Rock Werchter 2022

[BenG92]

Chilling in Leuven for the day after our fest Werchter. Absolutely blown away on all fronts, we love it here and will probably come back for the next few years until we have kids no matter the lineup. So well organised, such friendly people, they can be boring in crowds but you can easily find other foreigners to dance with. Love it love it love it. Best festival we've been to. 

[Nicklord]

The amount of people there for any headliner I saw since coming to Werchter is astonishing and every single time 97% of the people just stand still 

RHCP last night had an enormous crowd and some people around me didn't even clap when they entered the stage and I was up front 

@activean highlights for us were Pearl Jam, Metallica, RHCP, Royal Blood, Turnstile, Parcels, Kiwanuka, Idles, Pixies, Fontaines DC, Altin Gun, Big Thief. A lot of great performances, I loved almost every second of it except Imagine Dragons lol watched some of the 21 Pilots and while not for me, I could clearly see the appeal and why they had that spot on main stage. My 2 personal favorites if I had to pick are RHCP and Idles - Joe's boob shake to entertain the Metallica crowd up front was my little highlight of the festival 

[e2p2]

On 6/30/2022 at 3:01 PM, e2p2 said:

 

Couldn't delete the quote..

I was a bit worried before the festival as I read other threads about other festivals and after suffering from queues at Glastonbury but RW did it again. Everything went smooth as always: Drinks, water, shuttles, bands- just super organized.

If I pick one highlight for each day I would go with Pearl Jam, Girl In Red, Phoebe Bridgers and The Killers.

[BenG92]

Our personal headliners were Pearl Jam, Turnstile, Bicep and then Killers/Chilis combo last night. Had to find go through the crowd to find some Spaniards to sing and dance with and we had a great time. 

Only disappointing one was Beck, it was a great show he put on but not the setlist we were looking for and he was like 25m late I think. Regretted leaving Pixies early

Metallica were great but we were in the pit for Turnstile and that was just another level 

[Ferda]

1 hour ago, BenG92 said:

The front section has gates to each side, when a band finishes they let anyone that wants to leave out, then they slowly filter people in until its comfortably full and not too packed. Got in no problem for everyone we tried for, you just have to arrive in good time

The same system is being used for RaR/RiP. Very comfy, safe and practical indeed

[Ferda]

My top 5 were Pearl Jam, Black Pumas, Idles, Leon Bridges and The Killers. And special shouts to Metallica who always delivers and RHCP who were in terrific shape. I am not a fan of their live performances but they were very very good yesterday.

Last but not least, I loved the Slope stage. By far the most interesting/diverse lineup for me, with great vibe and fantastic sets - The Chats and Grandson fantastic, Jehnny Beth covering Closer was a killer 😉

Great festival overall, but still not sure if I come back next year as logistics is a bit complicated for me and it's by far the most expensive fest I've been to... But I am tempted

 

[Ferda]

Btw, big thanks to this great community! 

Super helpful and very responsive to any questions. It defo contributed to my great experience at the festival.

Thank you all

[BenG92]

We didn't even check out the slope! So many bands on elsewhere we wanted to see we didn't really have time but will make sure we do next year (if we don't get Glasto tickets) 

The pre-setup tents were fine and worth not having to lug a tent and two airbeds from England, probably do that again. Spent a lot but it was all worth it, although I will definitely sneak some tequila in next time as the beer bill racked up quite quickly, also dedicate more time to getting food supplies in Leuven 

[sacred shape]

Here's my review as we drive back to Yorkshire.

Wed:

Chunnel to France and then a 3 hour drive to Werchter. No queues to check in at the Resort, and everything was v well organised. 2-person Sahara was huge and all we needed. Overall, the Resort/tent were well worth the money. 

Thurs:

No queue at the showers, which were clean throughout the weekend. Best bands were Fontaines, The Dead South, White Reaper and Beck. Skipped Cigarettes After Sex and Pixies to chill in the tent during the rain. Was bored of Pearl Jam after 4 songs so left early for some sleep. Sounded good though so would assume they were good if you're a fan. 

