Festival Fever: what to expect from summer 2020
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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Record 350,000 for Exit’s summer of love
Exit welcomed a record number of people to its 2017 festivals, with a combined 350,000 festivalgoers from more than 90 countries attending Sea Star in Croatia, Revolution in Romania, Sea Dance in Montenegro and Exit Festival proper in Serbia.
Exit’s ‘Summer of Love 2017’ – which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the original – kicked off on 25–28 May with Sea Star Festival, a new dance music event in Umag, Croatia, announced in December and headlined by The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim and Paul Kalkbrenner’s Back to the Future. More than 50,000 people attended, having to increase capacity three times to cope with the demand.
The next event, Revolution (1–3 June) in Timisoara, Romania, broke its own attendance record with 20,000 festivalgoers, while Exit itself (5–9 July) welcomed a record 215,000 people to the Petrovaradin fortress in Novi Sad, Serbia. Highlights of Exit Festival included headline sets from The Killers, Liam Gallagher, Years & Years, Hardwell and Rag’n’Bone Man; an opening ceremony that included speeches from motivational speaker Nick Vujicic and the environmental movement Standing Rock; and a performance of iconic ’60s musical Hair.
There will be “another exciting theme” tying together next year’s festivals, says Exit
Summer of Love 2017 wrapped up on the shore of the Adriatic with the fourth Sea Dance Festival on 13, 14 and 15 July, headlined by Fatboy Slim, John Newman and Swan.
Those who wanted to visit more than one festival could invest in what Exit calls the “biggest holiday offer in its history”: The ‘1 ticket = 4 festivals’ deal, which offered early buyers of an Exit festival ticket (priced at €99) complimentary entry to one of the three other events.
There will be “another exciting theme” tying together next year’s festivals, says Exit. Exit Festival 2018 will take place from 12 to 15 July.
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Festival Focus: 6 Music, Lovebox, WayHome, Flow
With the 2017 festival season fast approaching and many events close to finalising this year’s line-ups, we’ve introduced a new, slimmed-down Festival Focus for 2017 to ensure we cover as much news as possible – keeping you abreast of all the latest developments in the festival world with the minimum of waffle.
Read on for all the latest festival announcements (headliners are in bold), or click here for the previous FF. And if we’ve missed something, or you’d like to see your event featured in a future Festival Focus, feel free to drop news editor Jon Chapple a line at [email protected].
6 Music Festival, UK (BBC, 24–26 March 2017)
Depeche Mode, Father John Misty, Belle and Sebastian, Temples, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Goldfrapp, The Lemon Twigs, Ride, Sparks, Cate Le Bon, etc. (Father John Misty photo by Ana Violtti/Side Stage Collective)
Cheltenham Jazz Festival, UK (Cheltenham Festivals, 26 April–1 May 2017)
Gregory Porter, Laura Mvula, Ben Folds and Jamie Cullum, Chick Corea, Booker T. Jones, Jack Savoretti, etc.
Sea Star Festival, Croatia (Exit, 26–27 May 2017)
Fatboy Slim, Paul Kalkbrenner, Modestep, Pendulum, Elemental, Bad Copy, Brkovi, Artan Lili, Jonathan, High5 and Kukus, Kiša metaka, Krankšvester, Matter, Sassja
Roots Picnic, US (Live Nation, 3 June 2017)
Pharrell and The Roots, Lil Wayne, Solange, 21 Savage, Kimbra, etc.
FPSF, US (Free Press Houston, 3–4 June 2017)
Lorde, Flume, G-Eazy, Cage the Elephant, Solange, The Shins, Groulove, Charli XCX, Tove Lo, Carnage, Post Malone, Jon Bellion, Lil Uzi Vert, Jauz, etc.
Pinkpop, Netherlands (Mojo Concerts, 3–5 June 2017)
Justin Bieber (photo by Lou Stejskal)
Lovebox Festival, UK (Mama Festivals, 14–15 July 2017)
Chase & Status, Jamie XX, Jess Glynne, Solange, Annie Mac, Giggs, Andy C, Rag’n’Bone Man, Mac Miller, Seth Troxler, Kurupt FM, etc.
