Euro festival preview: EXIT, Mad Cool, Montreux & more

Continuing our weekly preview of European festivals, IQ gives readers a glimpse of what’s in store this week…

Serbia’s EXIT Festival (10-14 July) kicks off today at Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad, under the slogan “Awakening our Superpowers Together”.

Black Eyed Peas, Tom Morello, John Newman, Gucci Mane, Carl Cox, Artbat and Maceo Plex are among the headliners of the 2024 edition.

Meanwhile, the 47th edition of North Sea Jazz (12–14) will take place at Rotterdam Ahoy with 150 acts including Sting, Raye, André 3000, Corinne Bailey Rae, Masego, Sampha, Noname, Jessie Ware and Jamie Cullum.

Festival director Jan Willem Luyken recently spoke to IQ about the secret behind the Dutch festival’s decades-long legacy.

The swansong edition of Germany’s MELT festival will launch tomorrow

From one stalwart festival to the next, the 58th edition of Montreux Jazz Festival is already underway and will run until 20 July.

The Swiss event, which typically draws 250,000 people over 16 days, features Jon Batiste and Henry Moodie and runs until 20 July. More than 30 shows will be livestreamed for free on the festival’s YouTube channel. Read IQ‘s recent interview with organisers Mathieu Jaton here.

Across the continent, Mad Cool (10–13) will return to the Iberdrola Music Venue in Madrid, Spain. Top-billing acts at the festival are Dua Lipa, Pearl Jam, Måneskin and The Killers.

Mad Cool’s Javier Arnáiz and Cindy Castillo recently spoke with IQ about the various changes they have implemented to improve the customer experience, as well as the event’s evolution during its first decade.

Meanwhile, the swansong edition of Germany’s MELT festival (11–13) will launch tomorrow. The 20,000-capacity event will return to the Ferropolis open-air museum, near Gräfenhainichen, Saxony-Anhalt, where it has been held since 1999.

Queens of the Stone Age were forced to pull out of their headlining slot at Pohoda

Over 120 artists will bid farewell to Goodlive’s longstanding event, including Sampha, James Blake, Sugababes, DJ Koze, Romy, Marlon Hoffstadt, Overmono, James Blake, Obongjayar, Romy and Skepta.

Slovakia’s biggest festival, Pohoda (11-13), returns to Trenčín Airport including James Blake, Skepta, Royal Blood, Arlo Parks, Pendulum, Black Pumas and more.

Yesterday (10 July), it was announced that Queens of the Stone Age were forced to pull out of their headlining slot at the festival due to frontman Josh Homme requiring “emergency surgery”.

And Wireless Finsbury Park (12-14) takes over London’s Finsbury Park this weekend featuring performances by Nicki Minaj, Future, 21 Savage and Doja Cat.

The bill also features special guest Future, plus Ice Spice, Sean Paul, Asake, Gunna, Rema, Tyla, Digga D, Vanessa Bling, Veeze, Ragz Originale, DJ Target and Remi Burgz. Sexyy Red, Fridayy, Skillibeng, Byron Messia, Shallipopi, Strandz, Kenny Allstar, Seani B, Uncle Waffles, Ruger, Teezo Touchdown, Nadia Jae and Snoochie Shy.

Other festivals taking place this weekend include Slottsfjell (NO) 2000 Trees (UK), NOS Alive (PT), Bilbao BBK Live (ES), Cruilla Barcelona (ES) and TRNSMT (UK).

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