As the end of January approaches, a selection of Europe’s top festivals have unveiled beefed-up bills for the summer.

Hungary’s Sziget (6-11 August) has confirmed headliners A$AP Rocky, Post Malone and Shawn Mendes, joining the previously announced Anyma, Chappell Roan and Charli XCX. Other additions include horsegiirL, Helado Negro, Hermanos Gutiérrez, Caribou, Ahadadream and Hedex b2b Bou.

Denmark institution Roskilde (28 June to 5 July) has unveiled 28 new names for its 2025 lineup, led by Doechii, Schoolboy Q, Beabadoobee, Shaboozey, Lola Young and Nine Inch Nails.

Wet Leg, Lucy Dacus, Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, This Is Lorelei, Alabaster DePlume, Yeule, Fabiana Palladino, Akriila and D1MA will also perform as part of the festival.

“Roskilde Festival is not only about showcasing today’s best music; it is also about offering our participants a glimpse into the future,” says Roskilde head of music Thomas Sønderby Jepsen. “Artists like Doechii, Shaboozey, and Lola Young represent the next wave of global stars, and we are proud to be part of their journey as they shape the future of music.”

Nine Inch Nails will also star at the 17th edition of Portugal’s NOS Alive (10-12 July) as co-headliner alongside Kings of Leon. Justice have also been confirmed.

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic’s Colours of Ostrava (16-19 July) has announced an Asian focus as part of this year’s edition, with nine fresh names from Korea, Taiwan, China and Japan.

The festival will include a special performance by Korean composer Jung Jaeil, who is behind the music for Squid Game, Parasite and upcoming sci-fi film Mickey 17, accompanied by the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava. Previously confirmed performers include Sting, The Chainsmokers, Iggy Pop, Justice and Snow Patrol.

“We want to introduce our audience to fresh, exotic, and innovative sounds rooted in diverse cultures,” says artistic director Zlata Holušová. “In recent years, we’ve been particularly captivated by Asian culture, a global phenomenon shaping music, film, and storytelling today.”

The Netherlands’ Awakenings (11-13 July) will star the likes of Richie Hawtin, Carl Cox, Charlotte de Witte, Indira Paganotto, FJAAK, Marco Carola, Sara Landry, Joseph Capriati b2b Jamie Jones, DJ Gigola, VTSS and 6EJOU.

Celebrating its 15th anniversary, the UK’s Parklife (14-15 June) has added 50 Cent as headliner alongside Charli XCX and Jorja Smith. Other acts at the Manchester event will include Peggy Gou, PAWSA, Overmono, BICEP, Lola Young, Confidence Man, Chris Stussy, Steve Angello, Hybrid Minds, Andy C, Hedex & Bou and Rudimental.

London Grammar are the third headliner announced for the inaugural LIDO Festival in London’s Victoria Park. Celeste, Roisin Murphy, Pip Millett, The Blessed Madonna, Wasia Project, Maverick Sabre, Neil Frances present Club NF, Dan Whitlam, Holly Walker and Clementine Douglas also feature on the 15 June bill.

DJ and producer Fisher will deliver an exclusive London performance at Labyrinth on the Thames, the new open-air music series at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, on 9 August. The news follows the previous announcements of Black Coffee (1 August) and Anjunadeep (10 August).

“Fisher is a one of a kind talent, who deserves a one of a kind venue to play in,” says Labyrinth founder Nick Castleman. “His energy is infectious and it’s going to be a real experience to see him perform in this space. Having looked at this site with his team for a few years now, we’re so stoked to announce him as our Saturday headliner.”

Elsewhere, in the US, Simple Plan, Bowling For Soup, Pennywise, Miss May I, Dance Hall Crashers and Chandler Leighton are the first names revealed for the Vans Warped Tour, which is returning after six years. The tour will visit RFK Campus in Washington DC (14–15 June), the Shoreline Waterfront in Long Beach, California (26–27 July) and Camping World Stadium Campus in Orlando, Florida (15–16 November).

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

The 17th edition of IQ Magazine’s New Bosses, in association with Futures Forum, was revealed in IQ 129, recognising 20 of the most promising 30-and-unders in the international live music business. 

To get to know this year’s class a little better, IQ conducted interviews with each one of 2024’s New Bosses, discovering their greatest inspirations and pinpointing the reasons for their success.

As a teenager, Filip started organising concerts for student bands, film screenings, and other cultural events in his hometown of Ostrava, and his efforts were rewarded when Colours of Ostrava offered him a temporary role at the festival. After two years, he was invited to become a full-time member of the festival booking team, starting with Czech and Slovak bands and progressing through smaller international artists to bigger names and headliners.  

What one thing would you like artists, fans, and other music industry professionals to learn about your country to persuade them to visit your events, or to listen to some Czech bands and artists?
I think Czechs in general are very open, honest and friendly. This is what you experience when interacting with Czech artists and promoters but also when attending local events. Overall, we are very easygoing.

