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 9 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. 

[Semprini]

I've no experience of booking festival line ups but I know enough about them to say that it's nowhere near as simplistic as many people on this forum believe.

All this talk about specific days being curated for a particular demographic, massively misses the main points which are a) when artists are available and b) what are they willing to do? If, for instance, LP or ORod are free that weekend, and RW want them as headliners, then the fact of the matter is they will book them on whatever day they are available. I doubt all these massive acts go to RW first every year and ask, 'When would you like us to play? All the other festivals taking place in Europe that weekend can work around you so just tell us what you want and we'll sort it?'

Reality is that the whole negotiation process is a big game of chess, with the main objective being to get the acts you want on your line up at a price that's agreeable. It's an added bonus if you can get them to play on a specific day but Glastonbury is really the only summer festival that has that sort of pulling power.

 

There's also far too many people making definitive judgements about the line up when it's nowhere near complete. If you don't like the look of it now, no problem - hold off for a bit but accept that it might sell out in the meantime and you can't go. The other alternative is to book your ticket now, knowing there's a chance it won't live up to your expectations - that's the gamble you take in these situations.

However, if you're into music and festivals then the likelihood is you'll have an amazing weekend whatever the final outcome is!

Edited 4 hours ago by Semprini

[Ferda]

42 minutes ago, Semprini said:

I've no experience of booking festival line ups but I know enough about them to say that it's nowhere near as simplistic as many people on this forum believe.

All this talk about specific days being curated for a particular demographic, massively misses the main points which are a) when artists are available and b) what are they willing to do? If, for instance, LP or ORod are free that weekend, and RW want them as headliners, then the fact of the matter is they will book them on whatever day they are available. I doubt all these massive acts go to RW first every year and ask, 'When would you like us to play? All the other festivals taking place in Europe that weekend can work around you so just tell us what you want and we'll sort it?'

Reality is that the whole negotiation process is a big game of chess, with the main objective being to get the acts you want on your line up at a price that's agreeable. It's an added bonus if you can get them to play on a specific day but Glastonbury is really the only summer festival that has that sort of pulling power.

 

There's also far too many people making definitive judgements about the line up when it's nowhere near complete. If you don't like the look of it now, no problem - hold off for a bit but accept that it might sell out in the meantime and you can't go. The other alternative is to book your ticket now, knowing there's a chance it won't live up to your expectations - that's the gamble you take in these situations.

However, if you're into music and festivals then the likelihood is you'll have an amazing weekend whatever the final outcome is!

 

Well said.

 

I would add just one but imho important point - once the headliners are locked in, you can TO A CERTAIN DEGREE influence who else is playing on that particular day, ie. if you go for the lineup diversity or rather catering towards the headliner (sub)genre.

That being said, they can also influence the announcement timeline, e.g. we already know that Weezer and Franz F are playing but they weren't announced yet - just 7 acts out of ±25 for Thu/Sun are public, so it's possible that the rest of the day will be different but some names were held back to create a perception of pop Sunday and rock Thu?

Anyway, putting the festival lineup is super complex and people will always complain no matter what 🙂

 

I am looking forward to whatever they have in store for us, we have 65 pages long thread already and I am sure it will be much longer before July.

[thetime]

1 minute ago, Ferda said:

 

Well said.

 

I would add just one but imho important point - once the headliners are locked in, you can TO A CERTAIN DEGREE influence who else is playing on that particular day, ie. if you go for the lineup diversity or rather catering towards the headliner (sub)genre.

That being said, they can also influence the announcement timeline, e.g. we already know that Weezer and Franz F are playing but they weren't announced yet - just 7 acts out of ±25 for Thu/Sun are public, so it's possible that the rest of the day will be different but some names were held back to create a perception of pop Sunday and rock Thu?

Anyway, putting the festival lineup is super complex and people will always complain no matter what 🙂

 

I am looking forward to whatever they have in store for us, we have 65 pages long thread already and I am sure it will be much longer before July.

 

For me they've nailed it on this lineup. Something old, something new. A bit of rock, indie, dance, pop it's all in there. Some quality older acts for us festival veterans, then some more upto date stuff as well like the Olivia day and fender day. 

 

Then again I'm also going to rock for people, for a weekend of the rock stuff. 

[VolkIreland]

On 12/11/2024 at 9:58 AM, h12101 said:

Hive Resort prices are out: https://www.rockwerchter.be/en/info/camping/the-hive-resort/the-hive-resort-packages.

 

Ouch. 62% increase for the same package we had last year (€680->€1105), others have literally doubled in price. If we'd have known this in advance, we'd have probably thought twice about diving straight in for Combo tickets.

the price increases are a f**king joke

[VolkIreland]

On 12/11/2024 at 11:56 AM, BlackFoxx said:

Quick camping question. If I'm going on my own, and bringing my own tent from the UK, is the recommended option to go for a two-person Hive My Space?

 

That should get me a reserved spot to pitch my tent and avoid the general chaos of trying to find a space in The Hive (where it's seemingly opened up section by section)? Or are the concerns with The Hive more overblown and less of an issue if you're going on you're own - i.e. without needing a big space for a large group to be together?). Any experiences from previous years would be appreciated to help decide between options.

 

If some other friends decide to join at a later date and I go for The Hive My Space is there anyway to let the organisers know and try and get pitches that are closer together? 

 

Thanks for any advice! 

 

P.S. if I do end up making the journey alone, and anyone from here fancies a festival pint or can of Jupiler together, let me know!

 

If you go for a two person pre-pitched and then your friends decided to go along as well, you can just arrive up and ask to be placed next to each other (if there is space, of course). We've done that for the last 2 years with a mix of pre-pitched 2 and 4-person tents. 

 

I can't answer how it works for the space booking. 

[charlierc]

59 minutes ago, VolkIreland said:

the price increases are a f**king joke

So many things have had an insane price jump in recent years. Standing ticket for 3 days at the British Grand Prix was £175 in 2014 and is now £315, with a huge amount of that increase coming after 2020. Bloody covid.

[charlierc]

9 hours ago, thetime said:

 

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

If only we had the money to make a bespoke eFestivals festival for everyone's dream line-up.