IQ caught up with Signe Lopdrup, CEO of Roskilde Festival Group, about the changes and successes of the 2024 edition of the massive Danish festival.

With a lineup of 200 artists, including Foo Fighters, Doja Cat, and 21 Savage, and a huge programme of performances, art installations, workshops, and debates, this year’s edition of Roskilde was another huge success.

In the September edition of IQ, Lopdrup spoke about changes in fans’ behaviour, equal access for attendees, and changes for next year’s edition…

IQ: From an audience perspective, how was the feedback this year?
SL: It’s been very positive. One thing that a lot of people and media noticed was the number of women and non-cismen on stage, being equal to or maybe even a bit bigger than the number of cismen. We had a very balanced programme in terms of gender. On the flipside, we did get some rain, but nothing we couldn’t handle.

Were there any specific challenges that your team faced this year?
Single use of camping gear and other stuff is still a challenge. We do a lot to optimise our waste management systems and sort more waste to recycling, but we struggle with tents, chairs, and air mattresses left behind at the campsite. This will continue to be a challenge next year, but we will focus even more on developing our systems for waste management and how we can engage attendees in sustainable behaviour at the festival.

“The younger demographic seems to have a more mindful and holistic approach to the festival experience”

Were there any new elements at Roskilde 2024 that worked well or captured the imagination of the fans?
Focusing on equal access and thriving at the festival has been something we’ve taken intentional steps to improve and that we can see have had a really positive effect. That includes squat urinals for women and others who squat to pee, free access to menstrual products, Soft Spots staffed by people trained in psychological safety, and calm areas where it was possible to take a break from noise, input, and alcohol. We also did sign language interpretation of some of the concerts for the first time. We saw a very strong engagement in workshops and debates that addressed current issues of our time like climate change and other global crises.

Have you witnessed any changes in the behaviour or habits of attendees?
We see an increased focus on caring for each other and a growing consciousness around how we are doing while we are at the festival. Especially the younger demographic seems to have a more mindful and holistic approach to the festival experience. That also brings an increased focus on the intensity levels that come with attending a festival and the need for breaks and more quiet spaces. There’s also a curiosity around partying without drinking alcohol, or drinking less.

Or any changes in how sponsors interact at the festival?
The festival is a platform where partners can develop and showcase sustainable solutions for the future and improve them further. We observe that companies increasingly move away from traditional marketing campaigns, instead choosing to show their audiences what they do to make a positive impact. It is natural to do this at Roskilde Festival, where we are already gathered to share inspiration, great experiences, and enjoy the community.

“As an industry, I would like us to consider the scale of touring crews and the hours they work”

Are you planning any specific changes for 2025 already?
In 2025, we will have a new and larger version of our iconic main stage, the Orange Stage, replacing the current stage from 2001. The enhanced stage is designed and sized to accommodate the complex and extensive stage productions that the biggest artists bring with them. With increased dimensions and improved load-bearing capacity, the new Orange Stage will provide not only a sublime sound experience but also a stronger visual performance that reaches the many festival participants in front of the stage. Next year, we will be even more integrated with the local community, institutions, and municipality, as we work on a long-term artistic project that will unfold both during Roskilde Festival and in the daily life of the city of Roskilde.

What can the festival business do better?
As an industry, I would like us to consider the scale of touring crews and the hours they work. There is a tendency for artists to incorporate more show elements, which results in larger crews and longer hours. We should discuss whether more production elements could be sourced locally. This could both provide better work conditions for the crew and reduce the environmental impact of touring – and secure more local engagement.

Roskilde Festival Group’s head of DEI and behaviour Mika Christoffersen will appear on the Changing Demand: Couch Surfing to Crowd Surfing panel at the International Festival Forum tomorrow (26 September).

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The Music Industry Therapist Collective’s Soundcheck initiative will be on hand backstage at this year’s Roskilde Festival to provide psychological and physical health support to the event’s emerging artists as they gear up to play the iconic festival.