As a programmer, are there any particular events, forums or platforms that you visit to try to discover the next big act?
I like SXSW in Austin, Texas, but also Transmusicales in Rennes, France. Eurosonic and IFF are very effective too. However, to discover next big act, it is very valuable for me to speak with colleagues, agents, other promoters and also visit smaller, genre/regional-specific showcases and conferences.

What has been the highlight of your career, so far?
Every year is a highlight. Since 2015, each edition of Colours of Ostrava is groundbreaking for me — each year is different, offers new challenges, opens up new experiences and brings amazing moments to share with tens of thousands of people.

What advice would you give to anyone who is trying to find a job in live music?
Do not try to find a JOB in live music. You should start doing it because you love it, regardless of time or money. The second advice is: always respect colleagues. The live music industry is a teamwork.

“Do not try to find a JOB in live music. You should start doing it because you love it, regardless of time or money”

Your remit also includes the development of the festival – where do you find the inspiration for new ideas, and how do you gauge their success?
I take inspiration from everywhere around me: Media, films, internet, community events, sports events, travelling, leisure activities. Travelling is very important to me. I am trying to be receptive and store everyday impulses and experiences somewhere in the brain. Some ideas stay stored there for years before implementing them into the event.

As the festival is a package of many things, sometimes, it is very hard to measure the success – especially as we need to track emotions and feelings of people. Surveys are useful, data analysis from wristbands too, however, I think, that nowadays, you can get quick feedback from social media, especially from Instagram photos.

Do you have a mentor or anyone you rely on to bounce ideas off?
I am glad to be working with Zlata Holušová. She is the artistic director of the festival and 23 years ago she founded the festival in a city whose cultural and social conditions did not suggest the potential for one of the best international music festivals in Europe at all. She created this festival from scratch based on non-mainstream genres with a desire to discover new artists from all around the world. I think this desire, not to be shallow and fully absorbed by the mainstream despite the size of the event and to try to go to the heart of the music and ideas is very inspiring.

And what about meeting new contacts in the business – are there any conferences, festivals or other events that you have attended that been useful for networking?
I think this matches with the previous question of discovering next big act. Usually, the events that can bring in the new talent can also gather inspiring people who can do things. Nevertheless, I think, that very often, smaller events with 20-30 delegates are better to find real connections which go beyond business. As the live music industry is more a lifestyle than a job, I think, it is very valuable to have deeper relations to understand each other.

“Having more protection and advocacy in case of emergencies and concert cancellations would definitely be beneficial”

As a New Boss, what one thing would you change to make the live entertainment industry a better place?
Everyone involved tends to say that we are all equal partners in this industry. It would be great if this were really the case, both on a legal and on a human level. Everyone is fighting their own battle, but from the festival organiser’s point of view, we are exposed to a huge risk every year. We are now working with budgets in the millions of euros and our potential for success is really uneven compared to the extreme risk. That’s our business, but having more protection and advocacy in case of emergencies and concert cancellations would definitely be beneficial for healthy industry.

What would you like to see yourself doing in five years time?
I hope that I will be doing the same: working with music, exploring the boundaries of art and ideas and bringing joy and deep experience to wide audience.

You’re a big advocate for the Meltingpot programme at the festival. Can you tell us more about it?
I am glad that most of the people coming to our festival are entering the festival venue around lunchtime, so they are enjoying the festival all day all night four days in a row. Since morning, they are attending 13 stages of Meltingpot — panel discussions, interviews, key notes and workshop on the topics such as longevity, AI, ecology, education or world in change. At the moment, we are hosting more than 300 speakers from all around the world at this discussion forum. I’m proud, that our audience is open to listening and talking about different global and personal challenges. At first glance, this is far from a music festival vibe, but at second glance, this is the magic and essence of music – bringing people together, sharing ideas, all in a pleasant, friendly atmosphere, isn’t it?

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Colours of Ostrava programmer Filip Košťálek has spoken to IQ about the 21st edition of the Czech festival.

This year’s instalment returned to Ostrava, the country’s third-largest city, between 17–20 July, with Sam Smith, James Blake, Tom Morello, Lenny Kravitz, Sean Paul and Khruangbin among the top-billing acts.

Here, Košťálek tells IQ how the festival is bridging a generational gap, what the global IT outage meant for them and why it wasn’t the “easiest” year for the event…

IQ: How many tickets did you sell for this year’s edition?
FK: We have not been publishing attendance figures for several years. Since there is no single metric for counting attendance, we consider the quality of artistic performances and visitor satisfaction to be more important. However, we are still one of the largest international festivals in Central Europe.

What are you most proud of with this year’s edition?
I’m very proud of our audience and the overall atmosphere of the festival. This edition showed us once again that our festival is about discovering new original music from all over the world, regardless of genre. Visitors of all generations filled our eight music and 13 discussion stages to the brim, no matter how well-known the performer. Our visitors showed warmth and love to the world’s biggest stars and emerging artists across all four days.

