Roskilde
From June 29, Denmark
Festivals often feel like the beacon of light amid the stormy sea. The hope, the happiness and the faith in humanity that you like to think is always there comes shining through people’s eyes as they dance barefoot in the middle of a field. A calm, a stillness, a tranquillity. A handful of moments that feel pretty magical in amongst it all, as bands wash by. And if you can’t have Glastonbury then Roskilde, especially with the solid-as-a-rock line-up of this year, is a pretty good swap. Drawing the largest international crowd in Europe to see around 200 bands across eight stages
Organised by a non-profit humanitarian organisation, Roskilde is brimming with the good side of life. All its profits are donated to the national and international humanitarian charity and the music is spread like a thick layer of bliss over four days. The festival is actually a 9-day extravaganza of fun, including five warm-up days to flex those party muscles. This year the trademark orange peaks will be rippling with the sounds of triumphant return of the Gossip, the otherworldly hymns of Bjork and the pure grit of the Boss as Springsteen plays with his E-Street band until you’re worn to the bone. As well as performances from The Roots, The Cure, The Shins, Friendly Fires, First Aid Kit, Staff Benda Bilili and Jack White. And if that isn’t enough, you can throw yourself at the skate and BMX park and show them what you got.
