2025 festivals take shape: Lolla, Slam Dunk, Bluesfest
Next year’s festivals are beginning to take shape with the likes of Lollapalooza, Slam Dunk, Bluesfest and Rock am Ring revealing artists for their 2025 editions.
Lollapalooza has announced the full lineups for its 2025 South America editions in Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
Justin Timberlake, Olivia Rodrigo, Shawn Mendes, Alanis Morissette, Tool and Rüfüs Du Sol will deliver headline sets at all three events. The shows will mark the first time Rodrigo has performed in South America, and the first time Tool and Timberlake have performed in Chile and Argentina.
Lollapalooza Chile will set up from March 21-23 at Parque Bicentenario de Cerrillos and also feature sets from Benson Boone, Foster the People, Tate McRae, Zedd, Charlotte De Witte, Parcels, Rawayana, Teddy Swims, James Hype, Los Tres, Mon Laferte, Fontaines D.C., Girl in Red, Inhaler, Sepultura and more.
Lolla Argentina will take place on the same weekend in the Hippodromo de San Isidro in Buenos Aires with a similar lineup that will also include sets from Tan Bionica, Wos, La K’onga, Los Angeles Azules, Nathy Peluso, Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, Caribou, Jpegmafia, San Holo and more.
Lolla Brazil will hit stages from March 28-30 in the Autódromo de Interlagos in São Paulo also with a similar lineup including Wave to Earth, Michael Kiwanuka, Barry Can’t Swim, Neil Frances, Zerb, Disco Lines, Kasablanca, Artemas, Nessa Barrett, DJ GBR, Ashibah, Marina Lima and more.
Byron Bay Bluesfest is gearing up for its “final curtain call”
Meanwhile, UK festival Slam Dunk has announced the first wave of acts for its 2025 instalment, with Day To Remember, Electric Callboy and Neck Deep topping the bill.
Other confirmed acts include New Found Glory, Alkaline Trio, AS IT IS, Delilah Bon, Dream State, Graphic Nature, Hit The Lights, Hot Mulligan, Knuckle Puck, Less Than Jake, Mouth Culture, Movements, Split Chain, Stray From The Path, The Ataris, The Starting Line, The Used and Zebrahead.
The 30,000-cap pop-punk, emo, metal, and alternative event will take place in Hatfield Park on Saturday 24 May, before heading north to Temple Newsam in Leeds the following day.
Slam Dunk promoter Ben Ray discussed the brand’s 2024 UK edition and European expansion in an interview with IQ earlier this year.
Elsewhere, Byron Bay Bluesfest is gearing up for its “final curtain call” which will take place from 17-20 April 2025.
Confirmed acts for the swansong edition include Crowded House, Vance Joy, Tones and I, Ocean Alley, Here Come The Mummies, The California Honeydrops, Taj Farrant, Cimafunk, Neal Francis, Pierce Brothers, WILSN, and 19-Twenty.
Ireland’s biggest music festival Electric Picnic has sold out more than a year in advance, without a single act being announced
German twin festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park were among the first major festivals to unveil their 2025 lineups.
Both events will mark significant anniversaries from 6-8 June next year, with Nürburgring’s Rock am Ring celebrating its 40th birthday and Nürnberg’s Rock im Park turning 30.
Slipknot were the first headliner to be confirmed in the aftermath of this year’s editions and a number of additional acts have now been revealed.
In a European exclusive, Bring Me The Horizon are the second headliner to be announced. The performances will be the band’s only concerts on the continent in 2025.
Sleep Token will also be playing their only European shows of the year at the events, while other artists will include Biffy Clyro, KIZ, A Day To Remember, Beatsteaks, Lorna Shore, The Warning, Feine Sahne Fischfilet, Idles, Jinjer, Powerwolf and The Ghost Inside.
Elsewhere, Ireland’s biggest music festival Electric Picnic has sold out more than a year in advance, without a single act being announced.
Goodlive is gearing up for a particularly busy weekend with Superbloom (Munich) and Lollapalooza Berlin taking place
The Festival Republic-promoted event will be held at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, from 29-31 August next year, reverting to its traditional late summer date.
General admission tickets, priced €290, went on sale at 9 am on 22 August and were snapped up within hours. The festival also operates a loyalty scheme, offering discounted passes for previous attendees. The 2024 edition was headlined by Noah Kahan, Calvin Harris and Kylie Minogue.
Meanwhile, this year’s 2024 festival season is drawing to a close with a handful of events yet to be delivered.
German festival, booking and services agency Goodlive is gearing up for a particularly busy weekend with Superbloom (Munich) and Lollapalooza Berlin taking place concurrently.