“The outage of the global air traffic clearance system in the middle of the festival was a shocking moment”

What were the main challenges of this year’s event?
The outage of the global air traffic clearance system that hit our performers at European airports right in the middle of the festival was a shocking moment. Although we had made all sorts of plans for replacements and rescheduling, in the end, we were lucky and it only meant rescheduling one show. We are delighted that we were able to deliver all the shows.

How much have costs risen since last year and what measures have you taken to ensure the festival remains profitable?
Overall costs have risen by 20-25% year-on-year, so it is clear that we have had to continuously respond to these significant changes. As we strive to keep the festival as accessible as possible, working with ticket prices is quite sensitive for us – we’ve addressed this by adding new categories that expand the ticket offer while opening up the opportunity for new audiences to attend. At the same time, our commercial partners are helping us a lot, for which we are very grateful!

Nevertheless, the line between the success and failure of festivals is getting very thin. I believe that the current economic setup of the industry dramatically increases extreme risks for promoters compared to the potential profits. We never compromise on quality, but we are forced to think more and more about each item in our budgets.

“Overall costs have risen by 20-25% year-on-year, so it is clear that we have had to continuously respond to these significant changes”

Czechia is one of the only European countries that hasn’t adopted the Euro (though it seems there are plans to) – how does the currency fare when it comes to artist fees?
Of course, this means more work for us in the economic department. We have to monitor exchange rates and buy currency as necessary. But I think we are managing and it doesn’t limit us.

There have been many reports of festivals struggling to book headliners. What was your experience with securing the 2024 lineup?
I think we did very well this year thanks to the support of our agents and the good name of our festival with 23 years of history. It was definitely not the easiest year, but to complain would be blasphemy.

When Sam Smith, a non-binary artist, was announced to play at the festival, there were some uncouth remarks from people on social media. Why do you think that was? Do Czech audiences embrace LGBTIQ+ artists?
It is about the fact that our festival is one of the biggest cultural events in the Czech Republic. This means that we have a truly society-wide reach and impact, reaching the majority of the population, who are not necessarily festival-goers. However, I must say that the Czech Republic is generally a very open and tolerant country.

“We also introduced psychological First Aid for staff and visitors… we know that huge events can be challenging for a lot of people”

Was there anything new or improved at this year’s festival?
No edition is the same, we strive to improve across all departments. To innovate every year. This year, we added two stages: the NYC stage with an eclectic lineup full of music, stand-up comedy, theatre and discussions in a new glamour tent, and the storytelling tent for sharing stories about Indigenous culture and connection with the soul and nature.

We also introduced psychological First Aid for staff and visitors. We know that huge events can be challenging for a lot of people. This service has been warmly received and I am pleased that, in the end, the number of people who had to use this service was less than we had anticipated. This means that Colours of Ostrava is a safe, comfortable and inclusive festival.

Pavla Slivova (head of booking & artist liaisons) said at IFF 2022 that there was a generation gap at the festival and the team needed to refocus its attention on what Gen Z finds attractive. Have you managed to do that?
I think it’s on the right track. This transformation is definitely not a task that can be accomplished in one year but I feel that not only Gen Z, but society in general, is starting to realize again how important it is to meet and have long, intense experiences.

We’re going to work on this step by step, and this year has shown us the right way. I think it’s mainly about communication: the way we receive information is evolving dynamically, and we try to adapt to that so that young audiences understand us, so that they realise the importance of culture, simply so that we speak the same language. At the same time, we are placing even more emphasis on the safety and comfort of visitors. We have introduced psychological first aid and with the help of our partners, expanded the range of relaxation rest areas.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

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

In Switzerland, Paléo is gearing up for a banner edition having sold all 200,000 tickets for the 2024 event in just 21 minutes.

The 35,000-capacity festival will run in Nyon from 23-28 July, featuring acts such as Sam Smith, Burna Boy, Booba, Mika, Sean Paul, Major Lazer Soundsystem, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Patti Smith, The Blaze, Paul Kalkbrenner, Aurora and Royal Blood.

Paléo booker Dany Hassenstein spoke to IQ earlier this year about the festival’s longstanding bond with its audience.

Meanwhile, the stage has been set for Electric Castle‘s 10th-anniversary edition, which will welcome over 230,000 visitors to Transylvania’s 15th-century Banffy Castle.

Paléo is gearing up for a banner edition having sold all 200,000 tickets for the 2024 event in just 21 minutes

The Romanian festival will see acts including Massive Attack, Bring Me the Horizon, Chase & Status LIVE, Sean Paul, Paolo Nutini, and Khruangbin perform between 17–21 July.

Czech Republic’s Colours of Ostrava (17–20) also kicks off today, with Sam Smith, James Blake, Tom Morello, Lenny Kravitz, Sean Paul and Khruangbin among the top-billing acts.