Combining music industry experience and clinical expertise, MITC’s specialist practitioners will be present on all three days of the 25-27 June gathering, providing daily workshops, and helping artists to build skills in areas that include:

• Mindset with psychotherapist Tamsin Embleton

Perfectionism vs healthy striving, anticipating and coping with set-backs, and cultivating a growth mindset.

• Preparing your body for Performance with injury prevention consultant Tome Levi

Understanding the physical demands of your role, identifying red flags, preventing injuries such as RSI, examples of static and dynamic exercises for pre-performance and post-performance routines.

• Anxiety Relief with psychologist Rosana Corbacho

Targeted techniques to recognise anxiety triggers, calm nerves, boost confidence, and optimise their musical expression.

• Stress Management with psychologist Anne Löhr

The impact of stress to mind, brain and body, what stressors you should pay special attention to as an artist, and what strategies are most effective for relief and resilience.

• Breathwork with practitioner Marcus Blacker

The importance and benefits of functional breathing, better breathing habits, how to use breathwork for optimal performance and post-performance wind down, guided practice.

As a festival with so much focus on bringing new talent into the spotlight, we think it is of utmost importance to support these artists in as many ways as we can.

Artists performing at Roskilde will receive a free copy of Tamsin Embleton’s Touring and Mental Health: the Music Industry Manual in their dressing room. Covering topics including: emotional intelligence, depression, trauma, crisis management, anger, conflict, stress, addiction, eating disorders, anxiety, group dynamics, mindset, exercise, physical health, optimal performance, diversity and inclusion, romantic relationships, nutrition, sleep science, breathwork, meditation, mental capacity, psychological safety and post-tour recovery, the book is written by performing arts medicine professionals to provide robust clinical advice, cutting edge research, practical strategies and resources.

In addition, artists will be invited to book in with the Roadie Medic Clinic, where they can meet with performing arts medical doctor Dr Arun Castro or physiotherapist Adam Lawrenson free of charge. The Roadie Medic Clinic offers drop-in sessions providing practical advice around tour health, covering topics such as: hearing health, vocal health, musculoskeletal health, tiredness, jetlag/travel fatigue, injuries, gut health, performance anxiety and mental health crises.

Roskilde programme director Anders Wahrén says, “As a festival with so much focus on bringing new talent into the spotlight, we think it is of utmost importance to support these artists in as many ways as we can. This new collaboration with MITC Soundcheck is a step in that direction, as we offer sessions with international specialists to all acts performing in the first days of our festival.”

MITC founder Tamsin Embleton comments, “We are delighted to pair with Roskilde this year to roll out MITC Soundcheck. We know from research and many accounts in the press that artists can be pushed past the natural limits of their minds, brains and bodies when touring is intensive. This partnership enables us to prepare emerging artists for what may be to come – helping to build self-awareness through psychoeducation and on-site support, alongside practical, relevant skills they can implement as their career develops.”

And Dr Arun Castro adds, “The MITC Soundcheck programme with Roadie Medic at Roskilde looks to be a game changer in terms of how we care for artists on the road. As medical director, I’m delighted to be contributing to this year’s programme which sets a blueprint for levelling up backstage care for creatives. Just as guitarists have guitar techs and vocalists have vocal coaches, think of MITC Soundcheck as a holistic multi-disciplinary collective supporting artists to develop mind and body skills for life in live music.”

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Roskilde’s Anders Wahren and Christina Bilde opened up on the past, present and future of the Danish institution in a keynote session at the International Festival Forum (IFF) in London.

Wahren, who has been a booker of Denmark’s biggest festival since 2003 and programme director since 2014, and deputy director – communications, partnerships & philanthropy Bilde sat down with ILMC head Greg Parmley to discuss the event, which celebrated its half-century this year.

Roskilde Festival recently announced a revamp of its booking team and an increased focus on volunteering in the wake of its recent 50th anniversary edition, with Wahren retaining overall responsibility for music, art and activism, but being succeeded as head of booking by Thomas Jepsen.

The festival is hosting a special 50th birthday celebration in the Glasshouse of IFF’s host hotel, the Holiday Inn in Camden from 9-11pm tonight.

