Rock Werchter 2020

[Jazebel]

15 minutes ago, xydroh said:

I think some people are really expecting too much. Remember last year ... It will save you guys a lot of disappointment

Exactly. People used to Belgian festival line-ups throughout the years are spoiled as fuck.

SOAD and Volbeat will prove to be a solid pair of headliners (with a sub for the both of 'em probably announced soon). No need for a closing headliner after SOAD there. And it's definitely time to start forgetting about RHCP and Foo Fighters. And a big sub on the PJ day (like Tame Impala or something).

Friday is supposed to get another sub or headliner though, which is proving to be very hard to find. Bunch of things ruled out already. No Lana anymore, either.

Always remember many options do fall through every year. The ideal line-up is what they start from every year. Sometimes option D is what they have to settle for due to all kinds of circumstances.

[EV123]

29 minutes ago, Jazebel said:

Exactly. People used to Belgian festival line-ups throughout the years are spoiled as fuck.

SOAD and Volbeat will prove to be a solid pair of headliners (with a sub for the both of 'em probably announced soon). No need for a closing headliner after SOAD there. And it's definitely time to start forgetting about RHCP and Foo Fighters. And a big sub on the PJ day (like Tame Impala or something).

Friday is supposed to get another sub or headliner though, which is proving to be very hard to find. Bunch of things ruled out already. No Lana anymore, either.

Always remember many options do fall through every year. The ideal line-up is what they start from every year. Sometimes option D is what they have to settle for due to all kinds of circumstances.

No Lana or Tame Impala is dissapointing. I hope that Lana will at least play one show in Belgium with her last album.

So, we'll probably end up with some sort of plan b like KOL or Editors on that Friday. 

SOAD as festival's closing feels very weird. 

[Aech]

31 minutes ago, Jazebel said:

Exactly. People used to Belgian festival line-ups throughout the years are spoiled as fuck.

SOAD and Volbeat will prove to be a solid pair of headliners (with a sub for the both of 'em probably announced soon). No need for a closing headliner after SOAD there. And it's definitely time to start forgetting about RHCP and Foo Fighters. And a big sub on the PJ day (like Tame Impala or something).

Friday is supposed to get another sub or headliner though, which is proving to be very hard to find. Bunch of things ruled out already. No Lana anymore, either.

Always remember many options do fall through every year. The ideal line-up is what they start from every year. Sometimes option D is what they have to settle for due to all kinds of circumstances.

I'm probably out then if we have no Tame Impala, FF or RHCP. Will make my way to Pinkpop or elsewhere.

[Warriorandweirdo]

1 hour ago, Jazebel said:

Exactly. People used to Belgian festival line-ups throughout the years are spoiled as fuck.

SOAD and Volbeat will prove to be a solid pair of headliners (with a sub for the both of 'em probably announced soon). No need for a closing headliner after SOAD there. And it's definitely time to start forgetting about RHCP and Foo Fighters. And a big sub on the PJ day (like Tame Impala or something).

Friday is supposed to get another sub or headliner though, which is proving to be very hard to find. Bunch of things ruled out already. No Lana anymore, either.

Always remember many options do fall through every year. The ideal line-up is what they start from every year. Sometimes option D is what they have to settle for due to all kinds of circumstances.

Bit odd then to announce Volbeat with 11 other names, when they're a headliner.

[polnico]

1 hour ago, Jazebel said:

Exactly. People used to Belgian festival line-ups throughout the years are spoiled as fuck.

SOAD and Volbeat will prove to be a solid pair of headliners (with a sub for the both of 'em probably announced soon). No need for a closing headliner after SOAD there. And it's definitely time to start forgetting about RHCP and Foo Fighters. And a big sub on the PJ day (like Tame Impala or something).

Friday is supposed to get another sub or headliner though, which is proving to be very hard to find. Bunch of things ruled out already. No Lana anymore, either.

Always remember many options do fall through every year. The ideal line-up is what they start from every year. Sometimes option D is what they have to settle for due to all kinds of circumstances.

Thanks for the insight, and it's true that we're getting greedier as the years go by haha! This line-up is already more than stacked, and I am super excited for RW 2020 !

[Karlos12345]

1 hour ago, Jazebel said:

Exactly. People used to Belgian festival line-ups throughout the years are spoiled as fuck.

SOAD and Volbeat will prove to be a solid pair of headliners (with a sub for the both of 'em probably announced soon). No need for a closing headliner after SOAD there. And it's definitely time to start forgetting about RHCP and Foo Fighters. And a big sub on the PJ day (like Tame Impala or something).