The festival launched in Ostrava in 2002 and has become the country’s biggest international music festival.

Belgium’s biggest festival, Tomorrowland, will also take place this weekend with 400,000 guests.

Tickets for the 20th-anniversary edition sold out in less than a day, IQ reported in February.

The electronic music extravaganza is held across two weekends in Boom, Antwerp, from 19-21 and 26-28 July.

Tickets for the 20th-anniversary edition of Tomorrowland sold out in less than a day

Staged under the ‘LIFE’ theme, more than 400 acts including Armin van Buuren, Amelie Lens, Bonobo B2B Dixon, David Guetta, ANNA, Vintage Culture, Tale Of Us, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Solomun B2B Four Tet and Swedish House Mafia will appear across 16 stages.

In neighbouring Germany, Parookaville is ramping up for another sold-out edition with 225,000 attendees. The electronic music event has been sold out every year since launching in 2015.

Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Felix Jaehn, Hardwell, Timmy Trumpet and W&W are among 300+ DJs that are set to perform at this year’s instalment, at Weeze Airport between 19–21 July.

And, elsewhere, the gates to Super Bock Super Rock will open tomorrow, offering headline sets from Måneskin, 21 Savage and Stormzy.

Royal Blood, Tom Morello, Black Coffee, Slow J, Mahalia, Fisher, Vulfpeck and Will Butler are also slated to perform on Meco Beach, South Lisbon, from 18-20 July.

Other festivals due to kick off within the next week include Benicassim (ES), Positivus (LV), Ejekt Festival (GR), Lucca Summer Festival (IT) and Zwarte Cross (NL).

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Major agents and festival promoters at this week’s International Festival Forum (IFF) in London agreed that 2023 has given them much cause for optimism but have warned there are issues to overcome.

Last-minute artist cancellations, rising ticket and production costs, decreasing numbers of Generation Z attendees, and severe weather conditions remain huge hurdles to clear, as the industry looks ahead to 2024 and beyond.

The conversation went underway at IFF (International Festival Forum) during the event’s opening panel ‘The Festival Season’, which featured Alex Bruford (ATC Live, UK), Pavla Slivova (Colours of Ostrava, Czech Republic), and Stephan Thanscheidt (FKP Scorpio, Germany), with Yourope’s Christof Huber (Switzerland) moderating the discussion.

“Though 2022 brought about a lot of excitement with everything coming back to a semblance of normality, I’d say that there’s been a gap where we’ve seen a generation not accustomed to attending festivals due to the pandemic,” Slivova said, who has seen two out of the four headliners for this year’s Colours of Ostrava cancel their performances at the last minute. “In my opinion, there needs to be a change in marketing. What worked in 2019 or 2022 isn’t working this year, so we need to refocus our attention on what Gen Z finds attractive these days.”

While Bruford cited the consistent turnouts at the Reading & Leeds Festivals as examples of younger audiences still flocking towards such extravaganzas, he agreed with Slivova when it comes to thinking about what would appeal more to that particular demographic. “There were a number of festivals that struggled with attracting the Gen Z crowd, who aren’t gravitating towards more hedonistic activities than previous generations,” he said. “We need to have a collective think about what an actual festival means to them, and what’s appealing and appropriate to today’s young people.”

“What worked in 2019 or 2022 isn’t working this year, so we need to refocus our attention on what Gen Z finds attractive”

One big issue this year was the inevitable increase in production costs, causing a knock-on effect through the rise of ticket prices. Despite overseeing a successful year, Thanscheidt pointed out that festivals aren’t finding it easy these days to make any profit. “Costs are a major problem at the moment,” he explained. “There’s a limit that a lot of fans would pay to attend festivals nowadays, so we’ve had to advertise better camping and VIP experiences to entice more people into coming,” also adding that sponsorship backing isn’t the same as it was before the pandemic. “Keeping ticket prices under control while maintaining profit margins at the same time is proving extremely difficult right now.”

Despite the panel’s unanimous agreement that festivals need a more accessible approach when pricing tickets, Mojo Concerts’ Eric van Eerdenberg (Netherlands) — who was among today’s panel attendees — pointed out a potential issue that could arise from such measures. “I think that when you have a low ticket price, there will always be secondary markets pushing prices up again and making a profit,” he said. “It’s very difficult to get a grip on it.”

A major topic of discussion today was how severe weather has negatively impacted festivals across Europe, with Wacken Open Air suffering major losses after being forced to send nearly 20,000 fans home due to inhospitable surroundings. “The whole ground looked like Mordor from the Lord of the Rings movies,” said Wacken’s head booker Jan Quiel. “It was heartbreaking having to send so many people home. That was even worse than having to cancel due to COVID. We also incurred a heavy financial loss due to the additional costs we paid to have an extra campground to host more shows.”

While the panel agreed that more measures were needed to ensure safety in preparation for extreme weather conditions, Slivova added that festivals in the Czech Republic aren’t covered for such situations. “We have liability insurance for things like steady rain, for example, so it can cover some costs. But by and large, we aren’t insured for bad weather, unfortunately.”

