forum in a constant state of release.
The emotional center 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, guided the crowd through a tribute that felt genuine rather than ceremonial, culminating in a powerful take on “Scarlet Begonias.”
Sublime’s set underscored their rare cultural position—born from punk, reggae, and Southern California chaos, now confidently carrying intergenerational weight. Classics like “What I Got,” “Santeria,” and “Wrong Way” landed not as nostalgia plays, but as proof of continuity.
That theme echoed across the night. Good Charlotte’s return to a major Los Angeles stage after nearly a decade felt triumphant. Green Day played with the authority of a band that still believes urgency matters. Twenty One Pilots turned the arena into a synchronized release valve. Cage the Elephant reminded everyone how dangerous rock can still sound when it’s played like it means something.
ALTer EGO 2026 worked because it understood a simple truth: alternative music thrives when the culture shows up loud and proud. With Skratch N Sniff opening the night and pumping up 20,000 ALT 98.7 fans.
For Skratch N Sniff and iHeartRadio, it was a moment. For the crowd, it was a rush. And for alternative rock in 2026, it was proof the pulse is still there, beating hard, fast, and very much alive.
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.
