Release Athens Festival 2026: Pet Shop Boys

Some artists write pop songs. Pet Shop Boys built a whole language around them. For four decades, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have shown how dance music can be elegant, emotionally precise, and quietly political, with a queer sensibility that has always felt lived in rather than performative. Their songs capture desire, cities, class, and the strange theatre of modern life, all delivered through melodies that refuse to age. Seeing them at Water Plaza feels right, a waterfront crowd, a big summer stage, and a catalogue that can flip from irony to euphoria in seconds.

Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live leans into that history, not as nostalgia, but as proof of how much of modern pop still traces back to their songwriting. Expect a set packed with songs that became shorthand for entire eras, from “West End Girls” and “Always on My Mind” to “It’s a Sin”, “Go West” and “Being Boring”, plus the kind of clever curveballs that make a greatest hits show feel alive. This is one of those nights where it is easy to arrive for one song you already love and leave with five more saved on Spotify.

As per usual, Release offers multi ticket options. For example, Pet Shop Boys on Saturday, 27 June can be paired with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds on Tuesday, 24 June, with an option to add Moby on Wednesday, 1 July as a three day ticket.