Such concerns will always be in the back of agents and festival bookers’ minds, but 2023 has already proven to be a mostly successful post-COVID year in a lot of aspects. “Compared to last year, 2023 has seen more experienced crew and staff, logistics are a lot easier now than they were last year, and global headliners are combining their tours with festival performances,” Bruford said, with Thanscheidt adding that he’s relieved that people are having fun again after a hellacious 2022. “Nobody had fun last year, so seeing that people are having fun organising such immense projects has been great.”

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Reading and Leeds (UK), Clockenflap (HK), Hangout (US), Open’er (PL), Colours of Ostrava (CZ), Ejekt (GR) and Rockwave (GR) have unveiled fresh waves of artists for next year’s events.

The UK’s premiere rock and pop festival Reading & Leeds has revealed Lewis Capaldi, Foals, Billie Eilish, The Killers, Sam Fender and Imagine Dragons as next year’s six headliners.

Other acts lined up for the August bank holiday (25–27) bash include Wet Leg, Slowthai, Bicep, Becky Hill, Steve Lacy, Central Cee, MUNA, The Snuts, Tion Wayne and more.

Clockenflap, Hong Kong’s biggest international outdoor music and arts festival, has also announced the first wave of acts confirmed to perform at Central Harbourfront from 3–5 March 2023.

Headliners Arctic Monkeys will be joined by French synth-rockers Phoenix, local hip-hop protegee YoungQueenz, Norwegian folk-pop duo Kings of Convenience and German electronic supergroup Moderat among others.

Clockenflap last took place in 2018, with the final pre-coronavirus edition (2019) cancelled at the last minute due to pro-democracy protests. The 2020 and 2021 editions were both cancelled due to strict restrictions on large-scale outdoor events.

Hangout has announced Red Hot Chili Peppers, SZA, Calvin Harris, Paramore, Lil Nas X, Flume, Skrillex and The Kid Laroi

Elsewhere, US festival Hangout has announced a number of blockbuster acts including headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers, SZA, Calvin Harris, Paramore, Lil Nas X, Flume, Skrillex and The Kid Laroi.

Joining them on the white sand beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama, between 19 and 21 May 2023, is Mayday Parade, The Maine, Tove Lo, Alison Wonderland and more.

The festival, which is produced by Sean O’Connell in partnership with Goldenvoice, is touted as “the most anti-winter, adulting-be-damned, carefree getaway possible”.

Poland’s Open’er festival is also taking shape, with Lil Nas X confirmed as a headliner for what will be his first-ever show in the country.

Rap royalty Kendrick Lamar has also joined the bill, which already boasts Arctic Monkeys, Lizzo, Queens Of The Stone Age, OneRepublic and Nothing But Thieves.

The festival will return to Gdynia Kosokowo Airport between 28 June and 1 July 2023, and is once again promoted by Alter Art.

Poland’s Open’er festival has added Lil Nas X and Kendrick Lamar to an already stand-out lineup

The Polish promoter is also firming up the bill for its other marquee festival Orange Warsaw, which has so far secured Sam Smith and The 1975 for next year’s instalment.

The 14th edition of the 10,000-capacity festival is slated to take place at the Horsetrack Warsaw-Służewiec between 2 and 3 June 2023.

Across the border, Czech Republic’s Colours of Ostrava is coming together, with One Republic, Macklemore, Tom Grennan and Sleaford Mods among the confirmed artists.

The festival, which takes place in the industrial area of a former mining site in Ostrava, hosts acts over two dozen outdoor and indoor stages, as well as providing a programme of cinema, theatre, literature and art. The event will return to Dolní Vítkovice between 19–22 July 2023.

In Greece, Ejekt festival has confirmed Florence and the Machine for next year’s edition, slated for 2 July 2023 at Plateia Nerou, Athens. The 2022 event, which was the 21st, featured Muse, Yungblud and Nothing But Thieves.

Elsewhere in the country, Xlalala’s Rockwave has confirmed Robbie Williams, Deep Purple and Saxon for the Terra Vibe Park festival, which will run throughout July 2023.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Another spate of European festivals have announced headliners and main stage artists for their 2023 editions.

Dutch festival Pinkpop has confirmed that British pop star Robbie Williams will return to Landgraaf for the first time since 2015.

He will close out Saturday night at the festival – which is said to be “the oldest and longest-running annual dedicated pop and rock music festival in the world” – while P!nk will top the bill on the Friday night. English indie rock band Editors and Dutch electronic band Goldband are also on the 2023 bill.

The 52nd edition of Pinkpop, promoted by Live Nation-owned Mojo Concerts, will take place between 16–18 June, next year.

Williams is also set to perform at the UK’s Isle of Wight festival, alongside Pulp, George Ezra and Chemical Brothers. Sugarbabes, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Anne-Marie, Gabrielle, Blondie and Ella Henderson have also been confirmed for the event, which runs between 15–18 June in Seaclose Park, Newport.

