UK/Euro Lineups: Bieber At Sziget, Harris At EXIT, Lorde At Lolla Stockholm, New AEG Fest & More

EXIT Festival has unveiled the first 60-plus acts to perform at Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, Serbia, where this year’s edition will go down July 7-10.

Joining the already announced Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Boris Brejcha, are some big names with Calvin Harris leading the way. James Arthur, Joel Corry, Jax Jones, Masked Wolf, ZHU, Honey Dijon, Maceo Plex, Reinier Zonneveld (live) have also confirmed, and organizers stated that a lot more are to follow.

When the gates finally open in July, more than 1,000 artists are set to play EXIT 2022 across more than 40 stages and festival zones, including the legendary Dance Arena.

Dušan Kovacevic, EXIT founder and CEO, said, “The fact that we successfully organized the first major festival in the world after the pandemic gives us great confidence and optimism for 2022. Last year’s edition also gave us a huge boost in terms of visitors and media, so we decided to further raise the level of line-up and to offer audiences around the world one of our strongest and most diverse editions ever.”

Calvin Harris will also perform at Sziget 2022, which returns to its familiar home, the Island of Freedom on the Danube river in Budapest, Hungary, Aug. 10-15.

The festival’s promoters just announced Justin Bieber as another headliner, alongside lineup additions  Anne-Marie, Tame Impala, Sam Fender, Milky Chance, Tourist, Folamour, Steve Aoki, Nina Kraviz und Kölsch.

They join already announced Dua Lipa, Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon, Lewis Capaldi, Stromae, Bastille, Sam Fender, BadBadNotGood, Fontaines D.C., Holly Humberstone and many more.

Aside from hosting the world’s biggest artist, Sziget is also known for its extensive fringe program, which includes world music, comedy, workshops, art installations and other performances.

At the last two editions in 2019 and 2018, promoter’s counted more than half a million guests entering the gates of Sziget during one week. Early bird tickets are sold out. A limited phase one presale is currently underway, three-day tickets go for €195, six-day-tickets for €290. Prices will be increased on March 1.

Y Not Festival in England has been forced to delay its 15th anniversary party for two year. Promoters intend to rectify this situation this year, July 29-31 with a lineup that includes newly added The Kooks, Jake Bugg, Amy Macdonald, The Hunna, Kelis, Lucy Spraggan, and more.

They join Stereophonics, Courteeners, Blossoms, Manic Street Preachers, Nothing But Thieves, The Vaccines, The Levellers, We Are Scientists, singer-songwriter Dodie, alternative rock duo Blood Red Shoes, Mercury Prize nominee SOAK, Brummie rockers Jaws and many more. 

New talent featured on Y Not’s BBC Introducing stage includes The Chase, Alpaca Factory, Babe Punch, Shadows Of A Silhouette, Clear Vinyl, The Public Eye, Cucamaras, Marty and Vona Vella.

Bristol, England, has a new festival. It’s called Forwards and is promoted by AEG Presents and Bristol-based event experts Team Love. None other than Chemical Brothers and Jamie XX will headline the premiere, Sept. 3-4, which will take place on Clifton Downs.

Also confirmed are Little Simz, Caribou, Kae Tempest, Fred Again, Sleaford Mods, Róisín Murphy and more. The first edition of Forwards will host 60,000 visitors.

The Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland, will host DF Concerts newest event, Connect Music Festival, Aug. 26-28.

Connect is an entirely new festival experience but retains many of the qualities and ethos of its namesake from 2007 and 2008. The first line-up announcement just came in. 

It features Massive Attack, The Chemical Brothers, and The National set to headline, joined by Mogwai, Little Simz, Self Esteem, Jon Hopkins, Black Coffee, Bonobo, Bombay Bicycle Club, John Grant, LOW and Idlewild and many more. The general sale starts Friday, Feb. 25.

DF Concerts & Events CEO, Geoff Ellis, said, “During initial planning discussions around the relaunch of Connect, we realized that we had to make some changes and to remaster the original pestival proposition for today’s audiences.

“One of the biggest considerations we had was around public transport and ensuring the event was accessible to festivalgoers from across the country. The Royal Highland Centre provides a purpose-built event site that is readily accessible by public transport for each of the three days. This not only makes it easy for festival goers to attend but hugely supports our ambition to deliver a more sustainable festival now and into the future.”

  

Festival manager Katt Lingard described The Royal Highland Centre, “one of the biggest attractions of our new home, is the site’s permanent infrastructure and existing facilities. These play a crucial role in realizing our sustainability ambitions for the festival.

 

“Although we are still very much in the planning stages, Connect’s audience will be at the heart of both its content and design. We are so excited to welcome our guests, showing them everything that Connect has to offer – from incredible artists and entertainment to our focus on wellness and the arts, all served alongside a fabulous range food and drink.”

