What makes a major festival headliner?

After a barren few years for new headliners, the festival business suddenly finds itself with an embarrassment of riches to choose from.

The industry struggled to produce fresh superstar talent over a decade of discontent – a drought that was exacerbated by the global touring boom, as A-list acts increasingly skipped the festival circuit in favour of their own headline shows.

Yet accusations of an over-reliance on heritage acts – ironically enough – are becoming a thing of the past. According to ROSTR, which analysed the 2024 lineups of 50 top European festivals, the artist with the most headline slots this year was Fred Again.. with seven, followed by Måneskin (6) and Dua Lipa, The Chainsmokers, Lana Del Rey, SZA, Sam Smith, Bring Me The Horizon and Pulp (5).

With the exception of Pulp, all of the above broke through in the 2010s or later, while the likes of Billie Eilish, Sam Fender, Lewis Capaldi, Dave, Halsey and Hozier have also ascended to the top table in recent years.

Next year’s lineups have seen a continuation of the trend, with the likes of Charli XCX, Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter ascending to headline status. Most startlingly of all, however, is the world’s fastest-rising artist Chappell Roan, who will top the bill at multiple major European festivals despite having just one album under her belt.

So what makes a festival headliner in this day and age? Primavera Sound’s head of bookings Fra Soler argues the criteria has not radically altered.

“There are two types of headliners: those with long careers… and those who have just exploded and are very hot at the moment”

“Festivals seek headliners who are successful, relevant and sell tickets,” he tells IQ. “It’s the same for 2024/25. At Primavera, since we are a tastemaking festival, we always like to present acts at the early stages of their careers and bet on potential headliners of the future. It has occurred several times that an act we booked in September has become a headliner by the time Primavera happens in June.”

Primavera Sound Barcelona has booked an all-female headline slate for 2025, featuring Roan, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter.

“We have a very deep lineup, with more than 100 acts, and our idea has always been to tell different stories through our line-up,” says Soler. “In a way, our curation is also one of our headliners. That said, we also look for quality, relevance, success and freshness in a headliner.”

Moreover, Soler does not consider 26-year-old Roan’s meteoric rise to be indicative of a new phenomenon.

“There are two types of headliners: those with long careers who have achieved a status and maintained it, and those who have just exploded and are very hot at the moment,” he asserts. “For the latter, we hope they maintain their profile over the years and remain headliners for many years to come.

“It is true that we’ve been through some sort of headliner drought in recent years, so it’s great to have fresh and new headliners emerging.”

“When we see how fast acts like these can grow and deliver headliner-worthy shows, it gives us bright hope for the future”

Roan and Charli XCX will also star at Norway’s 22,000-cap Øya Festival alongside Queens of the Stone Age and Girl in Red.

“We have been lucky getting our first choices confirmed this year, all with very different criteria,” says the Oslo event’s founder, owner and booker Claes Olsen. “QOTSA had to cancel last year due to illness, so we’re very happy that Josh [Homme, frontman] is healthy again and ready to be back on the road next summer, while Girl in Red is our local headliner and we are proud of giving the Saturday headline slot to a domestic act.”

Olsen discloses: “On both Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, we made the offers early for slots lower down the bill, then they both grew and grew and the offer got bigger. When we got the confirmed and announced they were definitely solid main stage headliners for us.

“When we as an industry debates the lack of headliners, I must say that when we see how fast acts like these can grow and deliver headliner-worthy shows, it gives us bright hope for the future.”

Olsen concurs with Soler’s view that there have always been exceptions to the rule, with the size of the festival also playing a part.

“At Øya we kind of have to be creative and find a way to lift up new headliners,” he offers. “When we moved Kendrick Lamar up to headline level in 2013 that was also due to the artist growing quickly, and the same with Robyn in 2010; it all happened after we confirmed her and had to move her up.”

“While these names may seem like exceptions, they increasingly represent a trend that any festival must take into account”

Conversely, Virág Csiszár, head of international booking at Hungary’s Sziget, believes the quickfire ascents of Eilish, Roan and Fred Again.. are reflective of “significant changes” in the music industry.

Sziget 2025 will be headed by Roan, Charli XCX and Anyma, and Csiszár points to the emergence of TikTok and streaming platforms for enabling artists to quickly build large fanbases.

“While these names may seem like exceptions, they increasingly represent a trend that any festival must take into account,” she contends.

Moreover, Csiszár insists the public holds a significant say in determining Sziget’s lineup, with the distinct makeup of the festival’s audience also factored in.

“We heavily rely on visitor feedback, conducting various surveys and online questionnaires to monitor which artists generate the most interest each year and who our audience wants to see in the closing slot of the main stage,” says Csiszár. “We do not solely consider Hungarian market demands but also place significant emphasis on the favourites of international visitors when selecting performers.”

“It’s no longer about how long an artist has been in the game, it’s about how they connect with an audience”

Nicholas Greco, co-founder and managing partner of Australia’s Unitled Group, promoter of festivals such as Beyond The Valley, agrees the headliner model has shifted.

“With the speed at which social media propels artists into global stardom, audiences expect festivals to be forward-thinking and at the forefront of cultural trends,” he observes. “Festivals have become breeding grounds for the next wave of talent, which means we have to stay ahead of emerging global trends and new artists before they fully break.”

Greco continues: “It’s no longer about how long an artist has been in the game, it’s about how they connect with an audience. If an artist can create a genuine connection and the crowd can already see their superstar potential, they’ll follow. This is why acts like Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish, and Fred Again.. headlined festivals early in their careers – they’ve managed to capture a moment in time and build a significant, engaged fanbase rapidly.”

Elsewhere in Belgium, Sam Fender is among the headliners for the next edition of Belgium’s Rock Werchter, which prompts organiser Herman Schueremans to share a point of personal pride.

“A lot of our headliners for either Rock Werchter, TW Classic or Werchter Boutique first played when they were an upcoming act and come back later as a headliner,” beams the Live Nation Belgium CEO. “They say it is like coming home for them. We keep building acts and the criteria stays the same – quality!”

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