Features
UK/Euro Lineups: Core Launch, Stormzy’s APE Lineup & More
Countless festivals unveiled more of their respective lineups this week. Here’s a roundup from Europe and the UK.
UK
3rd Rock Oyster
Rock Oyster returns for its third edition on the banks of the Camel Estuary on coast of Cornwall, England, July 27-30.
Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Sophie Ellis Bextor, and Groove Armada are headlining. They’re joined by The Big Moon, Mercury prize nominated Gwenno, Huey Morgan (DJ Set), Isaac Gracie, Jo Hill, Land of the Giants, The Royston Club, Pattern Pusher, The Scribes, and many more.
For the first time, Rock Oyster will feature a newcomer stage called The Howl, as well as a huge new “Wild-West themed, folksy and rootsy area,” where campers can unwind away from the bustle of the Oyster main stage.
Festival director Lee Bater commented, “After the phenomenal success of the last two years, Rock Oyster is now firmly established as Cornwall’s destination food and music festival.” He was referring to “mouth-watering food from Michelin-starred chefs to creative kitchen wizards,” which has formed a core aspect of Rock Oyster since its inception.
Tickets are on sale. Rock Oyster tickets are also available to purchase via deposit scheme, allowing customers to secure a ticket for just £20 (and booking fee) and pay the balance before midnight on 1st June 2023.
Valley Fest Full Program
Valley Fest at the Chew Valley Lake in Somerset, close to Bristol, England, has announced its full program. The family-friendly festival will be headlined by The Kooks, Bananarama, and Scouting for Girls, Aug. 3-6.
Also on the bill: DJ Flight, Ishmael Ensemble, Ibibio Sound Machine, Bibi Tanga & The Selenites, Honeyfeet, and more, with one “very special act” still to be announced, according to promoters.
Just like with the previously mentioned Rock Oyster, food plays a central role in Valley Fest’s programming. The menu includes feasts, cooking over fire and plenty of demonstrations “from much-loved regional chefs and beyond.”
Festival founder Luke Hasell commented, “Guaranteed good times ahead! Families, you’ll find something for your toddlers, teens, parents and grandparents! Everyone needs to get on my land!”
Weekend tickets for Valley Fest start at £175 ($216), plus booking fee.
Three New Stages For Junction 2
The 2023 edition of Junction 2 at Boston Manor Park, London, comes with a “renewed focus on sound, lighting and production,” as well as three new stages, according to the promoters.
The Grid will feature “revolutionary technology that sets the bar for groundbreaking lighting, sound, and production,” Quad is an “open-air space defined by four production towers, and Blackout is described as “a stage designed to transcend the conventional limits of daylight festivals, offers an entrancing rave experience that transports attendees to an alternate place. This innovative space boasts intelligent lighting, a colossal soundsystem, and some of the hardest-hitting DJs of the weekend.”
That’s in addition to The Bridge and Woods stages, which return in 2023, when Junction 2 goes down July 21-22. The lineup includes Underworld (Live), Adam Beyer & Cirez D, Dixon, DJ Stingray 313 B2B Objekt, Dax J, Jeff Mills, Charlotte de Witte, Nina Kraviz, and many more.
Ticket infos aren’t available yet, but fans of Junction 2 can sign up here.
Truck Adds Names
Truck Festival already announced its headliners Two Door Cinema Club, Alt-J, Royal Blood, and The Wombats (Thursday headliner), who will perform at Hill Farm, Oxfordshire, England, July 21-23.
Among the latest names added to the bill are indie rockers The Reytons, the UK’s 2023 Eurovision entry Mae Muller, Gengahr, English Teacher, Chappaqua Wrestling, and more.
Truck 2023 also sees the return of its Palm City stage, curated by local Oxfordshire promoters Switch, and focused on electronic beats. This year’s DJ sets will come from jungle and drum ‘n’ bass experts SHY FX & Dread MC, reggae aficionado David Rodgian, and soulful drum ‘n’ bass duo Hybrid Minds, alongside Tempza. They’ll be joined by Charlie Tee, Solah & Emma B, Chimpo, Oppidan, Kara, and Matt Fluid across the weekend.
Festival manager Lily Brimble commented, “It feels surreal that we are just under four months away from being back in the fields at Truck 2023, and we couldn’t be more excited to be bringing a lineup packed with the most talked-about bands and artists into one place – perfect for fans to discover their favourite new artists and celebrate those soundtracking the here and now!”