Rock Werchter, Belgium (Live Nation, 29 June–2 July)
Prophets of Rage, The Kills, Crystal Fighters, Kaleo, Warhaus, Benjamin Clementine, Mark Lanegan Band, Mura Masa, Maggie Rogers, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Soulwax, Rae Sremmurd
Colours of Ostrava, Czech Republic (Colour Production, 19–22 July 2017)
Jamiroquai, Imagine Dragons, Norah Jones, alt-J, Birdy, Moderat, LP, Laura Mvula, Benjamin Clementine, Unkle, Booka Shade, Nouvelle Vague, Afro Celt Sound System, etc. (Jamiroquai photo by Eva Rinaldi)
Truck Festival, UK (Global, 21–23 July 2017)
The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, The Vaccines, The Wombats, Slaves, Maxïmo Park, Nothing but Thieves, Loyle Carner, British Sea Power, Twin Atlantic, Jagwar Ma, Mr Motivator, etc.
WayHome Music & Arts Festival, Canada (Republic Live/Fource, 28–30 July 2017)
Frank Ocean, Imagine Dragons, Flume, Justice, Solange, Marshmello, Schoolboy Q, Vance Joy, Tegan and Sara, The Shins, etc.
Boardmasters, UK (SW1 Productions, 9–13 August 2017)
The Flaming Lips, The Vaccines, Stormzy, Frank Turner, Lethal Bizzle, Ziggy Marley, Gordon City, Giggs, Jagwar Ma, Kate Nash, Kurupt FM, etc.
Flow Festival, Finland (Flow Festival Ltd, 11–13 August 2017)
Frank Ocean, Ryan Adams, Moderat, Young Thug, Sampha, Sparks, Car Seat Headrest, which was originally born as a solo vehicle for frontman Will Toledo, Larry Heard, Model 500, Princess Nokia, Oranssi Pazuzu, Töölön Ketterä, Mikko Joensuu, Pykäri and Ahjo Ensemble, Litku Klemetti, The Holy, Vesta (Frank Ocean photo by Per Ole Hagen/NRK)
Appelsap Fresh Music Festival, Netherlands (Applesap, 12 August 2017)
Lil Wayne, Dave, Kempi, Yung Nnelg, 67, Jarreau Vandal, Siobhan Bell, Vic Crezée, etc.
Lowlands, Netherlands (Mojo Concerts, 18–20 August 2017)
Bastille, London Grammar, Cypress Hill, Michael Kiwanuka, Architects, Billy Talent, Future Islands, Glass Animals, Nina Kraviz, Robert Hood, Talaboman, Baloji, Denzel Curry, Palace, Shame, SMIB
Summer Sonic, Japan (Creativeman, 19–20 August 2017)
Calvin Harris, Liam Gallagher, 5 Seconds of Summer, Charli XCX, Justice, Kesha, Phoenix, Royal Blood, Sum 41, Circa Waves, Good Charlotte, G-Eazy, New Found Glory, etc.
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Exit launches Croatian festival Sea Star
Serbia’s Exit will launch its first event in Croatia in 2017, headlined by The Prodigy.
Beach festival Sea Star will run from 26 to 27 May at the Stella Maris resort in Umag, joining Exit festival proper, Revolution in Romania and Sea Dance in Montenegro in the promoter’s festival portfolio. Local acts Dubioza kolektiv and Urban&4 will also perform, with more acts due to be announced nearer the time.
The festival will kick off Exit’s ‘Summer of Love 2017’, celebrating 50 years since the original in 1967, a theme that will run across all four events.
‘1 ticket = 4 festivals’ offers early buyers of an Exit festival ticket complimentary entry to one of its three other events
To tie them together, Exit has introduced the “biggest holiday offer in its history”: Dubbed ‘1 ticket = 4 festivals’, the deal offers early buyers of an Exit festival ticket (priced at €99) complimentary entry to one of the three other events. Registration opens 1 February.
The first Croatia Music Event was held in London in June, with panellists concluding a lack of beds and direct flights is hurting the Croatian festival scene. “Currently the travel options into Croatia are still limited, as are the accommodation options once in the country,” said Hideout Festival’s Mark Newton. “It is still a struggle for UK customers to find affordable flights into the country – something that can only change with support from the top.”
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