The festival is promoted by Solo Agency’s John Giddings and Live Nation.

Lowlands: “The oldest and longest-running annual dedicated pop and rock music festival in the world”

Elsewhere in the UK, DF Concert’s TRNSMT festival will see Pulp, George Ezra, Niall Horan, Sam Fender, Kasabian, The 1975 and Royal Blood perform at Glasgow Green in Scotland between 7–9 July next year.

Further South in the UK, Latitude will bring Pulp, Paulo Nutini, George Ezra, The Kooks, Metronomy to Henham Park, Suffolk, between 20–23 July.

In Poland, promoter Alter Art has announced Arctic Monkeys for the 2023 edition of Open’er, slated for 28 June to 1 July at Gdynia-Kosakowo in Gdynia. The English rockstars will close the Orange Main Stage on the Friday night, in support of their new album The Car.

And in neighbouring Czech Republic, Colours of Ostrava have confirmed US pop rock band One Republic as the first headliner for next year’s instalment, set for 19–22 July at Dolní Vítkovice in Ostrava.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Colours of Ostrava, the biggest international music festival in the Czech Republic, marked its original 2020 dates with a series of small, sold-out ‘non-festivals’ of music and cirus.

Held at the Colours festival site at Lower Vítkovice, an ex-ironworks in the city of Ostrava, NeFestival (‘Non-Festival’) Colours of Ostrava was organised for mid-July, after Colours of Ostrava was forced to pull the 2020 edition of the festival as a result of the growing Covid-19 crisis. Events of up to 1,000 people were allowed in the Czech Republic from the end of May.

“We invite you to celebrate with us that we can once again be together, enjoy live music, theatre and discussions,” said festival director Zlata Holušová. “That we can once again drink beer, or whatever we like to, and that we can once more discuss important issues and everyday things face to face.”

With its NeFestival, Colours of Ostrava (45,000-cap.) becomes one of the only major European festivals to have held a physical event in this year, along with Lollapalooza Paris, Rock Werchter and several Mediterranean beach events.

The first 1,000-capacity NeFestival event took place on 15 July and featured a show by circus company Cirk La Putyka, whose 45 acrobats, performers, dancers and guest artists juggled, walked the tightrope and danced across the industrial steel landscape of Lower Vítkovice. The evening closed with a concert by Czech band Tata Bojs.

Czech authorities reduced the maximum capacity to 100 midway through the festival, forcing the cancellation of days 3–4

The 16 July show saw performances from more Czech bands, DJ sets and a screening of a pre-recorded ‘quarantine concert’ by Dubioza Kolektiv.

While NeFestival Colours of Ostrava was originally planned for 15–18 July – the original Colours of Ostrava dates – Czech authorities once again reduced the maximum capacity for events (to 100) midway through the festival, forcing the cancellation of days three and four. “Under such conditions, the Non-Festival had to be cancelled immediately, putting the organisers, as well as everyone in the supply chain and about 350 associated workers, in an extremely precarious situation,” organisers explain.

The events which did take place were livestreamed to digital audiences, while the atmosphere on site was enhanced by light columns placed where Colours of Ostrava’s stages should have been, and which were  visible from across the city.

Colours of Ostrava 2021 takes place 14–17 July 2020. Its line-up, rolled over from 2020, includes the Killers, Twenty One Pilots, Martin Garrix, the Lumineers, LP and Youssou N’Dour and many more. Tickets are priced at 125 for a four-day pass and available from www.colours.cz.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Slovakia’s Pohoda festival will not take place this summer, as festival organisers in the neighbouring Czech Republic ask the government for clarification over the fate of the country’s summer season.

Organisers of Pohoda (30,000-cap.), the biggest festival in Slovakia, have taken the “inevitable decision” to call off this year’s edition, which was to take place from 9 to 11 July. A free online event, Pohoda in the Air, will take place over the festival weekend instead.

Pohoda festival director Michal Kaščák will join organisers from Czech festivals Colours of Ostrava, Rock for People, Metronome Prague and Let It Roll in an online discussion at 8 p.m. CET today (16 April).

Artists from the 2020 bill including the Libertines, Wolf Alice and Metronomy are confirmed to play next year’s Pohoda, from 8 to 10 July 2021. “Other names will follow soon,” says Kaščák, adding that, “we cannot guarantee the same programme for 2021, but we will do our best to make it even more powerful.”

All 2020 Pohoda tickets will remain valid for 2021. Ticketholders have until 15 October 2020 to apply for a refund. Fans can either ask for a full refund or opt to support Pohoda by donating a portion of the refunded ticket price.

Fellow Slovakian festivals including Uprising, Hip Hop Žije, Topfest and Grape are going ahead as planned for now. Hip Hop Žije organisers state they give fans more “precise” information on 20 April, whereas Grape organisers say they have until the end of May to make a decision, although “it will probably be the government and crisis team that will make the decision for us in this matter”.