As reported earlier this year, Live Nation-backed Goodlive has joined the organisation and production teams behind Lollapalooza Berlin, alongside C3 Presents and Live Nation GSA.
The festival’s 2024 lineups share more than a dozen acts, including Sam Smith, Burna Boy, The Chainsmokers, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Loyle Carner, Nothing But Thieves, The Sacred Souls, Chappell Roan and Apashe with Brass Orchestra. Both events are set to take place in the Olympic Stadiums of their respective cities.
Superbloom MD and festival director Fruzsina Szép helped to launch Lolla Berlin in 2015.
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Rock am Ring/Rock im Park reveal top names for ’25
German twin festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park are among the first major European events to unveil their 2025 lineups.
Both events will mark significant anniversaries from 6-8 June next year, with Nürburgring’s Rock am Ring celebrating its 40th birthday and Nürnberg’s Rock im Park turning 30.
Slipknot were the first headliner to be confirmed in the aftermath of this year’s editions and a number of additional acts have now been revealed.
In a European exclusive, Bring Me The Horizon are the second headliner to be announced. The performances will be the band’s only concerts on the continent in 2025.
Organisers say more than 90,000 tickets have already been sold for the festivals’ 2025 anniversary editions
Sleep Token will also be playing their only European shows of the year at the events, while other artists will include Biffy Clyro, KIZ, A Day To Remember, Beatsteaks, Lorna Shore, The Warning, Feine Sahne Fischfilet, Idles, Jinjer, Powerwolf and The Ghost Inside.
The 2024 incarnation was headlined by Die Ärzte, Avenged Sevenfold, Queens of the Stone Age and Green Day.
Rock am Ring and Rock im Park sold a combined 50,000 tickets for their 2025 anniversary editions in the first 24 hours of going on sale in June.
Organisers say that number now exceeds 90,000, with around 55,000 tickets sold for the former and 35,000 for the latter. The festivals are staged by FKP Scorpio, eventimpresents and DreamHaus.
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Rock am Ring & Rock im Park score strong presales
Twin German festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park have already sold a combined 50,000 tickets for their anniversary editions in 2025, organisers have revealed.
Rock am Ring has shifted around 30,000 tickets for next year’s festival and Rock in Park 20,000 in the first 24 hours of the presale beginning on Monday.
Nürburgring’s Rock am Ring celebrates its 40th anniversary next year, while Nürnberg’s Rock im Park turns 30, with metal icons Slipknot the first headliner to be confirmed. Weekend passes for the former cost €179, with camping tickets for the latter event starting at €248.
The events are set to return from 6-8 June next year and will feature around 100 acts – more than ever before – made possible by a fourth stage introduced especially for the anniversary editions. As per Frontstage, there will also be new camping categories as well as other innovations announced in the next few months.
The 2024 incarnation of the FKP Scorpio/eventimpresents/DreamHaus-promoted festivals each attracted in the region of 80,000 fans last weekend to see artists such as Die Ärzte, Avenged Sevenfold, Queens of the Stone Age and Green Day.
“The positive response to this year’s festivals was overwhelming, so we are all the more pleased that fans are just as excited about the big anniversary year”
“The positive response to this year’s festivals was overwhelming, so we are all the more pleased that fans are just as excited about the big anniversary year as we are and are securing their tickets early,” says DreamHaus CEO and festival organiser Matt Schwarz.
FKP expanded its collaboration with CTS stablemate DreamHaus by forming a strategic partnership to co-promote Germany’s Rock am Ring/Rock im Park and Hurricane/Southside festivals together from this year. Previously, DreamHaus and FKP Scorpio had already jointly organised the Tempelhof Sounds Festival in Berlin in 2022.
Last year, FKP’s Hurricane and Southside, which will be held from 21-23 June, also set advance booking records after putting tickets on sale for 2024. The festivals will star the likes of Ed Sheeran, Avril Lavigne, The National, The Kooks, The Offspring, The Hives, Jungle and Fontaines DC.
Fans bought over 50,000 tickets on the first day of the presale, setting a new bar in the 20-plus-year history of the twin festivals in Scheeßel (Hurricane) and Neuhausen ob Eck (Southside), which have a combined capacity of 143,000. Each batch of 10,000 tickets for the first price level of €199 sold out within just 20 minutes for both festivals.
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Rock am Ring/Rock im Park confirm 2025 headliner
Germany’s Rock am Ring and Rock im Park have confirmed Slipknot as the first headliner for their landmark 2025 festivals.
Rock am Ring, held at Nürburgring, celebrates its 40th anniversary next year, while Nürnberg’s Rock im Park turns 30.