First, here are some of the highlights of the hour-long Roskilde: 50 Years Young interview, starting with the first edition Wahren attended as a fan…

“The first show I saw on the Orange Stage was Sex Pistols. And maybe it’s too much to call it a show…”

Watching the Sex Pistols in 1996…

Anders Wahren: “It was 90,000 people in a field mostly wearing black boots and T-shirts, and it was an era of grunge, rock and metal. The first show I saw on the Orange Stage was Sex Pistols. And maybe it’s too much to call it a show because they tried to play but were hit by bottles and cups. They tried to come back and play three times, but in the end they had to give up. So that was my introduction to what it was like to be at the Orange Stage. Luckily, it was first and final [like] that. But there was still this community feeling. Not with the people throwing shit of course, but everybody else in the crowd. I was 13 at the time, I was going with some friends. But I also had friends from school who had been going since they were small kids going with their parents.”

The ever-evolving Roskilde line-up…

AW: “It’s reflecting audience taste and also what’s happening in the music world and in the world as such. We wouldn’t still have a young audience if we booked the same acts that were there in the 70s or 80s, there needs to be evolvement over time. Of course, some of the people who started coming when I did, complain: ‘Why are you not booking so many rock bands anymore?’ And we have got that for 20 years now because we don’t just book rock bands, we book a lot of other stuff as well. It’s very important that we keep the line-up fresh to attract new audiences and keep the festival moving. I think that’s a very good reason why we’re still here and having the 50th anniversary.”

“A challenge that we share with a lot of other events is how to get back the generation that haven’t been able to go to festivals during the pandemic”

Christina Bilde: “The average age [of the audience] has been 24 for the last 15 years. But this year, we had an average age of 27. I think some of the explanation is that the tickets were sold in 2019/2020 and the audience kept their tickets, so they rolled over. And of course, having a break of three years, the audience also grew older. We also think it being the 50th festival made some older people want to come. But that gives us a challenge, of course, because we want to get the younger participants back again. A challenge that we share with a lot of other events is how to get back the generation that haven’t been able to go to festivals during the pandemic.”

“The Roskilde poker face is something that all agents experience at one point or another”

The Roskilde ‘poker face’…

Jules de Lattre (UTA agent): “The Roskilde poker face is something that all agents experience at one point or another. We’re talking to the programming team and you could be pitching the next Daft Punk and doing so with passion, emotion, and throwing everything at it. What you will get back is not a sliver of visible interest or emotion, which is really quite unsettling the first time it happens for some of the younger agents and coordinators. We always have to reassure them after and say, ‘This is just the Roskilde poker face and actually you will probably get an offer for the act you least expect to have on the festival.’ I think that that points to – and I’m saying this seriously now – the impeccable A&R over the years at Roskilde.”

AW: “We should play more poker! Volunteers are a big part of the Roskilde organisation. We also have them in the midst of our booking team and that’s important because they are not entwined in the music business as such, so they just listen to a lot of music, go to a lot of shows, keep up with the current scenes and inform us. So there’s a lot going on behind the scenes and the poker face that we try to put up. Also, we’re not the sole decision makers and are not able to make the offer right away because we always want to discuss internally and make up our group mind. So it has never been my taste that dictates what a good Roskilde line-up is, it’s a combination of many people.”

“Roskilde has been quite good at listening and picking up trends from our audience over the years”

CB: “Roskilde has been quite good at listening and picking up trends from our audience over the years , even before the trends were visible in other areas of society. Listening to the young audience and being brave enough to move with them is part of the experience as well.”

Returning after Covid…

AW: “It felt good. I was a little worried that some things might have changed and maybe the audience only wanted to [see] the big headliners. How would we know? Three years off is a lot, so it was good to reconnect with the audience. Of course, it was a tough year: there were more cancellations than ever and there was a strike warning from Scandinavian Airlines. The pilots were going on strike the first day of the festival and they postponed it a week. But still, it was a lot of stress.”

