Mojo Enjoys Summer In Nijmegen

Rob Trommelen believes the weather and the revival of the Dutch festival spirit will provide Mojo with a very successful summer, particularly after the two one-dayers he produces in Nijmegen did what he called "healthy business."

Arrow Rock (June 15) pulled 26,000 and made such an impact that Trommelen is convinced it should now stay on the 35,000-capacity Nijmegen site. It has been staged previously near the German border at Lichtenvoorde and the Lowlands site at Biddinghuizen.

An added advantage is that it can use the same stage and site infrastructure as Rockin’ Park (June 28), which is more mainstream than the heavier Arrow Rock and attracted 27,000 to see a bill that included Lenny Kravitz, Counting Crows, Anouk, Gabriel Rios, Live, Ben Folds and Starsailor.

"It’s not just Nijmegen but our major festivals, Pinkpop and Lowlands, are having their best years for a long time," Trommelen explained.

At the beginning of June, Pinkpop founder Jan Smeets, who co-produces the festival with Mojo, said this year’s event was one of the most successful in the event’s 37-year history, while the 55,000-capacity Lowlands (August 15-17) has sold out in record time.

Pinkpop’s bill included Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kaiser Chiefs, Keane, Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand and Placebo. The Arrow Rock bill included KISS, Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Motorhead, Twisted Sister and Kansas.

The summer certainly looks better for the Mojo festivals than it did three months ago, when Trommelen had to cancel the 40,000-capacity Fields Of Rock Festival because a lack of available acts meant he couldn’t put together a strong enough lineup. Fields Of Rock would have been on the same Biddinghuizen site the company uses for Lowlands.