The 80,000-cap events are set for 6-8 June and will feature around 100 acts – more than ever before. There will also be a fourth stage introduced especially for the anniversary editions.
The announcement comes in the immediate aftermath of the FKP Scorpio/eventimpresents/DreamHaus-promoted twin festivals’ successful 2024 editions, which welcomed artists such as Die Ärzte, Avenged Sevenfold, Queens of the Stone Age and Green Day.
“The last few days have gone incredibly well,” says Rock am Ring festival director Jana Posth, as per Sport-Rhein. “We were very lucky with the weather, the setup and the event went smoothly.”
“We are looking forward to celebrating the 40th anniversary of Rock am Ring at the Nürburgring next year”
Weekend passes for Rock am Ring cost €179, with Rock im Park camping tickets starting at €248.
“The site offers us optimal conditions to put on a great festival,” adds DreamHaus CEO Matt Schwarz. “We are looking forward to celebrating the 40th anniversary of Rock am Ring at the Nürburgring next year and would like to thank the entire team and the best audience in the world.”
Day tickets for this year’s Rock am Ring were €121.50, up from €99 in 2023, and €271.50 for three-day tickets, compared with €229 last year, but Schwarz says the price increases were unavoidable.
“We all notice every day in the supermarket, at the gas station or in all other areas of everyday life how the geopolitical situation, inflation and the pandemic have a lasting impact on life and simply make it more expensive,” he tells Watson. “Festivals are no exception.”
Adding that this year saw the launch of “a new, better and louder sound system”, he notes: “This year we have further improved the stage technology to make the experience for visitors even more gigantic.”
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DreamHaus hires three to festival team
Berlin-based promoter DreamHaus is strengthening its festival team with three new hires: Jana Posth, Marlene Ryba and Johanna Neuber.
All three executives will work on the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals, which DreamHaus has been responsible for since 2022 after it was acquired by CTS Eventim.
Jana Posth takes over the position as head of festival operations/festival director Rock am Ring. She has held roles in the events sector for 10 years, including managing the Lollapalooza Festival in Berlin.
“With fresh ideas and their great know-how in the field of festivals, Jana, Marlene and Johanna enrich our team enormously”
Marlene Ryba assumes the role of senior communications & PR manager of festivals, having previously worked in the PR department at Lollapalooza.
And Johanna Neuber, who has been active in the music industry for five years, joins the team as a junior project and event manager.
“With fresh ideas and their great know-how in the field of festivals, Jana, Marlene and Johanna enrich our team enormously and contribute to the future-oriented development of Rock am Ring/Rock im Park,” says Marc Seemann, director of strategy & business development.
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CTS Eventim ‘significantly’ exceeds 2023 forecast
CTS Eventim “significantly exceeded” its forecast for 2023 thanks to a “very strong” Q4, according to the company’s latest financial results.
The pan-European giant enjoyed a record year, attaining consolidated revenue of €2.359 billion for the 12-month period – a 22.5% increase on the previous year’s €1.926bn. CTS had previously projected group revenue in excess of €2bn for 2023 as a whole last October.
In the preliminary figures, the group also reported normalised EBITDA of €501.4 million, up 31.9% from €380.1m in the previous year. CTS’ full annual report for 2023 will be published on 26 March.
The growth was powered by the German-headquartered firm’s ticketing and live entertainment segments. Ticketing revenue rose 32.5% to €717m (2022: €541m), with normalised EBITDA leaping 46.6% to €382.4m.
For the live entertainment strand, revenue jumped 18.9% year-on-year to €1.677bn (2022: €1.410bn), with normalised EBITDA almost flat at €119.1m, compared to €119.2m in 2022.
The group figures include income of €37.4m to which CTS group companies are directly entitled, resulting from compensation paid by the German government to the joint venture autoTicket GmbH, Berlin.
“The year-on-year growth rates shown here reflect the success of the operating business”
“As the prior-year figures contained a similar volume of income that had been received under pandemic-related economic aid programmes, the year-on-year growth rates shown here reflect the success of the operating business,” adds a company statement.
According to Pollstar’s 2023 global rankings, the Eventim Group is the world’s second-biggest promoter. The firm’s portfolio includes festivals such as Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Hurricane, Southside,and Lucca Summer.
It also operates venues, such as the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, the K.B. Hallen in Copenhagen, the Waldbühne in Berlin and the Eventim Apollo in London.
Visions reports that more than 90,000 tickets have already been sold for Germany’s Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, which take place from 7-9 June at Nürburgring race track and Zeppelin Field, respectively.