The future…

AW: “The honest answer is we don’t know. It’s hard to say now that it’s going to be in this direction or that direction because it will probably change a few times, so we’ll see. We’ll keep evolving and will hopefully keep up with wherever the most interesting things are happening in art and music, we’ll go there and take the audience with us.”

Click here to read IQ‘s recent feature commemorating Roskilde’s half-century.

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Danish festivals with more than 10,000 participants should not be carried out as usual, according to the government’s advisory expert group.

The working group – which comprises cultural institutions such as Roskilde Festival – has submitted a 54-page document of recommendations on how events should be able to take place this summer.

In the report, the experts recommend that no more than 10,000 guests attend a festival but only once Denmark has reached the final stage of the restrictions.

According to the group, major events of this capacity should only take place in ‘phase 2’ – when all citizens over the age of 50 have been offered their first vaccine.

The Danish Health and Medicines Authority’s vaccine plan, which was last updated on 14 April, suggests that everyone in the over-50s age group should have received their first vaccine by the end of May.

In addition to this, all participants of a major event must have a corona pass and the event must be divided into sections with a maximum of 2,000 attendees in each. Accommodation at the campsite is not allowed and the festivals must make a health plan, says the expert group.

“We have a very hard time believing that it is realistic to carry out festivals in Denmark before the end of the summer”

The recommendation for indoor concerts with standing audiences is a maximum of 3,000 participants in phase 2.

Following the report, major Danish festivals Jelling Music Festival, Heartland, Northside, Copenhell, Tinderbox, Roskilde Festival and Nibe Festival, as well as live music association Dansk Live, have penned a joint letter urging the government to “work quickly with the recommendations” to give a final decision about the fate of the summer.

“We had all believed and hoped that we would get an answer when the government announced the plan for reopening Denmark on March 22nd. Instead, we got an expert group that has now spent precious time onto find recommendations for the reopening of major events.

“We fully recognize the great work that the expert group has put in…but the work has been started too late and we have a very hard time believing that it is realistic to carry out festivals in Denmark before the end of the summer,” the letter reads.

Minister of culture Joy Mogensen has not commented on the recommendations directly but has referred to the government’s DKK 500 million (€67.2m) ‘safety net’ which will cover eligible festivals and major events between 1 May and 30 September 2021.

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On Saturday 4 July, on what would have been the final day of Roskilde Festival 2020, the Danish event is encouraging fans across the world to create their own festival at home.

For ‘Roskilde Festival – Do it Yourself’, festival organiser Roskilde Festival Charity Society is calling on participants to “pitch a tent in their living room, play beer bowling in the backyard, create the perfect playlist, be inspired or provoked by art” and share their experience online, “just like we all share experiences at the festival every year.”

As with the main Roskilde Festival, tickets and merchandise will available to buy for Do it Yourself, with all profits donated to initiatives for young people and that strengthen community cohesion. The nonprofit festival – which was cancelled this year along with all other Danish summer events – raised hundreds of thousands of euros with its 2019 edition, and has donated over €55 million since the early ’70s.

Roskilde Festival will be sharing the best fan-created content from Do it Yourself on its social channels.

“Unfortunately, we cannot meet up at the festival site this year. Fortunately, the festival community thrives in so many other ways,” says Roskilde spokesperson Christina Bilde.

“We hope that many people will come together and enjoy music, food, art and the Roskilde community”

“In recent months, we have seen tremendous support, and many people have announced that they plan to celebrate the festival. It is absolutely fundamental to us that we can be a platform for such communities.

“So, we hope that many people will come together and enjoy music, food, art and the Roskilde community while supporting young people’s voices and opportunities.”

Those participating in Roskilde Festival – Do it Yourself are encouraged to buy a ticket for 50 kr. (€6.50) – or, for those who can’t do without this year’s Roskilde wristband, festival wristbands are available for a donation of 200 kr. (€27).

In the weeks leading up to the event, those taking part will be able to draw inspiration from Roskilde Festival’s many guides to music, food, art and activism “so that all the self-made festivals will have a common orange glow”, says the festival (orange being Roskilde’s signature colour)/

Find out more about Roskilde Festival – Do It Yourself at roskil.de/diy.

