Roskilde Festival is held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the two biggest annual rock music festivals in Europe (the other being the Glastonbury Festival). It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer. In 1973, the festival was taken over by the Roskilde Foundation, who has since run the festival as a non-profit organisation for development and support of music, culture, and humanism.
It being Denmark's first real music oriented festival, originally for hippies but today covering more of the mainstream youth from Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. Roskilde Festival 2006 had more than 170 performing bands and gathered more than 79,000 people paying for the concerts, more than 21,000 volunteers, 5,000 media people and 3,000 artists - which means almost 110,000 people participated in the festival.
Traditionally the campsite opens the last Sunday of June, which gives the festivalguests plenty of time to settle down and "warm up". The festival officially starts the following Thursday at the Animal Showgrounds (in recent years simply known as the "Festival Site") and lasts for 4 days.
Until the mid-1990s the festival attracted mostly Scandinavians, but in recent years it has become more and more international (with an especially large influx of Germans, Australians and Scots). A Scandinavian alternative remained in the Midtfyns Festival, until that closed in 2004 following declining ticket sales.
The music from Roskilde Festival can be tuned in on the web radio Radio Festival (www.radiofestival.org).
Band list
1 2 3 4 (DK)
Danish indie pop hope.
120 DAYS (N)
Electro-post-punk from Norway.
A HAWK AND A HACKSAW (US)
Versatile American musican walks eastward.
AGAINST ME! (US)
Leftist punk songs with strong melodies and messages.
AGF (D)
Antye Greie-Fuchs continues to compose and arrange new ventures into her electronic universe.
MAHMOUD AHMED (ETH)
A great voice from Africa calls at Roskilde.
ANALOGIK (DK)
The Balkans-Denmark – there and back.
ANNUALS (US)
Youthful American folk-pop with manic ideas.
ANTHONY B (JAM)
Dancehall singer with the whole world on his mind.
ARCADE FIRE (CAN)
A most influential band in the past couple of years.
ARCTIC MONKEYS (UK)
The British rock heroes are back before they even went away.
THE ARK (S)
Festive and glittering pop-glam-rock.
ARONAS (NZ)
Punk chamber jazz fronted by young piano virtuoso.
AS IN REBEKKAMARIA (DK)
Electro-pop chanteuse.
ASLE (DK)
Restrained house from a versatile DJ.
ATOI (DK)
Danish indietronica with lots of melodic wealth.
BADUN (DK)
Twitching electronica-jazz.
BAND ANE (DK)
Childish innocence with complex grooves and loops.
BASEMENT JAXX (UK)
London-based house music from the musical leftfield with a full line-up of hits.
BEASTIE BOYS (US)
The pioneers of white rap and kitschy music videos are back at Roskilde Festival.
BEIRUT (US)
Young American transmits sounds of the yesterday world and adds a pinch of indie rock.
BIGBANG (N)
Successful retro-rock band specialising in steaming live shows.
BJÖRK (ISL)
Björk’s magical world still shines as brightly as the Icelandic evening sun.
BLACKSMITH PRESENTS: TALIB KWELI AND JEAN GRAE (US)
Double hip hop impact force.
BLOOD SWEAT DRUM'N'BASS BIG BAND (DK)
A great chance to experience an emormous big jazz ensemble on the slackrope.
BONDE DO ROLE (BRA)
These Brazilians tease with sexy and outrageous baile funk.
BOOKA SHADE (D)
Trendsetting Germans serve techno and trance.
BOOTY COLOGNE (DK)
Well-playing funk-hip hop collective.
BORIS (JAP)
Japanese psych-drone-thrash.
THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE (US)
Productive Californian outfit playing powerful acid rock led by mad genius Anton Newcombe.
THE BROKEN BEATS (DK)
Simple pop with lots of energy and winning hooks.
BURAKA SOM SISTEMA (PT)
Portuguese sunny ghetto-tech with roots in Angola.
CAMERA OBSCURA (Uk)
British indie band hooked on catchy choruses and tragicomic lyrics.
CARION/SVIN: BLOWBEAT (DK)
Classical ensemble meets curled-up electronica.
CHILLOSOPHY MUSIC PRESENTS DJ NANDA AND SOLEAD (CHL/F)
Smooth down-beat vibes from Swedish label.
