Roskilde
Read on and believe.
| 10 Jul 2007
In a recent Independent feature, Blur bass-man Alex James declared the Roskilde festival as the best in the world. As someone who's visited most as both artist and patron, his words are as good as gospel. Read on and believe.
The Roskilde festival is often referred to as Denmark's - and indeed mainland Europe's - answer to Glastonbury: an all-encompassing celebration of the arts, with the wealth of live music on show being just one piece, albeit a large one, of the entertainment puzzle. Roskilde 2007 boasts a selection of 170 live acts including more international 'headline' acts than you can shake a big stick act. Alongside UK heavyweights Muse, Arctic Monkeys and the Who, the festival has also persuaded arguably today's biggest US bands the Killers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, My Chemical Romance and the Beastie Boys on to Northern Europe's big one. Add an Icelandic pixie and you've got yourselves the greatest line-up since George Best asked the Brazil '70 squad for a kick around.
Not content with booking the world's big guns, Roskilde also prides itself on championing the Scandinavian scene and this year is no different with Swedish upstarts the Sounds and Mando Diao, and Copenhagen act Nephew leading the charge. Indeed, the majority of the acts announced are of Scandinavian descent, offering the travelling listener the chance to uncover who could be the new Hives.
Roskilde prides itself on its environmental credentials, being the first major festival to carry out an impact assessment in an attempt to identify areas in which resources could be saved. Furthermore, the festival's non-profit ethos enables even the most conscientious of music-lovers to let their (matted) hair down.
Like its aforementioned UK cousin, Roskilde is an arts festival in the truest sense of the word and extends over eight days in total. This includes four 'warm-up' days of theatre, spoken word performances and a whole lot more, this year billed as the 'More Than Music' part of the festival, which precedes the live music days of 5-8 July. Such vibrant beginnings instill a real party atmosphere and serve to whet one's aural appetite, which will surely be satisfied throughout the rest of the festival, cementing Roskilde's reputation as an ultimate entertainment experience.
So there you go, join the Skinny at Northern Europe's biggest and bestest music festival, you'll not be disappointed. (Den)mark my words.
The Roskilde festival is often referred to as Denmark's - and indeed mainland Europe's - answer to Glastonbury: an all-encompassing celebration of the arts, with the wealth of live music on show being just one piece, albeit a large one, of the entertainment puzzle. Roskilde 2007 boasts a selection of 170 live acts including more international 'headline' acts than you can shake a big stick act. Alongside UK heavyweights Muse, Arctic Monkeys and the Who, the festival has also persuaded arguably today's biggest US bands the Killers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, My Chemical Romance and the Beastie Boys on to Northern Europe's big one. Add an Icelandic pixie and you've got yourselves the greatest line-up since George Best asked the Brazil '70 squad for a kick around.
Not content with booking the world's big guns, Roskilde also prides itself on championing the Scandinavian scene and this year is no different with Swedish upstarts the Sounds and Mando Diao, and Copenhagen act Nephew leading the charge. Indeed, the majority of the acts announced are of Scandinavian descent, offering the travelling listener the chance to uncover who could be the new Hives.
Roskilde prides itself on its environmental credentials, being the first major festival to carry out an impact assessment in an attempt to identify areas in which resources could be saved. Furthermore, the festival's non-profit ethos enables even the most conscientious of music-lovers to let their (matted) hair down.
Like its aforementioned UK cousin, Roskilde is an arts festival in the truest sense of the word and extends over eight days in total. This includes four 'warm-up' days of theatre, spoken word performances and a whole lot more, this year billed as the 'More Than Music' part of the festival, which precedes the live music days of 5-8 July. Such vibrant beginnings instill a real party atmosphere and serve to whet one's aural appetite, which will surely be satisfied throughout the rest of the festival, cementing Roskilde's reputation as an ultimate entertainment experience.
So there you go, join the Skinny at Northern Europe's biggest and bestest music festival, you'll not be disappointed. (Den)mark my words.
Roskilde takes place in Sjælland, Denmark between 1 - 8 July.
http://www.roskilde-festival.dk