Friday is supposed to get another sub or headliner though, which is proving to be very hard to find. Bunch of things ruled out already. No Lana anymore, either.

Always remember many options do fall through every year. The ideal line-up is what they start from every year. Sometimes option D is what they have to settle for due to all kinds of circumstances.

Thanks! Do you know whether RHCP cancelled options due to their change of their guitarist? So is this it for the year for them?

I‘d be interesting to know whether the scheduled and announced dates were originally planned without Frusciante or not and if they are just sticking to their commitments.

[misterplow]

Ok, this is weak. 😐

Was hovering above the 'buy tickets' button when they announced Strokes (and some very nice names prior to this announcement), but today's names are very 'eh'. Meute is fun, Anderson Paak is nice and Beck is a hero (not a loser at all!), but man is that sunday looking shocking. Volbeat must be the single blandest rock band in existence.

I think I'll wait for another week to decide.

Edited January 24, 2020 by misterplow

[Judithmt]

13 hours ago, Jazebel said:

Exactly. People used to Belgian festival line-ups throughout the years are spoiled as fuck.

SOAD and Volbeat will prove to be a solid pair of headliners (with a sub for the both of 'em probably announced soon). No need for a closing headliner after SOAD there. And it's definitely time to start forgetting about RHCP and Foo Fighters. And a big sub on the PJ day (like Tame Impala or something).

Friday is supposed to get another sub or headliner though, which is proving to be very hard to find. Bunch of things ruled out already. No Lana anymore, either.

Always remember many options do fall through every year. The ideal line-up is what they start from every year. Sometimes option D is what they have to settle for due to all kinds of circumstances.

I know the line up is far for complete and RW usually gets in right in the end, but it would be nice to see some 'bigger' non poppy/hip hop artists that did not release their first album in the 80's (Pixies), 90's (Pearl Jam, SOAD, Beck) or very early 20's (Volbeat, The Strokes). I'm getting a very expensive alternative '90 party vibe so far. 

I'm a RW ambassador, but not getting much love for this line up from anyone but my middle aged friends. If you are hiding bands like Idles, Fontaines D.C, Foals or Vampire Weekend up your sleeves, please don't wait ages to announce, because by then people will have run off to DTRH or even Pinkpop (FFS).

[lighthouse]

At this point I'm hoping the most for FKA Twigs, Vampire Weekend and Tyler, The Creator.

[ASACSCHRADER]

Hi guys, just created an account to ask a few questions about the fest since the Glasto dream has started to fade and we're looking at other festivals. I'm sure throughout the entire thread all of these questions have been answered already so I apologise in advance if that's the case but if anyone has the time to answer them I'd be very grateful. 

1.) Does everyone who goes to the festival camp like they would at an English festival or are there a larger number of people who stay in hotels and come to the festival daily instead?

2.) What time is the music on until every night? Is there much to do once all of the acts are finished? 

3.) What is the sketch with drinking? Is there an arena were your own alcohol isn't allowed? Are there designated drinking areas? Can you drink wherever you want? 

4.) How much is the whole thing likely to set me back? Fest ticket, spends, travel from UK etc.? 

Thanks so much :) 

 

[Judithmt]

1 minute ago, ASACSCHRADER said:

Hi guys, just created an account to ask a few questions about the fest since the Glasto dream has started to fade and we're looking at other festivals. I'm sure throughout the entire thread all of these questions have been answered already so I apologise in advance if that's the case but if anyone has the time to answer them I'd be very grateful. 

1.) Does everyone who goes to the festival camp like they would at an English festival or are there a larger number of people who stay in hotels and come to the festival daily instead?

2.) What time is the music on until every night? Is there much to do once all of the acts are finished? 

3.) What is the sketch with drinking? Is there an arena were your own alcohol isn't allowed? Are there designated drinking areas? Can you drink wherever you want? 

4.) How much is the whole thing likely to set me back? Fest ticket, spends, travel from UK etc.? 

Thanks so much

 

1. Most people camp. Those of us who want more luxury stay in hotels nearby, but it is a small group.

2. Depends on the day. Final acts end between 0.00 and 2.00. There is an afterparty at The Hive campings, which you can only attend with a Hive camping ticket and some other campings have a party zone as well.

3. Your own alcohol is not allowed at the RW festival grounds. You can bring alchohol at the camping. no glass though

4. Depends...are you flying, taking a train or bus? Do you bring your own camping gear? Last year there was a shop near the Hive selling tents, etc. I'm a Rock Werchter ambassador and get get you a 8 euro discount on a combi ticket, just pm me if you're interested.