Fri:

Molybaron were great fun on the Slope. IDLES and Miles Kane on mainstage with beer in the sun was perfect. Was at barrier in the Barn waiting for Turnstile when they were moved to main stage 2 hours later, so was pretty pissed as they clashed with alt-J. Ended up watching most of Turnstile and went to alt-J for last 3 songs. Both were phenomenonal. Then planned to watch the Chats and then Metallica. Chats started earlier than they were meant too, so missed the start. They were great though which made up for it. Left slightly early to get to Metallica who were moved forward 20 mins. Turns out Metallica didn't go on stage til the original time anyway, which was stupid. Did enjoy them though.

Sat:

Nothing But Thieves had a huge crowd and were great, got their setlist too. Was barrier for Phoebe Bridgers who was magical. 21 Pilots blew me away. Wasn't a big fan before, but now am. They sound way better live than on the record and had some cool gimmicks. Grandson was fun and got his setlist too. Imagine Dragons = trash.

Sun:

Fever 333 rocked the barn. Huge and participatory crowd and great energy. Was barrier for Modest Mouse (my most excited for band of the weekend) and they were immense and acted professionally through the sound issues. Got a setlist too! Royal Blood, Keane and Snail Mail were all solid. Killers were fun. Jehnny Beth was interesting. RHCP were fine but not as good as London last week. Shame they did Around the World again instead of Can't Stop.

Overall:

Super well organised, barely any queues for food/beer unlike most UK festivals, great atmosphere. Lack of the drunk, sunburnt twats you get in the UK was a huge plus. All the service staff were pleasant and efficient. Toilets were cleaner and better organised than the UK too. Will definitely be back if the lineup us good (and they get QOTSA, FNM and GVF back). Only qualms were the lack of hand sanitizer points, the lack of shady areas and the problem that the hangars fill up and you can't see inside, unlike tents. 

Top 5 bands: Modest Mouse, 21P, Turnstile, Phoebe, NBT

[Name taken]

Awesome festival.

superb organisation. So many big fests that should come and watch how it’s done. It’s all those little details you can see everywhere on the area!

never ever had to queu for a beer or whatever. Staff always served me with a smile. So cool!

 

[BenG92]

One more shout out to being able to get water incredibly easily at all times. Will not be going back to Primavera until that's sorted out. We missed Pavement because we were in an hour long queue for ONE TAP. Embarrassing. Rock Werchter had 12 taps at the bloody shuttle bus stop before you even got there. 

[polnico]

When I left Primavera earlier this month, I though that I had found my new favourite festival, because even though there were many problems, the lineup + place of Primavera was just that good.

How wrong was I. Werchter still is by far my favourite. Insane 4 days, will probably be back next year, and for many more if it keeps being this good.

Everything just works so well: short queues, easy to find water, free sunscreen, the pit system, security fast to act when there's a problem in the pits + nice receptions of crowdsurfers... I am being picky but 3 main things I guess could be improved is number of toilets in the Hive, lines were ridiculous at times + hand sanitizer (that one should be mandatory tbh) + maybe a more dynamic way to manage how people can enter the Barn - Klub C, or just a way to ensure that people in the back actually come a bit closer ? These 2 tents always felt extremely crowded at the back, while I could just find so much room at the front. 

Highlights were

• Thursday : Fontaines DC (crowd was a bit dull though), The War on Drugs (sun finally coming out during Strangest Thing was peak), Pearl Jam (strong set, as they do) and Ry X (so much talking in the back of Klub C though)
• Friday : Idles (somehow, each of their show feels better than the last,Turnstile (wasn't used to this type of moshing, still enjoyed it though), Metallica (this is what the term "headliner" feels like to me, what a show), and Girl In Red (she blew the roof off)
• Satuday : Nothing But Thieves (they might not have been good, I was just drunk with a bunch of friends for most of it, so this was very fun), Phoebe (fortunately I had drank plenty of water between NBT and her) and the Bicep - Jamie XX combo (a night of dancing)
• Sunday : Big Thief, Royal Blood (always fun), Dry Cleaning, Keane (nostalgic, just as I hoped it would be), Michael Kiwanuka (left early but looked great) and the RHCP (broke my heart that I had to leave early but was working today so I had to avoid the pain of late parking exit at Werchter).