CHOIR OF YOUNG BELIEVERS (DK)
Beautiful laments from young monk novice.
DJ CLICK (F)
Remixing the Balkans.
CLIPSE (US)
Critically-acclaimed rap about two brothers’ lives on the streets and on the downside of society.
COLD WAR KIDS (US)
Soul-blues-rock from a group of second-generation cold warriors.
THE CONGOS (JAM)
Legendary reggae duo with their roots intact.
CSS (BRA)
Explosive outfit from Brazil ready for a round of funky post-punk fun.
CULT OF LUNA (S)
Metal for post-rock enthusiasts.
CULTUREBOX LOUNGE TEAM (DK)
One of the best nightclubs in Copenhagen delivering chill-beats.
DATAROCK (N)
Unpretentious electro-funk-rock played by Norwegians dressed in matching leisure suits.
DEATH BY KITE (DK)
Upcoming melodic noise rock straight out of the Copenhagen underground.
DECORATE. DECORATE. (DK)
Literary and gloomy rock.
DETEKTIVBYRÅN (S)
Swedish romantic instrumental music.
DIGITAL MYSTIKZ, LOEFAH & MC SGT POKES (UK)
A fix of dub-step from the South London scene.
DJ DIPLO (US)
DJ, producer and insatiable musical backpacker.
DIZZEE RASCAL (UK)
The grime prince of East London.
DJUMA SOUNDSYSTEM (DK)
Electronic drainings of Africa.
THE DOWNWARD CANDIDATE (DK)
Aggressive hardcore thrash-metal from Copenhagen.
DREAM OF AN OPIUM EATER (UK/N)
First performance of cinematic metal experiment.
DUSTY (D)
German label founder, DJ and producer.
THOMAS DYBDAHL (N)
Sympathetic singer-songwriter with faithful Scandinavian fan base.
DÚNÉ (DK)
Sparkling Danish synth-rock hope.
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL (US)
Horny garage rock with lots of humor below the belt.
ELECTRELANE (UK)
Alternative rock played by girls with an experimental character.
ROKY ERICKSON & THE EXPLOSIVES (US)
Living legend playing highly influential acid rock.
EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY (US)
Explosions in the Sky will not play Roskilde after all.
FANFARE CIOCARLIA (ROM)
Gipsy music with good moods and full throttle.
THE FLOOR IS MADE OF LAVA (DK)
Denmark alsos delivers urban and hot new rave.
FOREST & CRISPIAN (S)
Swedish party rock in the vein of Bob Hund.
GADENS HISTORIE (DK/S)
Hip hop total theatre.
LAURENT GARNIER (F)
Experienced Frenchman with relations to the many capitals of electronic music.
GOJIRA (F)
Heated and progressive death metal.
HOLLY GOLIGHTLY (UK)
Singer-songwriter with a big heart, songwriting talent and back catalogue.
GOOSE (B)
Former AC/DC cover band take on cheery and energetic electro-dance music.
GORILLA ANGREB (DK)
House punk band from now torn-down Ungdomshuset still going strong.
GRIZZLY BEAR (US)
Haunting alternative folk music filled with nature’s dangers and beauty.
HAYSEED DIXIE (US)
Rock classics exposed to intense bluegrass.
HIGHWAY CHILD (DK)
Danish top-class leather rock.
IN FLAMES (S)
Swedish hyper-melodic death metal.
JEANS TEAM (D)
Electro detours on Atari and Commodore 64.
JOHN LEGEND (US)
Pianist and singer specialising in delicate R’n’B.
CAMILLE JONES (DK)
Danish-American R'n'B star.
JUNKYARD PRODUCTIONS (DK)
Sensual and rippling rasta sound from Jutland.
JØDEN (DK)
Danish hip hop veteran.
KAL (SER)
Serbian gipsy rock’n’roll.
KAMA AINA (JAP)
Soothing cinematic sounds from the Pacific Ocean.
KASAI ALLSTARS (DRCON)
Congotronics – buzz’n’rumble from the urban jungle.
KASPER SPEZ (DK)
Lovesick hip hopper with great potential.
KATATONIA (S)
Depressive and melodic metal.
NIKAIDO KAZUMI (JAP)
Acoustic singer-songwriter.