[SDNL]

It's easy to get hung upon headliners but personally I'm usually more swayed by the mid-range bands once a few headliners have been announced. A weak headliner is fine if I've already seen loads of band I like that day anyway, as opposed to sitting through a weak day just for one headline act. Each day so far at least has one headliner-ish act I'm interested in, so my attention now turns to seeing how well filled the days are. 

To my point, it was the lack of depth that really killed last year as an option for me more than the headliners. There were one or two days with literally just two or three band I actively wanted to see. Even if those days had the best headliners in the world (and they definitely didn't), that's not the experience I'm looking for from a festival. 

Looking towards what those mid-range acts may be, I hope we end up with more female artists announced, mostly because (as a look through recent albums of the year lists will tell you) a lot of the best indie-ish music in recent times has come from female artists. Which to my mind means that a festival without a lot of female acts doesn't exactly have its finger on the pulse. While I like all of PJ, Pixies, Beck, SOAD, The Strokes, Faith No More and Wilco, they're not exactly bands of the moment or bands currently releasing their best music.   

Though obviously when I say I want bands of the now I don't just mean female acts. For example if IDLES or Foals are knocking about I definitely wouldn't say no.

[EV123]

35 minutes ago, lighthouse said:

At this point I'm hoping the most for FKA Twigs, Vampire Weekend and Tyler, The Creator.

I think we should start being realistic. Tyler won't be there, for sure. He can only play on Thursday and I don't think there is any spot left for him there. There is no indication that Vampire Weekend will be in Europe during Werchter. Moreover, they have a PKP-shaped hole in their American tour. FKA Twigs already announced some shows in Europe in august. She could also headline the Marquee at PKP. 

Last year, the first packages included almost all subs and barn-headliners, so I wouldn't be too surprised if Capaldi is a Barn-head or sub, Dermot Kennedy also a Barn-head. Meute could headline Klubc like Snarky Puppy last year. Beck off course seems to be the Barn-head for Thursday. 

[EV123]

48 minutes ago, SDNL said:

Looking towards what those mid-range acts may be, I hope we end up with more female artists announced, mostly because (as a look through recent albums of the year lists will tell you) a lot of the best indie-ish music in recent times has come from female artists. Which to my mind means that a festival without a lot of female acts doesn't exactly have its finger on the pulse. While I like all of PJ, Pixies, Beck, SOAD, The Strokes, Faith No More and Wilco, they're not exactly bands of the moment or bands currently releasing their best music.   

Though obviously when I say I want bands of the now I don't just mean female acts. For example if IDLES or Foals are knocking about I definitely wouldn't say no.

Exactly this. Hopefully, they take a look at the Mad Cool//Bilbao undercard. I'm still hopeful, but I expect a lot of those artists to be at PKP. They have more stages and sold out last year with a more indie-oriented undercard.

But not having Stormzy actually shows that you don't know what's living with the younger audience. 

Edited January 25, 2020 by EV123

[MrTobs]

57 minutes ago, EV123 said:

There is no indication that Vampire Weekend will be in Europe during Werchter. Moreover, they have a PKP-shaped hole in their American tour.

Well, Vampire Weekend have three european dates for 2020 and they are all in July (the first one is 10 days after Werchter, so definetly possible to fill this gap)

Edited January 25, 2020 by MrTobs

[Dietediet]

26 minutes ago, EV123 said:

Exactly this. Hopefully, they take a look at the Mad Cool//Bilbao undercard. I'm still hopeful, but I expect a lot of those artists to be at PKP. They have more stages and sold out last year with a more indie-oriented undercard.

But not having Stormzy actually shows that you don't know what's living with the younger audience. 

As if RW are not aware how interesting it would've been to book Stormzy? The guy sold out 2 AB shows in just a few minutes.

Dour managed to snatch him by offering a closing slot on their main stage. A similar thing is probably true for Tyler, whose 3 current dates in the RW weekend are all headlining slots, whereas RW could give him a high tent slot at best. 

Edited January 25, 2020 by Dietediet

[Judithmt]

1 hour ago, EV123 said:

I think we should start being realistic. Tyler won't be there, for sure. He can only play on Thursday and I don't think there is any spot left for him there. There is no indication that Vampire Weekend will be in Europe during Werchter. Moreover, they have a PKP-shaped hole in their American tour. FKA Twigs already announced some shows in Europe in august. She could also headline the Marquee at PKP. 

