Rock Werchter 2023

[matrainertje]

On 2/3/2023 at 2:39 PM, Floyd_Ams said:

I'm a RW regular, I usually don't complain about lineups and I don't want to sound selfish but to be very honest, I kinda secretly hope that sales (especially one day tickets for Thursday) this year won't be high (at least not yet) in order to send a message.

I have nothing against pop and hiphop and I think it's great that all genres are being represented in my favourite festival, it's just that the way that the lineup was being formed in the past was making RW a bit more special and different than all the others of its kind and size. There are a gazillion festivals taking place around us these days and we don't need 10x of the same. We don't need 10 Pinkpops or Pukkelpops. It's nice to have different flavours to choose from and RW had its unique flavour. Yes I understand the argument of "money talks" but I think in the long term it will not pay off. Just an opinion...

You are complaining about the pop names? The weakest part of this lineup is actually RHCP being repeated again after they gave us another very so-so performance last year. And Muse, Arctic Monkeys, QOTSA being there for the 100th time. 

[Nicklord]

We had like 2 months ago an update on ticket sales from some insider from the festileaks forum that people posted here. If I remember correctly saturday was the best selling day with Muse and OATW

[Floyd_Ams]

1 hour ago, matrainertje said:

You are complaining about the pop names? The weakest part of this lineup is actually RHCP being repeated again after they gave us another very so-so performance last year. And Muse, Arctic Monkeys, QOTSA being there for the 100th time. 

I think you may have missed my point...

[matrainertje]

43 minutes ago, Floyd_Ams said:

I think you may have missed my point...

Maybe I have. You say that how "the lineup is being formed in the past was making RW a bit more special", but how is that different in the last years as opposed too this year? I agree the biggest names are all very classic "been there done that" names but then again RW is being known for their repeat bookings of old headliners. 

[pryce]

i always thought RW looked like every other festival, albeit with stronger headliners

 

and Pukkelpop had the variations, i defo couldnt see Eminem, Nine Inch Nails, Boys Noize, Opeth and Hurts on the same day anywhere else at the time

[Ohad]

1 hour ago, Nicklord said:

We had like 2 months ago an update on ticket sales from some insider from the festileaks forum that people posted here. If I remember correctly saturday was the best selling day with Muse and OATW

No wonder, muse usually sells good at RW and max is basically a Belgian God, it's crazy

[matrainertje]

12 minutes ago, Ohad said:

No wonder, muse usually sells good at RW and max is basically a Belgian God, it's crazy

Fred Again is also a big one for a lot of people. That Barn is going to be packed and then some. 

Actually all of Editors, Fred Again and Rosalia are really big bookings for that Barn. 

[VolkIreland]

On 2/3/2023 at 2:28 PM, tmolvik said:

Agreed! And since I trusted them based on historic merits and will be going anyway, I don't mind sharing the space with a little bit less people 😉

Same! More space to stretch out. Lovely. 

[Archi]

Tove Lo ruled out: she announce a show in Brussels on June 19th.

[Ohad]

Do you expect a relatively sparse crowd at AM, considering their 2018 concert? Or do you reckon the RW crowd is forgiving (/ has short memory)?

[ParanoidTourist]

Saturday tickets close to selling out according to Werchter´s facebook page. 

[BenG92]

8 minutes ago, ParanoidTourist said:

Saturday tickets close to selling out according to Werchter´s facebook page. 

Firmly believe this is down to Fred. That Barn is gonna be closed off before Xavier Rudd is finished. 

[ParanoidTourist]

3 minutes ago, BenG92 said:

Firmly believe this is down to Fred. That Barn is gonna be closed off before Xavier Rudd is finished. 

Possibly but I think it´s down to Muse and Oscar and the wolf (at least in Belgium) are strong headliners along with good undercards (Paolo Nutini, Sigur Ros, Interpol etc.).Will be interesting to see which other dates will sell out next: I`m guessing Sunday. 

[Archi]

1 hour ago, ParanoidTourist said:

Possibly but I think it´s down to Muse and Oscar and the wolf (at least in Belgium) are strong headliners along with good undercards (Paolo Nutini, Sigur Ros, Interpol etc.).Will be interesting to see which other dates will sell out next: I`m guessing Sunday. 

And don't forget MGK as well 🙂 

[matrainertje]

3 hours ago, ParanoidTourist said:

Possibly but I think it´s down to Muse and Oscar and the wolf (at least in Belgium) are strong headliners along with good undercards (Paolo Nutini, Sigur Ros, Interpol etc.).Will be interesting to see which other dates will sell out next: I`m guessing Sunday. 

