The Cure at Rock en Seine 2026: setlist, photos and review

31 August 2026, 16:00 | Updated: 16 September 2026, 18:00

Robert Smith of The Cure on stage at Rock en Seine, 30th August 2026. Picture: Roxane Mo/Press

The iconic British band closed the respected Paris festival on a bill that also featured Interpol, Wolf Alice and Slowdive. Here's what Robert Smith and co played.

By Martin O'Gorman

It's somewhat bittersweet that The Cure's set at Rock en Seine includes a track called The Last Day Of Summer, because for most people - frontman Robert Smith included - the Paris event really does signal the end of the festival season. The song, taken from the 2000 album Bloodflowers, was tagged by its author on the night as "a change of pace".

The veteran British band's appearance at Domaine National de Saint-Cloud in the West of the city also marked the last stop on The Cure's tour of European festivals and cities, having kicked off at the start of June with headline sets at Primavera Sound and the Isle Of Wight back in the scorching hot weather of June.

Simon Gallup of The Cure on stage at Rock en Seine. 30th August 2026. Picture: Roxane Mo/Press

The weekend at Rock en Seine, however, was a little damper than the usual climate France had been enjoying over the past few weeks - in fact, when Deftones had topped the bill on Saturday night, the moshpit was softened with a light layer of mud.

Deftones onstage at Rock en Seine festival, August 2026. Picture: Oliver Hoffschir/Press

Thankfully, the clouds stayed away on the Sunday, leaving The Cure to close the festival in majestic style. Rock en Seine continues to boast a world-class line-up, ranging from the heavier end of the musical spectrum with the aforementioned Deftones, Turnstile and Biffy Clyro, while tipping a hat to more mainstream audiences with headliners Tyler The Creator, Lorde, Sombr and Djo on the bill.

It's an eclectic mix that's rewarded by a sell-out crowd across the five days, who congregated in a leafy park just across the river from the 15th arrondissement, a swift Metro ride from the centre of Paris.

Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice on stage at Rock en Seine, 30th August 2026. Picture: Roxane Mo/Press

Two of the days are aimed at the alternative audience - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds closed Friday night ahead of the likes of The Black Keys, Franz Ferdinand and Wet Leg, while The Cure's set on Sunday was the climax of a bill that included icons such as Interpol, Mogwai - whose sonic barrage on the second stage could be heard during the changeover on the Grand Scene - Slowdive and Wolf Alice.

And it was encouraging to see the packed crowd that came out for these artists on Sunday, 30th August - in fact, the hardcore fans had been in position from the early afternoon to ensure a decent spot for Robert Smith and co.

Paul Banks of Interpol on stage at Rock en Seine, 30th August 2026. Picture: Press

After Interpol delivered a solid set that dipped into the band's new album This Mirror Weighs A Ton, alongside a sample from their two decades' worth of back catalogue, which reached right back to the classic PDA, anticipation for The Cure's set was high.

This was, in main, due to Robert Smith's obsession with his own mortality - he admits he performs every. show as if it's his last. But this time there seemed to be a feeling in the air that this could be The Cure's last stand, even though the frontman has been in fine voice throughout the tour.

Robert Smith and Simon Gallup of The Cure on stage at Rock en Seine, 30th August 2026. Picture: Roxane Mo/Press

These rumours were fuelled by producer David M. Allen, who was at the helm for The Cure's Disintegration album, alongside the other entries in the band's "imperial phase" back in the late 1980s and early 90s. Allen posted before the show that he was "feeling regretful" that he wouldn't be able to make the Paris date. He added: "It’s the poignancy one feels when it may be the last time that something happens."

While it's easy to say that Allen has been across these "last Cure show ever" rumours before, Smith is now 67 years old and has claimed he'll stop performing when he's 70... and, as the man said not long ago, nothing is forever.

The Cure on stage at Rock en Seine, 30th August 2026. Picture: Roxane Mo/Press

Like their Isle Of Wight set in June, The Cure's Rock en Seine show kicked off with Alone, the opening track from their acclaimed 2024 album Songs Of A Lost World. It's one of the great contradictions of The Cure's music that they can switch from the epic sweep of songs like this and A Forest to the brilliant pop of Just Like Heaven or In Between Days, through to the primal power of Burn from the soundtrack to The Crow.

For the real fans, there were a couple of treats, including the 1980 deep cuts Secrets and Play For Today, plus a rare outing of the ponderous title track from the group's debut album Three Imaginary Boys.

As the main set closed with the hypnotic Endsong - perhaps Robert Smith's ultimate statement of hopelessness - the full moon peeked its head above the trees of St Cloud, mirroring the blood red projections at the rear of the stage. At certain points you could also see the light on the top of the Eiffel Tower shining over the top of a block of flats on the other side of the Seine. These touches definitely gave the show a sense of "place".

The traditional "pop" encore included the perennial Love Cats - recorded not far from where Rock en Seine took place, no less - and was received with a roar of recognition from the crowd. After closing with Boys Don't Cry, a song Robert Smith wrote when he was 18, Smith told the audience "Hopefully see you again..."

Will The Cure be back? Time will tell, but a warm, moonlit night in Paris was a great way to close out a hugely unique career.