Last year, the first packages included almost all subs and barn-headliners, so I wouldn't be too surprised if Capaldi is a Barn-head or sub, Dermot Kennedy also a Barn-head. Meute could headline Klubc like Snarky Puppy last year. Beck off course seems to be the Barn-head for Thursday. 

FKA Twigs is also playing DTRH during the RW weekend, which is less than 2 hours out. Would be disappointed if they did not manage to book her, especially with the lack of female artists so far.

[lighthouse]

I'd be very disappointed if FKA Twigs isn't on there. She'll be the Janelle Monae/David Byrne kind of booking, one of the biggest taste makers of the festival season, as was her last album. Her shows in december were very praised. She should be top priority for a festival like RW. (Instead of typical Suikerrock material like Keane or Sum 41...)

As for Tyler, The Creator, I'm sure he would be a perfect Barn headliner (and a good change of pace for that thursday). But I know it won't be an easy booking... Beck didn't headline the Barn last time he played, too.

We're just getting started, so everything should still be possible, no?

Edited January 25, 2020 by lighthouse

[EV123]

9 minutes ago, lighthouse said:

I'd be very disappointed if FKA Twigs isn't on there. She'll be the Janelle Monae/David Byrne kind of booking, one of the biggest taste makers of the festival season, as was her last album. Her shows in december were very praised. She should be top priority for a festival like RW. (Instead of typical Suikerrock material like Keane or Sum 41...)

As for Tyler, The Creator, I'm sure he would be a perfect Barn headliner (and a good change of pace for that thursday). But I know it won't be an easy booking... Beck didn't headline the Barn last time he played, too.

We're just getting started, so everything should still be possible, no?

I've seen her show in December. It's one of the best shows I've ever seen. The crowd was also surprisingly varied and the atmosphere was really great. I'm just pointing out that she could also play PKP and that she could possibly get a higher spot over there than at RW. 

Off course Tyler would be the perfect Barn headliner, but he is headlining Main Stages everywhere. And certainly when Werchter takes place in the same weekend as Open'er, Longitude, Roskilde and DTRH who will give him that headlining position on the biggest stage, I don't think that it's very likely that he would chose RW instead.

Beck's last album was rubbish, so I don't think that he should still headline the Barn, but he will. Only followed by someone like Flume or Disclosure (or Lost Frequencies as worst case scenario), I suppose (like in 2016 when Jamie XX closed the Barn). 

[lighthouse]

15 minutes ago, EV123 said:

I've seen her show in December. It's one of the best shows I've ever seen. The crowd was also surprisingly varied and the atmosphere was really great. I'm just pointing out that she could also play PKP and that she could possibly get a higher spot over there than at RW. 

Off course Tyler would be the perfect Barn headliner, but he is headlining Main Stages everywhere. And certainly when Werchter takes place in the same weekend as Open'er, Longitude, Roskilde and DTRH who will give him that headlining position on the biggest stage, I don't think that it's very likely that he would chose RW instead.

Beck's last album was rubbish, so I don't think that he should still headline the Barn, but he will. Only followed by someone like Flume or Disclosure (or Lost Frequencies as worst case scenario), I suppose (like in 2016 when Jamie XX closed the Barn). 

You make fair points. Although I still don't think RW will 'give' FKA Twigs to Pukkelpop. She'd be a perfect KlubC headliner.

I may also be in the minority in this, but I think Beck's latest album was great. I liked that he explored this synthpop style aesthetic, and it really worked. Cohesive album, too. Beck's album befor that, Colors, was dreadful though...

Edited January 25, 2020 by lighthouse

[xydroh]

@jazebel any change in the my chemical romance front? Could this be plan E on Friday since plan a,b,c,d fell through or is this just not something werchter feels pursuing? 

[qz3]

53 minutes ago, xydroh said:

@jazebel any change in the my chemical romance front? Could this be plan E on Friday since plan a,b,c,d fell through or is this just not something werchter feels pursuing? 

new rumours said that MCR canceled RW and Mad Cool and on monday announce Ukraine and Russia (9 and 11 july)

Edited January 25, 2020 by qz3

[heti]

UA and RU dates have nothing to do with Werchter which happens week before

[Dietediet]

15 hours ago, xydroh said:

@jazebel any change in the my chemical romance front? Could this be plan E on Friday since plan a,b,c,d fell through or is this just not something werchter feels pursuing? 

I don't even see RW pursuing MCR as a plan Z. Bringing back Editors or Kings of Leon for the 100th time would still shift more tickets. 

[lightsnowpatrol]

@Ken19 come back