No major disappointments, the friday was scary for me at first because I wanted to see so much stuff, but with the cancellations of GVF and Sam Fender, it turned quite well in the end, even though I missed ALT-J for Turnstile.

Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did, bring on next year !

[Scarnic]

For those wanting to watch it all again, grab a glass of Jupiler beer and enjoy.

https://events.pickx.be/nl/rockwerchter/vod/

Here are some of the concerts and interviews.

[BenG92]

Watching the 21 Pilots set as we were at Jorja and Bicep, I only like a bit of their studio stuff but it looks like a stellar set. Campfire singsong segment is great. 

[Codhead]

I love this Festival. This was my 3rd appearance after visiting in 2011 & 12.

Thu - Dead South a great way to open the Festival, followed by Airbourne, Haim then First Aid Kit, who for me had the best sound out of all the bands over the weekend, crystal clear lyrics.  Then onto Black Puma, but not too impressed so left and caught the back end of War on Drugs and they were really good, I wish I had seen the whole set. We left after that as there was nothing for the rest of the night that appealed to me.

Fri - Sum 41, brilliant energy, the same with Molybaron. Then on to JC Stewart, and Inhaler, I had never heard of them before but I really enjoyed them. Over to the Main stage to get a good spot for Metallica, which meant watching Lewis Capaldi, who put zero effort into preparation and bluffed and bagged his way through the whole set. Turnstile, while the music wasn't my bag, the atmosphere was brilliant. Metallica was good, unless you know them well some of the lesser known songs are very similar, but still they put on an amazing show.

Sat - Started with Nothing but Thieves, then Phoebe Bridgers, who while the music and sound was good, has a voice that you can't really understood what she is singing along the lines of Billie Eilish and other mumblers. 21p started off really boring and only started to liven up after there Camp fires thingy. Imagine Dragon were as expected and should not be a headliner. Switch with 21p then add someone as a proper headliner. Sat on paper was the weakest day, and it was.

Sun - The day I was looking forward to the most. Started out with Fever 333, who put on an amazing show and had the barn bouncing. Emma Bale was brilliant and loved how she went from dancy numbers to slower songs, beautiful voice. Michael Kiwanuka was brilliant. Jimmy Eat World for me was the best gig of the weekend, loved the sound, atmosphere and the songs. Killers, ok but his voice was sub-par and not up to his best, but put on a good show and crowd was bouncing. Chillis, were as expected, Kledis voice was brilliant and musically they don't fail to put on a show. I just find the Jams a bit too much, which I know appeals to some.

All in all a brilliant weekend in a really friendly atmosphere.

[SCG95]

Had my first taste of RW at the weekend. Attended the final day. 
 

Festival was really well run and will definitely have an eye on next years line up. 

I did however find it to be very crowded at times - is it always this way? (Not a criticism, just curious) 

[BenG92]

11 hours ago, SCG95 said:

Had my first taste of RW at the weekend. Attended the final day. 
 

Festival was really well run and will definitely have an eye on next years line up. 

I did however find it to be very crowded at times - is it always this way? (Not a criticism, just curious) 

Final day definitely felt the busiest to us but also never uncomfortable. Every part of that field is well utilized to spread everybody out. 

[Floyd_Ams]

On 7/5/2022 at 11:53 AM, Scarnic said:

For those wanting to watch it all again, grab a glass of Jupiler beer and enjoy.

I think I 'll take a break from Jupiler for the rest of the year, I had enough 😂. Until June '23 I'll go back to my favourite - less watery - "beverages"!

Btw...for whoever might be interested in numbers, here you go:

https://press.rockwerchter.be/rock-werchter-2022-all-is-well-in-our-happy-place-x5wiv3

Same attendance as every year with 88.000 per day. I agree that it felt a bit more crowded than previous years (even so, I still found it very comfortable compared to other festivals) but I think this was mostly due to the program (and the aftermath of Corona). In previous editions, apart from the strong headliners on the main, there was a stronger lineup for the other stages which would result in a more even spread of people. Hopefully there won't be an Encore fest attempt next year or a day with a lack of diversity on the lineup like last Saturday.