Operated by CTS’ Dreamhaus subsidiary, the twin festivals will be headlined by Die Ärzte, Måneskin and Green Day. The events’ new premium camping offers are said to be almost sold out, while tickets for the Backstage Camp, Seaside Backstage Camp and Caravan Camping are already sold out.
“The demand for tickets is strong and the fans’ anticipation is huge,” says Dreamhaus CEO Matt Schwarz.
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European festival line-ups take shape for ’24
The 2024 festival season in Europe is beginning to take shape after a raft of top events made their first line-up announcements for next summer.
In Germany, Eventimpresents/DreamHaus’ twin Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals, held at Nürburgring and Nürnberg, respectively, will welcome the likes of Die Ärzte, Avenged Sevenfold, Queens of the Stone Age, Green Day, Broilers, Billy Talent, Måneskin, Parkway Drive and Kraftklub from 7-9 June.
FKP Scorpio’s flagship festivals Hurricane, in Scheessel, and Southside, in Neuhausen ob Eck will also return from 21-23 June with acts such as Ed Sheeran, The National, Bring Me The Horizon, Avril Lavigne, The Offspring, The Hives, Jungle and Fontaines DC.
Denmark’s famed Roskilde has also announced its first batch of artists for its 52nd edition from 29 June to 6 July, which includes PJ Harvey, Kali Uchis, Romy, Trueno, The Armed and Blondshell.
“We have a long-running history of being a progressive festival with an international perspective, and we consistently push ourselves to further that purpose,” says Roskilde programme director Anders Wahrén. “We aim to inspire every single one of our 130,000 festival participants with a diverse lineup characterised by artistic curiosity and groundbreaking headliners presented in a unique festival setting.”
“Roskilde Festival is a very communal event where dreams and new ideas for a better tomorrow are being addressed”
He adds: “Roskilde Festival is a very communal event where dreams and new ideas for a better tomorrow are being addressed, exchanged, cultivated and eventually tried out by our participants. And music and art play a big part in inspiring us to even think and sense those new ideas to begin with.”
Set for 6-10 August, Norway’s Superstruct-backed Øyafestivalen will celebrate 25 years with headliners including Pulp and PJ Harvey, while Croatia’s biggest open-air music festival INMusic, which was cancelled in 2023 due to financial challenges, will return to Zagreb from 24-26 June, topped by Smashing Pumpkins and The National.
Elsewhere, Ed Sheeran was unveiled last month as the first headliner of Rock in Rio Lisbon’s 20th anniversary edition. First held in 2004, the biennial festival returns to Portugal for a double weekender between 15-16 & 22-23 June 2024.
Isle of Wight Festival today became the first major UK event to show its hand. Headlined by The Prodigy, Pet Shop Boys and – in a UK festival exclusive – Green Day from 20-23 June. The bill also includes The Streets, Keane, Simple Minds, Crowded House, Blossoms, Nothing But Thieves and Zara Larsson, among others.
“We’re thrilled to announce our 2024 headliners today and to continue to showcase a truly exciting array of talent for next year’s festival,” says IoW organiser John Giddings. “From globally-recognised and pioneering artists, to chart-topping talent and rising stars, we can’t wait to welcome everyone to the island next year.”
Glastonbury has pushed its 2024 ticket sale back by two weeks
Also in the UK, Derbyshire’s Bearded Theory will welcome the likes of Jane’s Addiction, Amyl and the Sniffers, Sleaford Mods, Orbital and Dinosaur Jr to its 15th anniversary from 23-26 May.
And Slam Dunk, the UK’s biggest independent rock festival, will bring You Me At Six, The All American Rejects, I Prevail, Funeral For A Friend, Asking Alexandria, Waterparks, Palaye Royale and Pale Waves to Hatfield Park (25 May) and Leeds’ Temple Newsam (26 May).
Meanwhile, Glastonbury has pushed its 2024 ticket sale back by two weeks to 16 November (tickets plus coach travel) and 19 November (general admission) “out of fairness” to people who discovered they were no longer registered to attempt to buy tickets, despite believing they were.
“Following this year’s festival, we alerted everyone with a registration which pre-dated 2020 of a scheduled review of the details held by See Tickets in the Glastonbury Festival registration database,” says a statement. “This was in order to ensure that the details we hold are current and that we do not store individuals’ information for any longer than is necessary. These registrants were asked to take action to confirm their registration if they wished to keep it.
“Unfortunately, it has come to light that some individuals hoping to buy tickets for 2024 have discovered after Monday’s registration deadline that they are no longer registered, despite believing they were.
“Out of fairness to those individuals, we will be re-opening the window for registration at 12 noon on Monday, 6th November. It will remain open until 5pm on Monday, 13th November.”