A limited number of final-tier tickets, priced at £160 ($197), plus booking fees, are on sale.
BST: Guns N’ Roses Announce Guests
British Summer Time Hyde Park promoter AEG Presents has unveiled the artists, who will be supporting Guns N’ Roses on Friday, June 30.
The Pretenders, The Darkness, and multi-instrumentalist sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, better known as Larkin Poe, will join one of the most influential U.S. rock bands on stage.
Also confirmed for American Express presents BST Hyde Park: P!nk (June 24-25), Take That (July 1), Blackpink (July 2) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (July 6+8), and Billy Joel (July 7).
Various ticket types are on sale.
Stormzy’s APE Lineup
As previously reported, Stormzy will curate an entire day at this year’s All Points East Festival in London’s Victoria Park, Aug. 18.
That day, officially dubbed “This Is What We Mean Day,” Stormzy will be supported on stage by Kehlani, Sampha, Knucks, Lucky Daye, WSTRN, Ms Banks, and The No Signal Stage, with more acts still to be announced.
As Stormzy explained in the initial announcement video for “This Is What We Mean Day”: “I was thinking what’s next, cos we’ve done three O2s, shut that down. I said to the team, we gotta do something bigger, something better, something different. We were having back to back meetings, bouncing ideas. Then it hit me, I started jotting down ideas thinking – live band, need a live band. August 2023, a summer time thing, outside, for the people, always for my people. So August 2023, Victoria Park…This Is What We Mean Day. Hard.”
Tickets for All Points East, which runs across ten days in total, including the free week of entertainment in-between both weekends, are on sale.
See: Stormzy Takes Over All Points East 2023
Core Launches In Glasgow
Core is a new Scottish music festival dedicated to heavy music, taking place in Glasgow, Aug. 8-20, 2023.
Housed across Glasgow’s Maryhill Community Central Halls, nearby basement institution The Hug and Pint, Core will welcome over 30 bands from across the expansive worlds of metal, punk, hardcore and beyond, according to the launch press release.
The first wave of acts joining the festival debut includes “San Francisco Alt Metal titans Deafheaven, Oklahoma city doombringers Chat Pile and UK Prog/Grind mainstays Rolo Tomassi. Elsewhere, transatlantic mathcore crew Frontierer bring the sonic punishment alongside Cumgirl8, Year Of No Light, Cloud Rat, DEIJUVHS and many more across three days.”
There will also be a heavy homegrown presence at Core, with appearances from Scottish heavyweights Party Cannon, fast-rising locals Piss Bath, Moni Jitchell, and Headcleaner.
Core festival co-founder and organiser David Weaver commented, “Scotland has such a thriving and diverse alternative music scene. From old school thrash metal, to queer punk, to industrial noise, there are some amazing scenes in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and beyond. On top of that, touring bands often mention Scottish crowds as being some of their favourite in the world. We wanted to bring both things together – an opportunity to bring some of the most exciting heavy acts in the world to Glasgow, and a chance to showcase some of the best DIY and underground bands and scenes that Scotland has to offer.”
Early bird three-day admission tickets at £118.12 ($146), including feeds, are on sale.
Belgium
Graspop Metal Meeting Completes Lineup
Speaking of metal: the Graspop Metal Meeting just completed the lineup for its 26th edition, June 15-18, in Dessel, Belgium.
Graspop Metal Meeting 2023 is headlined by Guns N’ Roses, Slipknot, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Disturbed, Gojira, Machine Head, with a vast lineup of the best and brightest in hard rock music joining: Ghost, Alter Bridge, Papa Roach, Arch Enemy, Tom Morello, Amon Amarth, Behemoth, In Flames, Rancid, Hailstorm, Hollywood Vampires, Kreator, and many more.
One of the finest classical voices in Belgium, Helmut Lotti, is presenting his new project, “Hellmut Lotti Goes Metal.” For the first time in his career, Lotti will share his long-held passion for metal with a live audience.
Various ticket categories are on sale now.
Denmark
Roskilde Complete
With the addition of Lizzo, Latto, Loyle Carner, Rokia Koné, and more than 100 other names, Roskilde Festival has completed its lineup for the 2023 edition, June 24–July 1.
They join previously announced Kendrick Lamar, Blur, Lil Nas X, Christine & the Queens, Burna Boy, Caroline Polachek, Busta Rhymes, Queens of the Stone Age, Rosalía, and many, many more.