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With more than 14 months to spare, Roskilde Festival has sold out of full event tickets for 2021, after 85% of those who planned to attend this summer’s cancelled festival opted to hold onto their tickets.

Roskilde was forced to call off its 50th-anniversary edition, originally scheduled for 27 June–4 July, in early April, after Denmark became one of the first countries to ban large-scale outdoor events to prevent the spread of Covid-19 this summer.

Of the 80,000 people who’d bought a ticket for the 2020 festival, just 15% opted to return them for a cash refund rather than use them for Roskilde 2021, according to organisers. Those 12,000 tickets went on sale again this morning (12 May) and sold out within hours.

The remaining five thousand one-day tickets, meanwhile, will go on sale in autumn 2020.

“Since the cancellation of this year’s festival due to Covid-19 unfortunately became a reality, we have received support in spades from participants and partners alike,” says festival promoter Roskilde Festival Charity Society in a statement.

“An overwhelming majority of ticketholders have gracefully chosen to transfer their ticket from the 2020 to 2021”

“Our social media has been overflowing with encouragement and now, we are happy to say, words have been followed by action. An overwhelming majority of ticketholders have gracefully chosen to transfer their ticket from the 2020 to 2021.”

“Your support means that we can continue our work preparing our anniversary festival in 2021,” it continues. “It also means that we can continue our non-profit work for children and young people all over the world.”

Thirty-two projects, including community recording studios and an activist hip-hop festival, will each receive between 10,000 and 1.4 million kroner (€1,340–€188,000) from the money earned from Roskilde Festival 2019.

Roskilde Festival 2020 was to have been headlined by Taylor Swift, Deftones, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator and the Strokes. Roskilde Festival 2021 will take place from 26 June to 3 July.

IQ’s next IQ Focus virtual panel, Festival Forum: Here Comes 21, features Roskilde’s Anders Wahren along with Jim King (AEG Presents), Stephan Thanscheidt (FKP Scorpio), Rachael Greenfield (Bloodstock Open Air) and Mathieu Jaton (Montreux Jazz Festival).

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Following on from last week’s inaugural session, the second IQ Focus virtual panel will feature representatives from some of Europe’s biggest festivals to discuss the huge challenges facing the 2020 season and look ahead to what recovery may entail.

IQ’s next fully interactive session – Festival Forum: Here Comes 21 – will feature Jim King (AEG Presents), Stephan Thanscheidt (FKP Scorpio), Rachael Greenfield (Bloodstock Open Air), Anders Wahren (Roskilde Festival) and Mathieu Jaton (Montreux Jazz Festival) in conversation with ILMC MD Greg Parmley.

With much of the 2020 festival season already cancelled and the rest awaiting their fate, the European festival heads will share how they are coping with the shutdown, as well as reflecting on lessons learned from this unprecedented crisis.

Looking to the future, the panellists will also explore what recovery may look like for the vital summer sector in this not-to-be-missed virtual discussion.

The session is taking place on Thursday 14 at 4 p.m. BST/ 5 p.m. CET. Get an automatic reminder when the live stream starts via Facebook Live or YouTube Live. Or, search for the IQ Magazine page on each platform on the day.

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Thirty-two applicants will each receive between 10,000 and 1.4 million kroner (€1,340–€188,000) from the money earned from Roskilde Festival 2019, the non-profit Danish event has announced.

“In a time in need of new approaches to strengthening social cohesion and sense of community we can take comfort in the younger generation’s commitment and ability to act. It is with great joy and pride that we now announce the donation recipients of our most ambitious open call [for funding] to date, Open Call: Young Voices,” reads a statement from the festival, whose 2020 edition is cancelled.

Among the successful applicants, who were chosen from 296 applications, are:

• Kedelcentralen: A electronic music venue and recording studios which will be the “physical manifestation” of an established dance music community in the city of Roskilde, INSP Sound. It receives 1m kr.
• Re-ACT!: A 24-hour festival for activism and hip-hop culture, organised by the NGO Rapolitics and taking place at Ungdomsøen (Youth Island). Re-ACT receives 500,000 kr.
• Green study trips: Danish green think tank CONCITO, and specifically its initiatives the Climate Embassy and GRO SELV, will be helping students, especially at secondary school-level education, to arrange climate-friendly study trips. CONCITO receives 1.355m kr.