Splendour Festival in Nottingham, England, will expand in 2022 to include a second day and announcing its first acts, who will take the stage July 23-24.

They include Richard Ashcroft, Anne-Marie, Supergrass, Craig David presents TS5, The Human League, Razorlight, The Vamps, Ocean Colour Scene, Happy Mondays, and Belinda Carlisle.

Also confirmed are Tori Sheard, Jerub, The Selecter, Melanie C, and Beka, with more acts to be announced.

Splendour is DHP Family’s festival. Company MD George Akins said, “We’ve really missed Splendour Festival for the last two years, so the anticipation to get back out to Wollaton Park is massive. Our whole team is incredibly excited about the line-up but more than anything, we’re all excited about being back at festivals, delivering a fantastic event for the people of Nottingham and making sure everyone there has a great time.”

DHP Family director of live, Anton Lockwood, added, “We’re really happy to be taking Splendour into a second day after going two years without a festival. We’re very pleased to have kept so many artists from what would have been our 2020 line-up on the bill, and are delighted to add loads of additional names to give those who have kept hold of their tickets something new to get excited for!”

Weekend tickets are £85 for adults, with day tickets priced at £56. Accompanied children aged 10 and under go free, and Nottingham City residents are eligible for a discount. VIP options are also available across all ticket types.

Sundown Festival in Norwich, England, which takes place Sept. 2-4, just completed its 2022 lineup, which is headlined by AJ Tracey and Sean Paul.

Aside from the two headliners, the main stage at Sundown will also host Digga D, Jonas Blue, Ms Banks, Sigala, Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Wes Nelson, Miraa May, House Gospel Choir, A1xj1, andd more. DJs and live sets will come from Andy C, Charlie Sloth, Dj Ez, Franky Wah, among others.

General tickets go on sale on Friday, Feb. 25, including Premium Camping & VIP packages. A limited number of VIP & Premium Camping packages will be available starting from £215. Weekend camping tickets will be available from £135 plus fees, and payment plans are available from £27 plus booking fee/month.

Two-time Grammy and BRIT Award nominee Lorde will join a stellar lineup at Lollapalooza Stockholm, scheduled to go down in the Swedish capital July 1-3.

Pearl Jam, Post Malone, Veronica Maggio, Imagine Dragons, The Killers, Alesso, Måneskin, Nina Kraviz, Glass Animals, Goldlink, Lewis Capaldi, Idles, Haim, Biffy Clyro, Dillon Francis, Sigrid and many more were previously confirmed.

According to promoter Live Nation Sweden, “several ticket categories are approaching sell-out.”

Cruîlla 2022 takes place at Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain, July 6-9, returning to its four-day format established in 2019. 

Joining previously announced Residente, Hot Chip, Zahara, Bloody Beetroots, Rozalén, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Buhos and Sofi Tukker, are 21 new names. They include Jack White and Duran Duran.

Rubén Blades will bring his Salswing show with Roberto Delgado and Orchestra to Barcelona, “the first and only opportunity to see this show in Europe,” according to Cruïlla’s promoters. Joining this reference of Latin music is the king of bachata and merengue Juan Luis Guerra.

“Cruïlla will be the first time that Rubén Blades and Juan Luis Guerra will perform at the same European festival, a very special occasion that rounds off the performance – already announced – of Residente on Thursday, July 7,” a promoter statement reads.

 

After a two year hiatus, Kala announced its return to the stunning beaches of  Dhërmi on the Albanian Riviera, June 8-15.

Kala premiered in 2018, offering a combination of beach holiday and music festival, all included in the ticket.

Now entering its fifth year, with two editions postponed due to COVID, the third Kala intends to continue were it left off: with quality music, blissful beach days, and an intimate festival atmosphere for some 3,000 guests. 

The 2022 lineup features live shows from Jocelyn Brown, 808 state, Nu Genea, Kokoroko, London Afrobeat Collective, Gigi Masin, Jessy Lanza and more. DJ Harvey, Palms Trax, Avalon Emerson, and Young Marco will deliver 5-hour DJ sets. A Night in Detroit featuring Mark Flash + John Collins + D3 Live + DJ 3000 are listed as special guests, plus a long list of DJs performing regular sets. 

Juan Lopez, Kala’s head of marketing, commented, “Kala’s intimate atmosphere lends itself to be the perfect place to connect with people and it has become a bit of a family reunion over the years. We have definitely missed this during these past two years and we look forward to welcoming old and new friends to the stunning beaches of Dhërmi this June. 

We are very proud of the line-up, there are a few names in there we have been trying to invite for a long time and we cannot wait to enjoy another magical week of music by the sea. Oh, and we have a few more surprises up our sleeve that will be announced soon!”

Tickets start at £337 per person for a 7-day stay, including accommodation and festival wristband. A limited number of tickets will be released on March 1.