THE KILLERS (US)
Stadium rock in vein of U2 and Bruce Springsteen.
THE KISSAWAY TRAIL (DK)
Danish lads on their way towards the starry skies.
KLAXONS (UK)
One of this year’s most important new bands – and surely one of the most publicized.
KLOAK (DK)
Metal found in the strangest channels of the soul.
BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA (MALI)
Desert blues from Mali performed on special West African lute.
SEUN KUTI AND EGYPT ’80 (NIG)
Legend Fela Kuti’s son continues the mission where his father and brother left off.
K’NAAN (SOM)
One of the great hip hop hopes of the day.
LAZEE (S)
Swedish rapper with international potential.
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM (US)
Bone-dry dance-rock with a hipster-appeal higher than the Empire State Building.
JENS LEKMAN (S)
Hypersensitive and witty singer-songwriter.
THE LIONHEART BROTHERS (N)
Brian Wilson and Astrid Lindgren with gentle doses of shoegazing.
HØGNI LISBERG (FO)
Fully fledged singer-songwriter from the Faroe Islands.
LONEY, DEAR (S)
Sweden’s latest bedroom singer.
LUOMO (FIN)
The Finnish house artist Vladislav Delay performs under his preferred pseudonym.
DJ LYCHEE (CHN)
China’s first performing DJ at Roskilde.
DJ LASSE LYNGBO (DK)
Member of Diefenbach behind the decks.
M.A.N.D.Y. PATRICK (D)
Kinky techno beats from the German Get Physical label.
MACHINE HEAD (US)
Defining thrash from right-hand men of American metal.
MAHER SHALAL HASH BAZ (JAP)
Japanese composer uses the error as a purposely artistic strategy.
MANDO DIAO (S)
Swedish retro garage rock.
MANI SPINX (DK)
Danish multi-artist and quirky singer-songwriter.
MAPEI (S)
Swedish freestyle rapper with NYC roots.
MARYBELL KATASTROPHY (DK)
Experimental pop with a poetic edge.
MASTODON (US)
A treat for fans of fantastical and violent prog metal.
MATIAS & LØWENSTEIN (DK)
The club sound of western Denmark.
MATMOS (US)
Challenging and explorative glitch-electronica from two curious Gyro Gearloose types.
MIKA (UK)
English pop phenomenon with enough room in the flamboyant arsenal to harbour the best kitsch of the past 30 years.
MIKKEL METAL (DK)
Danish producer and drum’n’bass icon.
MIT NYE BAND (DK)
A handful of members of respected Danish indie bands venture into avant-garde ambient.
MOI CAPRICE (DK)
Dreamy pop with a heartache from Copenhagen.
NICOLAI MOLBECH (DK)
Veteran DJ from Danish radio station P3.
MORTEN ALICK (DK)
Drum’n’bass from young founder of record label.
MURDER (DK)
Lonesome, acoustic folk sounds from Danish duo.
MUSE (UK)
British sci-fi rock aiming at the sky.
MUSICIANS OF THE NILE (EGY)
Dance music from the Upper Nile.
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE (US)
Melodic teenage angst with elements of punk and rock opera.
THE NATIONAL (US)
Melodic melancholy rock.
NEPHEW (DK)
Danish electro-pop with verbal energy and refinement.
NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB (UK)
A gang of young mares and a couple of stallions play synth-music on their guitars.
NIKA SOUP AND SAYA SOURCE (JAP)
Japanese girl duo with fine and fragile songs.
NILS M/ SKILS (N)
Freestyler from Norway’s underground.
NORTEC COLLECTIVE (MEX)
The Mexican desert with techno beats.
NOSTALGIA 77 OCTET (UK)
Brit-jazz with lots of bodily energy.
BEN NOTT (UK)
British DJ and club organiser.
OH NO ONO (DK)
Helium-infused garage-funk-rock.
MIKAEL PALNER (DK)
Resident DJ at Roskilde Lounge.
MUNGAL PATASAR & PANTAR (TRIN)
Sitar play with Indian and Caribbean flavours at the same time.
PELICAN (US)
Solitary metal with a strong touch of post-rock.
PEOPLE PRESS PLAY (DK)
New, exciting electro-pop from former Future 3.