“We cannot guarantee the same programme for 2021, but we will do our best to make it even more powerful”

Pohoda’s decision comes as promoters in the bordering Czech Republic demand a clear decision regarding summer festivals in the country.

On Tuesday (14 April), the Czech government announced it will allow shops and restaurants to reopen in stages over the next two months, with theatres and cultural venues of up to 50 capacity opening on 8 June as part of a gradual exit plan.

However, no clear information has been given as to when festivals and events may be allowed to reopen, unlike in other European countries such as Austria, Denmark, France, Belgium and Germany, where a similarly staggered lifting of restrictions has begun.

Organisers of festivals including Rock for People (18 to 20 June) which has the 1975, Green Day and Fall Out Boy on the line-up, and Colours of Ostrava (15 to 17 July), which is set to feature the Killers, Twenty One Pilots and Martin Garrix, are awaiting an official government decision, whereas Prague’s Metronome festival has rescheduled from the end of June to 17 to 19 September.

“The government is unable to give us a decision and prolongs our suffering by giving us unclear information,” Colours of Ostrava director Zlata Holušová told Czech newspaper Novinky.cz. “For this reason, I take it that hope has not yet died. We have no official ban yet.”

Holušová will join Kaščák, Rock for People’s Michal Thomas, Metronome Prague’s David Gaydečka and Let It Roll’s Zdeněk Souček in a conversation moderated by journalist Petr Vizina to share their thoughts on current events here.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Continuing the series of 2020 line-up announcements, IQ has a look at what organisers of Parklife, OpenAir St Gallen, Rock in Rio Lisbon, Colours of Ostrava, Download Japan, Wireless Festival and Roskilde have up their sleeves for 2020.

(See the previous edition of Festival Fever here.)

Parklife

When: 13 to 15 June
Where: Heaton Park, Manchester, UK
How many: 80,000

The line-up for Manchester’s Parklife festival was announced earlier this week, with a mixture of major hip-hop, electronic and pop acts topping the bill.

Tyler the creator, Carl Cox, Jorja Smith, Hot Chip, Giggs, Bicep, Four Tet and Roisin Murphy are among artists performing on the Saturday, with Khalid, Skepta, Lewis Capaldi, Anderson Paak, Robyn, Peggy Gou, Eric Prydz and Nina Kraviz leading the charge on Sunday.

Co-founded by Sacha Lord and Sam Kandel, who also started the Manchester-based Warehouse Project club nights, Parklife is majority controlled by LN-Gaiety, following a 2016 deal.

Tickets for Parklife 2020 are available here, priced at £125 for a weekend ticket and £95 for a day pass.

A mixture of major hip-hop, electronic and pop acts top the Parklife 2020 bill

OpenAir St Gallen

When: 25 to 28 June
Where: River Sitter valley, Saint Gallen, Switzerland
How many: 30,000

Switzerland’s OpenAir St Gallen is entering its 44th year in 2020 and its first as part of the newly formed powerhouse Gadget abc Entertainment Group AG, in which CTS Eventim acquired a majority stake last week.

This year’s festival will see performances from Twenty One Pilots, the Lumineers, Alan Walker and Of Monsters and Men, as well as German acts AnnenMayKantereit, Kontra K and Deichkind.

OpenAir St Gallen received the green operations award at the 2019 European Festival Awards, with Wepromote – the joint venture between OpenAir St Gallen, Gadget Entertainment, Incognito Productions, wildpony, SummerDays Festival, Seaside Festival and Wepromote Live – taking home promoter of the year.

Tickets for OpenAir St Gallen 2020 are available here, priced at CHF 239 (£188) for a four-day ticket and CHF 77 (£61) for a single day.

Switzerland’s OpenAir St Gallen is entering its 44th year in 2020

Wireless Festival

When: 3 to 5 July
Where: Finsbury Park, London, UK
How many: 50,000

Festival Republic’s Wireless Festival is returning to London’s Finsbury Park this summer for three days of urban music, headlined by ASAP Rocky, Skepta and Meek Mill.

Within a day of announcing the line-up, all weekend tickets and single Friday and Saturday tickets had sold out.

Other artists performing at the event include Quality Control Takeover, DaBaby, Roddy Ricch, AJ Tracey, Aitch, Burna Boy and Young Thug.

The line-up announcement for Wireless’ flagship UK event came days after the billing for its German edition was revealed. ASAP Rocky will also head up the 40,000-capacity Frankfurt festival, alongside Kendrick Lamar.

Sunday tickets for Wireless London are available here for £72.50, with joint Friday and Sunday passes also still available for £137.50.

Tickets for Wireless Germany can be found here, with a weekend ticket costing €149 (£125) and a day pass priced at €79 (£67).