[Nicklord]

I also noticed that people went into the festival way earlier than before. I don't remember ever seeing the (almost) full field at 1pm before. I remember watching some bands on main and thinking it must sucks for the band that the number of people is so low, this year it was full at all times

[Daniel Ferreira]

 

First of all thanks to this community for all the help.
After 2 years of waiting, I realized my dream of going to a festival outside my country (Portugal) after this incredible adventure, already in my dear city of Braga, I leave you below what I found positive and negative.

Strengths:
- Easy as you can get a beer or food, here in Portugal it takes a long time. The ticket idea works very well and makes the lines short.
- Ease of getting to the festival, how to exchange tickets and camping if you enter the festival and even transport to the festival which is very well organized and free.
- How the stages work, how they manage to move a crowd of people without much.
- Alignment (of course)
- DJ tent at Camping
- Free sunscreen
- Idea of the 15 cups and supports a ticket
- Within the safety of the festival and the camping, also that of closing the stages to avoid accidents with the public.
- The tents were good (although poorly signposted)
- Food stalls outside the festival.

Negatives:
- There are no showers open at night when we arrive at the festival there is a long time to shower.
- At the end of the last concert on the main stage there are no more concerts on the secondary stages, here at NOS ALIVE at the end of the last concert, this prevents all those people from leaving the festival at the same time. fact that everything is coming out at the same time.
- Merchandising works very slow.
- Alt J and Turnstile at the same time and on wrong stages.

It was one of the most incredible festivals I've been to, it surpasses everything, the ones who work at the festival are helpful, they don't care much about others, they pass in a very rough way, they don't even ask, but in general people are always thoughtful.

I really enjoyed the festival I updated us on the status of Metallica from RHCP who had canceled and the concerts days before.
I thought it was fun as the festival's final “traditions” jumping rope and making fireworks.
The fact of promoting other festivals that are not owned by RW, that here in my country is unthinkable.
It should also be said that camping at night is really cold and when it rains it also rains well.
 
I think you really love music , you should go to this festival once in your life , even the festival organizers in my country to learn a little , it does not mean that the festivals in my country are bad , but for the organizers to notice small details that make a big difference.

Thank you for receiving me so well, I don't know if I'll be back next year, it's a bit expensive for my wallet, but one day I will...

In the 34 bands I saw my TOP5 : TWOD , Girl in Red , Maneskin , BICEP , The Killers

[polnico]

2 hours ago, Daniel Ferreira said:

First of all thanks to this community for all the help.
After 2 years of waiting, I realized my dream of going to a festival outside my country (Portugal) after this incredible adventure, already in my dear city of Braga, I leave you below what I found positive and negative.

Thank you for receiving me so well, I don't know if I'll be back next year, it's a bit expensive for my wallet, but one day I will...

Disappointed I could not spot you and your Portuguese flag for a small efest meetup, but glad you enjoyed it!

[Daniel Ferreira]

1 hour ago, polnico said:

Disappointed I could not spot you and your Portuguese flag for a small efest meetup, but glad you enjoyed it!

I always walked there, every day from 12:00 until the end :D
Maybe next time we'll toast, gladly ;)

[mikebat]

Saturday july 2nd was the only day I can attend to the festival.
The worst, but I had good times !
Best :
- Jorja Smith by far, I really enjoyed the show, great voice, great musicians, really good.
- LP, a good surprise, I enjoyed this live too, great audience.
- Nothing But Thieves, one of the best moments one the main stage.
- Mother Mother, great energy !

Deception :
-Phoebe Bridgers, monotonal...

Worst :
-Imagine Dragons, I still wonder why they were headlining this festival.
- 21 Pilots, terrible, one of the worst live of my life, music is not confettis, jumping or climbing.. They have to thing music before stupid show.


I enjoyed the day, except the very expensive food.
 

[Aech]

Finally got round to watching some of the festival back and I must have been the first person on the live stream 2 minutes 50 seconds into Gang of Youths, makes sense I was the only one in the crowd who knew who they were.