LEE SCRATCH PERRY & ADRIAN SHERWOOD (JAM/UK)
Two great reggae/dub producers enter the spotlight.
PETER BJORN AND JOHN (S)
Swedish, internationally acclaimed indie pop.
PIXEL (DK)
Fine cut and challenging electronica.
THE PSYKE PROJECT (DK)
Danish extreme metal nodding towards Dillinger Escape Plan and Converge.
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE (US)
Acid trips and laughing skulls with the States’ leading desert rockers.
QUIT YOUR DAYJOB (S)
Festive and mad Swedish band.
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS (US)
Red-hot funk rock and soulful ballads by a long-lasting band.
RHONDA HARRIS (DK)
Nikolaj Nørlund is back with his old band.
RONIN & MARONE (DK)
Solid and dirty house music.
ALICE ROSE (DK)
Expatriate Dane sings on top of melodic laptop electronics.
MARTIN ROSTBØLL (DK)
Danish producer and record label owner.
DARKO RUNDEK & CARGO ORKESTAR (INT)
Violin-swept cabaret from the new Europe.
MIKE SHERIDAN (DK)
The youngest talent in the Copenhagen clubs.
SLARAFFENLAND (DK/S)
Experimental rock with original use of winds and a men's choir.
SLAYER (US)
Slayer will not play Roskilde after all.
SONIC JUNIOR (BRA)
One man delivering dense dance sounds from São Paolo.
SORT STUE MED PIRATKOR (DK)
Anarchistic hip hop from the left.
ALLAN SOULCLUB SKOV (DK)
Yesterday’s still danceable steps.
SOULSAVERS FEAT. MARK LANEGAN (UK/US)
One of the most smoky and smooth voices in rock music.
THE SOUNDS (S)
Nostalgic new wave pop with an infatuated look towards early Kim Wilde and Blondie.
SPEAKER BITE ME (DK)
The Danish underground darlings are back.
SPIRITUALIZED – ACOUSTIC MAINLINES (UK)
The space-rockers leave Royal Albert Hall and devote themselves to a more spartan sound.
STELLA POLARIS SOUNDSYSTEM (DK)
Chill-out specialising in green surroundings.
STONES THROW RECORDS PRESENTS PEANUT BUTTER WOLF, J. ROCC, ALOE BLACC, PERCEE P & GUILTY SIMPSON (US)
The influential hip hop label Stones Throw substantiate 10 years at the outpost of hip hop.
STRIKE ANYWHERE (US)
Melodic and angry punk rock with anti-global sympathies.
STRUNG OUT (US)
Melodic hardcore punk from California’s darker side.
SUSPEKT (DK)
Danish porn rap – certainly not for children and the easily offended.
TAXI TAXI! (S)
Young and fragile pop music.
TENNISCOATS (JAP)
Band mates, label colleagues, married couple – and a duo.
THE THERMALS (US)
Hot and energetic high-octane pop.
TIMBUKTU & DAMN! (S)
Global hip hop from world-class Swedish lyricist.
TIËSTO (NL)
World-class Dutch DJ with melodic trance as his specialty.
TRANSMISSION LOW (DK)
NYC-inspired rock dressed in black.
TRENTEMØLLER (DK)
Anders Trentemøller presents his successful debut album with a full band.
TROST (D)
Disturbing electro-pop from Germany.
TRUE TIGER PRESENTS NY, PURPLE SIMBA, BRUZA, FAITH SFX & SCANDALOUS UNLTD. (UK)
UK garage label fronted by the young and talented underground act Ny.
TUNNG (UK)
Soothing folk-pop with grating electronics.
TURBOWEEKEND (DK)
Rock without guitars.
UNGDOMSKULEN (N)
Unpredictable and experimental guitar-music from Norway.
VOLBEAT (DK)
Acclaimed Danish metal’n’roll.
THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE (N/D)
Danceable guitar-based disco from short-sighted Norwegian and his band of German palefaces.
THE WHO (UK)
The band behind one of the most important soundtracks of the youth revolution is ready to let loose the primordial forces of rock history.
WILCO (US)
Jeff Tweedy & co transcend the patterns of country-rock again and again.
X-ALFONSO (CUB)
Cuban hip hopper and versatile artist.
ZYKLON (N)
Norwegian extreme metal by members of Emperor.
