VCF

Maybe Béziers? A flight from Manchester is 54 euro on May 31 and the train to Barcelona the next day is currently 40-50 euros so you might save a bit (depending on the accommodation). Or a flight from Brussels is always very cheap (currently 25-30 euros on May 30/31 and June 1st) but I don’t know how much the train from Manchester to London and then the Eurostar would cost you. At least most of the flights from Brussels are in the evening so you could do that in one day.

Timetable Nick Cave 22H00 - 0H30 Placebo 19H45 - 21H00 The Smile 17H35 - 18H50 Courtney Barnett 15H50 - 16H50 Sleaford Mods 14H20 - 15H10 Whispering Sons 13H00 - 13H45 TW Classic lineup is not for me, but really strong for a day event. But given the actual RW line-up and the relative struggle on the undercard, doesn't that raise more than ever the question of whether Werchter has too many events, and with the new festivals coming in 2022 (Live is Live, CORE), whether Belgium might have way too many festivals?

Main Stage and the Slope never operate at the same time. Same for The Barn and Klub C. Once an act finishes in one tent, an other begins his set in the other tent. Good overview here: https://clashfinder.com/m/rw2019/

And I feel like the Friday doesn't help either. I like 6-7 acts but something bothers me on that day, and I find the fact that there are barely any women to be shocking. I'm not the one pushing as much as Primavera did, but I count 4 women among 23 acts... At least Thursday and Sunday are solid!

Thanks for the input as always! Of course we're not aware of what's happening behind the scenes (even more in these difficult times) so I'm not saying the festival was lazy per se, it's just how it's perceived with QOTSA's situation and the communication around it. Good to see that a bigger Barn name may be on the cards on Thursday. I'm not really expecting The Smile to play against Pearl Jam though (and I assume Anne Marie would have been the Barn headliner that day then?). BTW as you're talking about major changes in the near future. Do you know whether CHVRCHES may be one of those cancellations? I know they're quite cautious with their tour, they recently cancelled a German festival to play Bonnaroo and... Mad Cool is their only EU date left.

IMO the obvious replacement would have been Liam Gallagher, where is he by the way? Playing Pukkelpop (touring end of August)? Live is Live (only available on the Sunday, but Duran Duran is headlining)? TW Classic 2 (don't remember the date)? Or simply no Belgian festival date?

They may get into trouble some weeks prior to the festival, but at least they proved you can put together a great lineup with all the acts that are (for now) planning to tour this summer. Mad Cool may not have replaced FNM, yet the line-up that day is excellent. Anyway my main criticism regarding RW's laziness was on QOTSA. I actually think Anne Marie is not that bad of a replacement for FNM at RW and feels less out-of-place on that Saturday Main Stage. We'll see how Mad Cool will deal with the QOTSA situation, as Muse would be the only headliner left that day. I'm not "praising Mad Cool so much" by the way, I'm well aware of all the slack they often get regarding their PR and dealing with agents. But if Mad Cool (and Primavera, and probably Glastonbury) was able to provide such a quality line-up in the COVID era, why should we expect a weaker festival from Rock Werchter? I mean we're not in the same situation as last summer when Pukkelpop was the only EU festival planned. At this time, I was expecting and accepting a weaker festival. Not this summer when acts are planning to be on tour and some festivals are delivering. So yes, I was expecting more from one of the best festivals in the world.

But that's just not the case when you look at Primavera or Mad Cool. I would get the argument of uncertainty some weeks prior to the festival, but not 5 months before when you have time to manage the cancellations. It just feels lazy here, and the way it's been announced (in QOTSA's case) doesn't help at all. 7 acts are announced for the main stage, so probably not. Unless they put one of the main stage acts (IDLES?) in a tent at the last minute? Which seems unlikely.

Looking closely on the day and stage splits, I find the Thursday to be a really strong day. Fresh, diverse, potential clashes and covers a lot of genres. Gang of Youths > Fontaines D.C. > HAIM > Carly Rae Jepsen > First Aid Kit > The War On Drugs > Lianne La Havas/Barn headliner? But again, I'm not sure I would pay 125 euros for a single festival day... I think it's still missing a Barn headliner against Pearl Jam, and someone like Lorde might urge me to make the move.

I forgot about the day tickets, thanks! That would even be a good alternative to book something like 3 festival days + a day off in Madrid, but when I look at the poster there are always at least 4-5 bands for my taste per day...

But Mad Cool is now completely sold out right? Even the 3-day tickets? They share a lot of headliners, most of them I'm not fussed about, but at least they managed to cover them with a crazy undercard. I don't know whether I'm asking too much but I just feel like RW failed in that regard. Look at the 2019 edition for instance. IIRC the lineup wasn't very well received with that half Thursday and the Sunday main stage (hi Greta), but the tents were just stacked with exciting names. I don't know, this year just feels... empty. There are obviously some great names here and there, but something is missing. Again we're in a COVID era and putting a festival together may not be the easiest thing, but other festivals managed to do so brilliantly.

I have no idea. I'll be honest I don't even know him (I'm not his target audience though). A lot of positive reactions on social media while I really feel like it's below average for RW standards. I'm not asking for the craziness of Mad Cool/Primavera line ups, but after two years without festivals, I was expecting... a lot more. And that communication around QOTSA and Greta taking their spot is a disaster. I mean we are talking of a sub here.

I assume one name is missing in the Barn on Thursday. Please be Lorde at least. THU : 1 Barn, 1 Klub C FRI : 2 Klub C SAT : 1 Klub C SUN : seems complete

That is... very disappointing.

I didn't catch that, but I'm not sure they would do Stockholm > Oslo > RW > Stockholm though. I'm also hoping for Lorde to show up in Belgium. Still no dates in July.

Sadly no, they’re playing Boston Calling on the 28th.

Wolf Alice opening for Harry Styles in July with an Antwerp date on the 7th. There is still a gap for Werchter on Sat/Sun but I can't see them playing Belgium twice in 4 days? A real shame given they also had to postpone their EU tour to November.

They're definitely coming to Belgium in June/July. But King Baudouin Stadium I assume.