ALL PHOTOS BY COLE DITZEL
Insomniac (Website) and Bassrush’s (Website) Forbidden Kingdom returned to the Central Florida Fairgrounds for a sold-out two-day weekend, April 25-26, and it lived up to the hype. Billed as the East Coast’s largest dedicated bass music festival, the event brought together a lineup that covered nearly every corner of bass music. We had photographer Cole Ditzel on the grounds for Forbidden Kingdom 2026, and a photo gallery from Pascal Fouquet is coming to OrlandoShine.com very soon. In the meantime, here’s the recap.
Day one opened strong with Zeds Dead headlining and Liquid Stranger B2B Mersiv delivering one of the weekend’s most talked-about sets. Ivy Lab played their final Forbidden Kingdom performance before retiring this year, soundtracking golden hour. As night fell, Kompany, PhaseOne, and REAPER took over, while the Dragon’s Nest experience area hosted local DJs and surprise guests, including Ghastly. A drone show and fireworks closed out the night.
Day two went a little harder with Subtronics headlining, followed by SVDDEN DEATH. T-Pain’s DJ set (one of the additions announced in the second phase of the lineup) turned out to be a genuine highlight, injecting something unexpected into an otherwise heavy program. ATLiens led a special b2b alongside SVDDEN DEATH, NIMDA, PROSECUTE, CHASSI, GHENGAR, and OTSUKARE. The Dragon’s Nest drew surprise appearances from YDG, Kompany, and Avello. Another drone show and fireworks closed the 2026 chapter.
As of this morning, the 2027 edition has already been announced. Forbidden Kingdom will return to the Central Florida Fairgrounds for three days next year on April 23–25, with 100+ artists across five stages. Three-day GA passes start at $149, with limited passes available at under $50 per day. Passes go on sale Friday, May 1, at noon EDT at forbiddenkingdomfestival.com.
Now check out Cole’s photos from Day 2.
Cole Ditzel (Instagram | Website) is an Orlando-based photographer who is passionate about capturing people and their memories. He has a decade of experience in both film and digital photography, in all sorts of areas, ranging from weddings and corporate to travel photography