“Unfortunately, there will be no Roskilde Festival in 2020 […] We are, however, working on finding other solutions”

Every year, Roskilde Festival donated all earnings to cultural humanitarian/charity work, with an emphasis on children and young people. Since 1972, the festival has donated more than 420 million kr. (€56.3m) for those purposes.

“Open Call: Young Voices was really an inquiry about what is important for young people and how they connect to the world. We have asked and have been answered,” says Roskilde Festival spokeswoman Christina Bilde. “The idea to earmark, for Roskilde Festival, an unusually large amount for an open call has been fruitful. We see young people who want to be a part of society and are willing to take on great responsibilities, and we see young people helping each other as well as wanting to move art in new directions.

“We do, however, also get a clear picture of the pressure young people of today are facing from a sense of responsibility to, and expectations for, themselves and the world. These are thoughts and feelings we will try to address in the future.

“Unfortunately, there will be no Roskilde Festival in 2020, and thus we are unable to generate earnings to donate to children and young people. We are, however, working on finding other solutions for us to support children and young people’s opportunities. This has always been and will continue to be the purpose of Roskilde Festival.”

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Some of Europe’s biggest independent music festivals have put out an open letter to fans and the business stating that they expect to go ahead with their events this summer, and that in doing so they will “be a crucial part of the survival of this industry”.

Under the heading ‘Festivals Stand United Across Europe’ (#FestivalsStandUnited), events including Roskilde Festival (27 June–4 July), Primavera Sound (3–7 June), Rock en Seine (29 August–1 September), Bilbao BBK Live (9–11 July), Bergenfest (10–13 June), Exit Festival (9–12 July), Melt Festival (17–19 July) and NorthSide (4–6 June), as well festival association Yourope, say they “expect to carry through our festivals this summer”, with all standing “united to make it a safe and sound experience for our participants and the outside world.

“It’s about taking responsibility for the events – and it’s about taking responsibility for the industry we’re part of.”

Many of the signatories’ host countries are currently in lockdown due to coronavirus – Denmark, for example, prohibits gatherings of more than 100 people, with similar restrictions in place in France – but the festivals are optimistic the outbreak will be contained and reversed by the start of the summer season.

The letter says that while the festivals will ultimately follow experts’ medical advice and obey the local authorities, they owe it to the industry’s smaller players and freelancers, who are among the hardest hit by the current downturn, to play their part in the live music food chain.

“By carrying through our festivals this summer, we can be a crucial part of the survival of this industry”

“It’s an industry in which we, as major festivals, are the final part of a food chain where the smaller players – the artists, the venues, sound and light production and many more – are already suffering from the serious situation we are in,” it continues. “They suffer so much that they may not be able to recover if they are not given the opportunity to be a part of festivals like ours.

“By carrying through our festivals this summer, we can be a crucial part of the survival of this industry.

“We owe it to the community, the music, the art and the culture to assume responsibility together.”

Glastonbury aside, Europe has yet to see any major 2020 festival cancellations or postponements, unlike in the US, where Coachella, Bonnaroo and BottleRock are off, and Latin America, where the various Lollapaloozas have been pushed back to later this year.

Read the festivals’ open letter in full here.

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Continuing the series of 2020 line-up announcements, IQ has a look at what Saga Festival, Pitchfork Music Festival and Sea Star Festival have in store, as well as the latest additions to the massive Roskilde and Mad Cool line-ups.

(See the previous edition of Festival Fever here.)

Roskilde

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

Roskilde Festival has completed the line-up for its mammoth 50th anniversary edition, with Kendrick Lamar, the Strokes, Haim and Charli XCX among those joining the bill.

The Roots, DaBaby, Dave, Brittany Howard and Bicep also form part of the 110-strong group of new additions.