The festival’s head of program Anders Wahrén said Lizzo was the perfect headliner to close out the festival on the Saturday. “There’s a spiritual connection between her ultimate empowerment show and all the angles and nuances throughout our lineup, which is known to be world-class and always exceeds expectations,” he said.
The Roskilde presale with a variety of ticket categories has launched.
See: Roskilde Festival Team Awarded For Lifetime Achievement
Tinderbox Complete
With the addition of two Danish singers, Oh Land and Stine Bramsen, Tinderbox in Odense has completed its 2023-lineup, June 22-24.
This year, the festival has announced headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers, Maroon 5, Black Eyed Peas, as well as Armin van Buuren on the electronic stage dubbed Magicbox.
Also on the Tinderbox 2023 bill: George Ezra, Dean Lewis, Lukas Graham, Mimi Webb, Cat Burns, Gogol Bordello, bbno$, Dylan, Oliver Malcolm and more.
CEO Brian Nielsen said, |Last year, we broke records at Tinderbox, and we’ve tried our very best to give back to our loyal guests by chasing some of the world’s biggest acts.”
Tickets are on sale, starting at DKK 1,395 ($203) for a day ticket up to DKK 2,495 ($364) for a three-day ticket. VIP offers are available, too, prices will be increased in price come April 11.
Northside Adds Little Simz
And a third Danish festival has completed its lineup with the addition of Little Simz: Northside in Aarhus, June 1-2.
Northside booker Nikoline Skaarup, who’s part of the booking group at NorthSide, said, “We’ve been looking forward so much to revealing Little Simz as our last addition to the lineup. She’s one of the most celebrated international artists right now – and with very good reason! Her songwriting is just out of this world and combined with her original and innovative approach to her field, she’s in the process of writing a very important piece of hip hop history.”
Little Simz joins a lineup that also includes Muse, The Chemical Brothers, NxWorries (feat. Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge), Lukas Graham, The 1975, First Aid Kit, Sam Fender, LP, Yemi Alade, and Pusha T.
Tickets for Northside 2023 are on sale, a price increase will be implemented April 3. A three day tickets currently goes for DKK 2,395 ($350).
Showcase Special
TGE Adds 140 Names
The lineup for this year’s The Great Escape, which returns to Brighton, England, May 10-13, just got bigger.
140 new artists have been added to this year’s event, featuring some of the best emerging names in music, including Yonaka, Moonchild Sanelly, The Goa Express, Coach Party, Vlure, Sprints and many more.
They will be joining the likes of The Pretenders, The Murder Capital, Caity Baser, Lime Garden, Mae Stephens, Hak Baker, The Last Dinner Party, I. Jordan, and a huge list of other exciting act.
As usual, TGE comes with a four-day conference, running May 10-13 at the Leonardo Royal Brighton Waterfront hotel in Brighton. The lineup of speakers includes Alex Lee Thomson (Green House Group), Bridget Whyte (Music Mark), Eric Mackay (imbr), and Roisin O’Connor (The Independent).
Delegates and festival passes, as well as accommodation options, are available now.
Focus Wales
Another showcase festival, Focus Wales, May 4-6 in Wrexham, has unveiled its first 100 names.
Among the new names are acclaimed Canadian singer songwriter Georgia Harmer, lo-fi indie folk artist Rona Mac, Midlands band The Silver Lines, cinematic pop from British Columbia in the form of Mauvey, and the psych-rock outfit Dactyl Terra, who won the 2022 Green Man Rising competition.
Also new on the Focus Wales bill for 2023: Atay & Jax, Banshi, Clara Day, Colonel Dax, Culture Vultures, Dives, Groom The Giant, Kip, Macy, Martyn Peters, Midnight Ambulance, Mirari, Morgan Elwy A’r Band, Rona Mac, and many more.
Overall, Focus Wales 2023 is set to welcome artists from dozens of countries from across the globe, incl. Australia, Austria, Balearics, Belgium, Canada, Catalonia, England, France, Guinea, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, The Netherlands, Ukraine and the USA.
The early 500 international industry professionals due to attend the 2023 festival, include Pollstar Impact International 2022 honoree Cindy Castillo (Mad Cool Festival, Spain), Jean-Louis Brossard (Trans Musicales, France), Ralf Niemczyk (Rolling Stone, Germany), Andrea Caswell (MMF Canada), Mark Davyd (Music Venue Trust).
Tickets on sale here.