Rock Werchter 2025

[northernangel]

2 minutes ago, thetime said:

Lots of negativity about the lineup, which i know is the rule for modern day festival punters.

 

On the scene early summer, what would make it less filler in your opinions? 

 

I should actually point out to be honest my mention above of Weezer wouldn't be filler. I think Bloc Party would be a great addition but obviously I like a lot of older bands vs new.

 

Just to make a point too, I'm not saying Werchter haven't just literally booked what's available and been able to but even based on this year with the one kinda poppier day with Dua Lipa, I genuinely would think that Werchter gave the reigns for Saturday and Sunday to a partnership event to curate and collab with or something.

 

This is also coming from someone who really wanted to grab on to it this year to give it a go and I'm still kinda hoping it pulls through.

 

If Download though manage to book a top end lineup one day though that's better than Rock Werchter doing it on their big year with the same headline band one of them has booked before and along the lines of band they are used to getting as apposed to the other festival then I've got a few reservations.

[thetime]

22 minutes ago, northernangel said:

 No but in general as an overall look the rock in rock werchter is lacking.

 

People have been saying that since I started going to werchter about 15 years ago. 

 

Festivals change, unfortunately people don't. It was the same when Jay Z headlined Glastonbury, same with reading lineups. 

 

For me the blockbuster lineups have gone, won't happen again. People need to realise that. 

 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by thetime

[BlackFoxx]

23 minutes ago, thetime said:

Lots of negativity about the lineup, which i know is the rule for modern day festival punters.

 

On the scene early summer, what would make it less filler in your opinions? 

 

Generally I think this lineup has been pretty well received? I know on festileaks (Dutch language forum similar to here) most the feedback has been pretty positive and ticket sales seem to match this with two days sold out already. It's far too early to say that combi tickets aren't selling or anything else as we have no data on this and they usually wouldn't sell out in a good year until the spring anyway. 

 

Compared to competition like Mad Cool I'm not sure there's much you can be looking at on their lineup with jealousy. Would you really take Kings of Leon over Linkin Park for example, who have just sold out an EU stadium run and are one of the most in demand acts this summer?

 

Personally I've got a combi ticket for the first time and think it's probably one of the stronger and more varied Werchter lineups in a while, hence why I've finally decided to go. Sunday for example, which has been subject to some criticism, has two BST sell out headliners in Noah Kahan and Olivia Rodrigo, plus Olivia is likely to headline Glasto too. It's hard to objectively complain about them being a weak booking based on the number of tickets they can sell, as also shown by their day just selling out. 

 

If you really hate that genre of music, that's another thing, but there will be 4 stages that day. If that still isn't enough, then maybe other more genre focused festivals like Rock Im Ring or Download would be more relevant to you anyway. I'm not sure Werchter, having booked high profile acts like Black Eyed Peas, Pink, Macklemore, Kendrick, Stormzy and Dua Lipa has ever been that festival. I think the diversity of Rock Werchter's lineup is one of its strengths and matches how lots of people consume music across different genres and have eclectic tastes.

 

The great thing about music festivals is the diversity of current options, and I find the constantly negativity sometimes tiring. I understand there are good and down years given who tours and is available. However, if you look across a whole summer of different lineups in festivals in different countries and can't find something you like, at what point is the issue more with you than the festivals?

[tmolvik]

3 hours ago, thetime said:

I'm sure the lineups not curated just to suit just yourself. 🤣

The issue is not whether the lineup is curated for him, me or you. It's what RW historically has been selling and what people anticipate from them. A lot of people has for many years been buying combo tickets based on their track record of good bookings and always among the best (if not the very best) line-up for those looking for that genre. If they want to change that, that's in their right to do so and I'm not even going to debate if it's right or wrong, but at least be up front about it. 

 

I've always bought my combo tickets, knowing that from time to time headliners hasn't been to my taste (because you always know up front), but until last year, they've never disappointed in making the total package looking very good. I can accept a young up & coming headliner and even something that is not related to rock, but If they want to turn one or two whole days into some kind of Coachella/Lollapalooza-circus, I expect them to notify me about such a change in festival category in advance. It will also affect the whole vibe of the festival, which up to know has had a mix of people and ages that has contributed to it's success. 

 

Although I've hated that obvious "joke" of it's not Pop Werchter but Rock Werchter for many years now, maybe they actually should do themselves a favor and remove the rock from it's brand to mark the new direction. It will at least save themselves for a bunch of hassle... Again, we don't know how it will end up looking this year, it might be the Sunday will look completely different when the timetable comes, but I've got a sneaky feeling it won't and RW has always been terrible when it comes to communication.