The newly announced artists join Taylor Swift, Pusha T, Faith No More, FKA Twigs and Tyler the Creator for the festival’s half-century celebrations.

“With this year’s line-up, we do what we’ve always done: look ahead,” comments Anders Wahrén, the festival’s head of programming.

“It has been important to us that festival number 50 points to the future, and that is why 2020 will feature the lowest average age ever among the headliners. You don’t have to have 20 years of experience to perform on the main stage. That era is over.”

Tickets for Roskilde Festival 2020 are available here, with a full eight-day festival pass costing DDK2250 (£257).

“2020 will feature the lowest average age ever among the headliners”

Saga Festival

When: 5 to 7 June
Where: Izvor Park, Bucharest, Romania

Saga Festival, a new three-day event promoted by electronic music specialists Alda and Insomniac, is debuting in Bucharest this summer.

Tiësto, Marshmello, Disclosure, Faithless, Meduza and Sigala are among more than 150 acts performing across five stages at the festival, with recently announced artists including Timmy Trumpet, Vini Vici, Laidback Luke, Denis Sulta and Zara Larsson.

The festival has partnered with Romanian waste management charity Reciclad’Or and conservation organisation WWF, as part of its commitment to securing a low ‘festival footprint’ and promoting understanding of the issues facing the planet.

Tickets for Saga Festival are available here, with a three-day pass priced at RON299 (£52) and VIP options costing RON699 (£123).

Tiësto, Marshmello, Disclosure, Faithless, Meduza and Sigala are among more than 150 acts performing at the festival

Pitchfork Music Festival

When: 17 to 19 July
Where: Union Park, Chicago, USA
How many: 20,000

YeahYeahYeahs, Run the Jewels and the National are headlining US magazine Pitchfork’s flagship Chicago festival this year, with other performances coming from Angel Olsen, Danny Brown, Phoebe Bridgers and Badbadnotgood.

2020 marks the 15th year of the Chicago edition of Pitchfork Music Festival. A spin-off event has taken place in Paris since 2011, promoted by Parisian booking and events agency Super!, and a German edition is launching this year in Berlin, featuring Lianne La Havas, Celeste and Modeselektor.

Tickets for Pitchfork Music Festival 2020 are available here, with day tickets costing $75 (£58) and a three-day pass priced at $185 (£144).

2020 marks the 15th year of the Chicago edition of Pitchfork Music Festival

Sea Star Festival

When: 22 to 23 May
Where: Stella Maris lagoon, Umag, Croatia
How many: 20,000

The brainchild of the team behind Serbia’s Exit Festival, Sea Star Festival is preparing for its fourth outing this year in the Croatian seaside town of Umag.

Hip-hop group Cypress Hill are topping the bill, which features acts including Amelie Lens, Meduza, Umek, Dubioza Kolektiv and Farrago. A welcome party and closing party will take place on 21 and 24 May respectively.

Sea Star is part of Exit’s extended festival network, consisting of Serbia’s No Sleep Festival, Romania’s Revolution Festival and Montenegro’s Sea Dance Festival.

Exit Festival will see performances by David Guetta, Tyga, Fatboy Slim and James Arthur for its 20th anniversary edition this year.

Tickets for Sea Star Festival 2020 are available here, priced at €39 (£33) for international fans and €30 (£26) for locals. Ticket prices will increase on 6 March.

The brainchild of the team behind Serbia’s Exit Festival, Sea Star Festival is preparing for its fourth outing this year

Mad Cool

When: 8 to 11 July
Where: Espacio Mad Cool, Madrid Spain
How many: 60,000

Live Nation’s Mad Cool festival has a big year ahead, with an extra day of programming for 2020.

Royal Blood and Mumford & Sons are the most recent additions to the extensive line-up, joining previously announced acts Taylor Swift, the Killers, Kings of Leon, Faith No More, Billie Eilish, Twenty One Pilots, Foals and Anderson Paak.

Other acts appearing across the three days include Wolf Alice, Placebo, Jamie Cullum, Major Lazer and Khalid.

Tickets for Mad Cool 2020 are available here, with a four-day pass costing €179 (£153).

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