Don't underestimate Fred Again. The guy is huge. I reckon it will be even more packed than during Editors. 

[ParanoidTourist]

1 hour ago, matrainertje said:

Don't underestimate Fred Again. The guy is huge. I reckon it will be even more packed than during Editors. 

He is not huge at all where I live but I reckon he is on the rise in Belgium. Anyway, the Saturday has something for everyone. 

 

[charlierc]

46 minutes ago, ParanoidTourist said:

He is not huge at all where I live but I reckon he is on the rise in Belgium. Anyway, the Saturday has something for everyone. 

 

That could well be it - as a trio, it sounds like Muse, Oscar & The Wolf and Fred Again is enough to bring in various groups en masse in a way the other 3 may not.

21 hours ago, Ohad said:

Do you expect a relatively sparse crowd at AM, considering their 2018 concert? Or do you reckon the RW crowd is forgiving (/ has short memory)?

Did they go down that badly in 2018?

They seem to be a sellout in most places of this upcoming tour, as evident by my inability to get tix for their UK shows, Dublin, Paris, Rome, Berlin and Amsterdam (plus I think they sold Madrid out but haven't checked).

[49Lawson]

Not that I’m trying to disparage the line up because I think that Saturday is a fairly solid day, but the Saturday historically has a record of being the first to sell out simply because it’s on a weekend. Fewer people have to worry about time off work, getting back for work the next day etc. 

[Ohad]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

That could well be it - as a trio, it sounds like Muse, Oscar & The Wolf and Fred Again is enough to bring in various groups en masse in a way the other 3 may not.

Did they go down that badly in 2018?

They seem to be a sellout in most places of this upcoming tour, as evident by my inability to get tix for their UK shows, Dublin, Paris, Rome, Berlin and Amsterdam (plus I think they sold Madrid out but haven't checked).

I had a great time, but it's been 5 years and people still bitched about it when they were announced 

[Judithmt]

8 hours ago, charlierc said:

That could well be it - as a trio, it sounds like Muse, Oscar & The Wolf and Fred Again is enough to bring in various groups en masse in a way the other 3 may not.

Did they go down that badly in 2018?

They seem to be a sellout in most places of this upcoming tour, as evident by my inability to get tix for their UK shows, Dublin, Paris, Rome, Berlin and Amsterdam (plus I think they sold Madrid out but haven't checked).

But that would be loyal fans or people that love the last 2 albums. Hope I'm wrong, but my guess it their set won't go down well with the general RW crowd who know a few of the older songs.  At Lowlands they played just a few newer ones, but the old ones got a hint of crooner as well. Crowd at the front loved it, the rest not so much. And I reckon them more of an AM crowd than Werchter. Don't know if the new album is one for festivals. Maybe if it's sunny and they decide to keep the Apero open for takeaways.

[ParanoidTourist]

Will we get an announcement today? Or is it ruled out because of the Pukkelpop announcement earlier this week? 

[matrainertje]

9 hours ago, 49Lawson said:

Not that I’m trying to disparage the line up because I think that Saturday is a fairly solid day, but the Saturday historically has a record of being the first to sell out simply because it’s on a weekend. Fewer people have to worry about time off work, getting back for work the next day etc. 

No you are completely right, the Saturday mostly sells out the quickest because it is the Saturday. I still remember 2015 where the Saturday sold out really fast despite Lenny Kravitz being the biggest name that day... 

[SweetJesus]

2 hours ago, ParanoidTourist said:

Will we get an announcement today? Or is it ruled out because of the Pukkelpop announcement earlier this week? 

It’s fuckin’ time for Graspop to announce last two headliners.

[Archi]

For 2022, the first day to sell out was on Sunday with Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Killers. Not the Friday with Metallica or the Saturday with the young combo Imagine Dragons + Twenty One Pilots.

[polnico]

4 minutes ago, Archi said:

For 2022, the first day to sell out was on Sunday with Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Killers. Not the Friday with Metallica or the Saturday with the young combo Imagine Dragons + Twenty One Pilots.

If I recall correctly, friday sold out first with Metallica, then Sunday. Still, as mentionned, the saturday is supposed to be easier to sell out, so adding a big headliner as Muse on this day can only help. I am still unsure how they'll sell out the Thursday this year though with these two headliners, given it's often the hardest day to sell anyways.