Within a day of announcing the line-up, all weekend tickets and single Friday and Saturday tickets had sold out

Colours of Ostrava

When: 15 to 18 July
Where: Dolní Vítkovice, Ostrava, Czech Republic
How many: 45,000

Czech Republic’s Colours of Ostrava festival is this year featuring acts including the Killers, Twenty One Pilots, Martin Garrix, the Lumineers, Sigrid, LP and Youssou N’Dour.

The festival, which takes place in the industrial area of a former mining site in the Czech city, hosts acts over two dozen outdoor and indoor stages, as well as providing a programme of cinema, theatre, literature and art.

The Colours of Ostrava team also organises the free Festival v ulicích (Street Festival) in the centre of Ostrava, and the Czech Music Crossroads, a music showcase conference

Four-day tickets for Colours of Ostrava 2020 are available here for €125.

Colours of Ostrava is this year featuring the Killers, Twenty One Pilots and Martin Garrix

Rock in Rio Lisbon

When: 20 to 28 June
Where: Bela Vista Park, Lisbon, Portugal
How many: 80,000

The Lisbon edition of Brazilian mega festival Rock in Rio added two more acts to its 2020 line-up this week, with singers Ivete Sangalo and Anitta joining artists including Foo Fighters, the Black Eyed Peas, Camila Cabello, the National, Liam Gallagher and Post Malone.

Promoted by Rock City, in which Live Nation recently upped its shareholding to a majority stake, the festival’s flagship Rio de Janeiro event hosted the likes of Drake, Red Hit Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden, Pink and Muse across two four-day festival in September and October 2019.

Last year, Rock in Rio founder Roberto Medina hinted at the possibility of launching a Chilean edition of the festival, in what would be the first expansion of the festival brand within the Latin American region.

Tickets for Rock in Rio Lisboa are available here. Day tickets cost €69 (£58) and weekend passes are priced at €112 (£94).

The Lisbon edition of Brazilian mega festival Rock in Rio added two more acts to its 2020 line-up this week

Download Japan

When: 29 March
Where: Makuhari Messe Event Hall, Chiba, Japan
How many: 9,000

The Japanese edition of Live Nation’s Download festival franchise is returning for its second outing this March, with a headline performance from My Chemical Romance.

Other artists playing at the festival include Evanescence, the Offspring, Jimmy East World, Ministry and In Flames.

The flagship UK edition of Download Festival is celebrating its 18th year in 2020, with performances from Kiss, Iron Maiden and System of a Down.

Download is also returning to Australia this year, with festivals in Melbourne and Sydney on 20 and 21 March respectively. My Chemical Romance will also head up Download down under, alongside Ministry, Jimmy Eat World and Lacuna Coil, as well as domestic acts Dead Letter Circus, Hellions and Orpheus Omega.

Spanish and French editions of the festival will not be returning in 2020.

Tickets for Download Japan are available here for ¥16,500 (£115). Camping tickets for Download UK can be found here for £250 and tickets for the Australian Download events are available here for AU$194.93 (£99).

The Japanese edition of Live Nation’s Download festival franchise is returning for its second outing this March

Roskilde

When: 27 June to 4 July
Where: Roskilde, Denmark
How many: 85,000

Roskilde Festival’s 50th anniversary edition is shaping up to be a big, with 32 more acts added to the line-up this week.

Faith No More, FKA Twigs, Anderson Paak and Kacey Musgraves are among artists joining previously announced acts Taylor Swift, Tyler the Creator, Thom Yorke Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, Deftones and more.

“What is unique about this generation of artists is how fast they make their mark – both artistically and when it comes to drawing attention,” comments Anders Wahrén, head of programming at the Danish non-profit festival.

“Artists like FKA Twigs, Anderson Paak and Kacey Musgraves are important to music, but are also important voices for the young people too.”

Tickets for the full eight-day festival experience plus camping are available here for DDK2250 (£257).

Roskilde Festival’s 50th anniversary edition is shaping up to be a big, with 32 more acts added to the line-up this week

Summer Nights at the Bandstand

When: 30 July to 15 August
Where: Kelvingrove bandstand, Glasgow, Scotland
How many: 2,500

Regular Music’s annual concert series is returning to Glasgow’s Kelvingrove bandstand this summer for 13 nights of live music.

This year’s line-up includes performances from Rufus Wainwright, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, KT Tunstall, Van Morrison and Rick Astely, as well as a two-night run by Primal Scream.

All twelve shows sold out last year, which featured acts including Bloc Party, the National, Burt Bacharach, Father John Misty and Patti Smith. Tickets for this year’s Summer Nights went on sale last week, with the Van Morrison, Yusuf/Cat Stevens and Rick Astley shows already selling out.

“Kelvingrove Bandstand has such a fantastic atmosphere and the feedback we have had from both artists and audiences is that they have a great time just being there,” comments Regular Music director Mark Mackie. “They really are unique and special nights under the stars.”

Tickets for Summer Nights at the Bandstand 2020 are available here.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.