Yesterday it was announced that annual action sport and music festival NASS, held near Bristol, will not take place next year as a result of rising costs. Meanwhile, the debut of new Dutch heavy metal festival South of Heaven has been postponed for a year after “no certainty could be given about obtaining the necessary permit for the first edition”. The event was set for 31 May and 1 June, promoted by TIRR Music Agency, Muziekgieterij Maastricht and Doomstar Bookings.
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Pantera removed from German festivals’ lineups
Germany’s twin festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park have removed Pantera from this year’s bill following a backlash over the band’s booking.
The US heavy metal group, who reunited last year, were due to appear at the simultaneously held rock festivals, scheduled for 2-4 June in Nürburgring and Nuremberg, respectively.
However, a statement posted on the events’ social media channels confirms the band’s appearances have been cancelled.
“Pantera will not be performing at Rock am Ring and Rock im Park 2023, as announced,” it says. “In the last few weeks, we have had many intensive conversations with artists, our partners and you, the festival fans. We have continued to deal with the criticism together and decided to remove the band from the programme.”
“We are relieved about the organisers’ decision not to offer Pantera a stage”
Blabbermouth reports the impetus for the decision was provided by past racism allegations levelled against Pantera frontman Philip Anselmo, which prompted calls to pull the group from the line-up.
“We are relieved about the organisers’ decision not to offer the band Pantera a stage,” says Réka Lörincz, spokesperson against racism and right-wing extremism for Nuremberg City Council’s green faction. “Their singer Phil Anselmo had repeatedly attracted attention with anti-Semitic and racist incidents. Therefore, a performance was unimaginable for us – especially on the former Nazi party rally grounds.”
Promoted by Eventimpresents/DreamHaus, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park 2023 will be headlined by Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon and Die Toten Hosen. Pantera is yet to respond to their removal from the bill.
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Rock am Ring sells record 90,000 weekend tickets
Germany’s premier rock festival Rock am Ring has sold a record 90,000 weekend tickets for its 2022 edition.
Limited day tickets are available for eventimpresents/DreamHaus’s festival but otherwise, it is completely sold out.
Green Day, Muse, Volbeat, Placebo, Måneskin are among the acts slated to perform at the event, taking place at the Nürburgring race track between 3 and 5 June.
It was recently announced that all performances will be livestreamed via German streaming service RTL+, with fans around the world able to watch the broadcast free of charge.
Green Day, Muse, Volbeat, Placebo, Måneskin are among the acts slated to perform at the event
Additionally, a partnership with TikTok will bring the Rock am Ring experience to the worldwide community through hashtag campaigns, live programmes, official playlists and backstage content with popular creators.
Eventimpresents and DreamHaus have also reported that twin festival Rock im Park is almost sold out, having shifted more than 70,000 tickets. The event takes place concurrently with Rock am Ring, at Zeppelin Field in Nüremberg.
Rock am Ring was founded by Marcel Avram and Marek Lieberberg’s Mama Concerts in 1985, while Rock im Park took place for the first time in 1995 under Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur (MLK).
Berlin-based promoter DreamHaus is now responsible for organising and programming the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals, along with eventimpresents.
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Rock am Ring to be streamed live, free of charge
This year’s edition of Rock am Ring will be streamed live, with fans at home able to watch the broadcast free of charge.
The German festival is set to take place between 3 and 5 June at the Nürburgring, with performances from acts including Green Day, Muse, Volbeat, Placebo, Måneskin and more.
Thanks to a partnership between CTS Eventim and RTL+, fans around the world will be able to watch performances from all 70+ acts without restrictions, via the web browser on RTLplus.de and the app for RTL+ premium users.
With around three million paying subscribers and up to 7.01 million unique users per month, RTL+ is the leading German entertainment service in the streaming market.
“It’s great that we can now share this experience with even more people”
The stream will be produced by Eventim Brand Connect, which is responsible for brand partnerships, media marketing and sponsorships at CTS Eventim.
“We are delighted to have gained an outstanding new media partner in RTL+. After an enforced two-year break, this Rock am Ring festival promises to be extra special. It’s great that we can now share this experience with even more people,” says Dr Frithjof Pils, MD of Eventim Live.
“Our partnership with RTL+ underscores our strategic objective to massively grow Eventim Brand Connect as a business segment in the near future.”
Frauke Neeb, programme director at RTL+: “We are in the process of growing RTL+ into Germany’s largest entertainment platform, where we will also be offering an extensive range of music to stream in the future. We are delighted that this new partnership with Eventim is already giving us the opportunity to offer our customers a live stream of Germany’s largest music festival featuring top acts.”
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