News

Roadburn has today announced the final names for the main musical programme of the 2024 edition of the festival. The festival’s side programme, art exhibitions and Paradox jazz club artists are still to be announced for the festival, which will take place between 18-21 April in Tilburg, The Netherlands. 

Roadburn’s artistic director, Walter Hoeijmakers, comments:
The line-up for Roadburn 2024 is finally complete. We are immensely proud of the diverse array of artists that we have gathered, and we feel that we are channeling past, present and future artistically, musically and spiritually. We can’t wait to explore and discover everything that is in store and celebrate our beloved underground together with all of you.

• Brigid Mae Power will deliver alchemical incantations and dreamy folk-pop melodies.
• Channeling intensity and vulnerability, deathcrash’s slowcore will be a welcome addition.
• Fear Falls Burning will premiere new music in the form of their new album, The Principle Flaw. 
• Gros Coeur are set to bring a psychedelic rainbow of sound to Roadburn.
• With a new album on the way, Habitants will make their Roadburn debut this year.
• Den Haag’s Heath promise “odd time signatures, blazing harmonica and hypnotic guitars” and more!
• HIDE will bring their uncompromising live performance to Roadburn for the first time.
• Fresh from the success of her latest release, Acts of Light, Hilary Woods will perform at Roadburn 2024.
• Bringing a heady blend of industrial noise, hip hop to Roadburn is King Yosef. 
• Lord Spikeheart will make his Roadburn debut as a solo artist, performing music from his brand new album.
• Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys have been highly praised for their live show which will make its way to Roadburn this April.
• Tilburg’s own Mirusi Mergina will present an experimental mix of whispers and soundscapes.
• Neptunian Maximalism will present their ambitious and expansive new album Le Sacre Du Soleil Invaincu. 
• Having previously performed at Roadburn with his band, Tau and the Drones of Praise, Seán Mulrooney will return for a solo performance.
• The Infinity Ring will head to Europe for the first time and perform at Roadburn 2024.
• Throwing Bricks seek to find joy in heaviness and combine elements of punk, black metal, screamo and sludge.

The Spark, Roadburn’s Wednesday night pre-festival party, was recently announced featuring performances from Final Gasp, Sonja, and Riot City.

The above artists join a line-up that includes The Jesus And Mary Chain, Khanate, Chelsea Wolfe, Lankum, Clipping., Blood Incantation, Health, Royal Thunder, Hexvessel, Dool, Inter Arma, Agriculture, Fluisteraars, and many, many more. More artists will be announced in the coming weeks. For all information including tickets, please visit www.roadburn.com

As has become tradition, we will kick off proceedings for Roadburn with The Spark – a free pre-party at the 013 on the Wednesday night!

You can meet up with friends, both old and new, get your bearings and truly start to get excited about the next four days of festivities, whilst being kept company by the unrivalled talents of Riot City, Sonja and Final Gasp.

These three bands will be your welcoming committee, a taste of what’s to come, and the beginning of – in our opinion – the most exciting weekend of the year.

We’re beyond excited to announce the third commissioned project for the 2024 edition of the festival. Berlin-based Die Wilde Jagd will join forces with the Dutch Metropole Orkest to present a project titled Lux Tenera – A Rite To Joy on the Main Stage on Sunday, April 21. The commissioned project, which is 2 years in the making, is envisioned as a collective encounter, in which the listener becomes part of a pulsating entity – a meditation, which expands our physical coexistence with new sensory experiences.

Die Wilde Jagd – the creative outlet for progressive musician Sebastian Lee Philipp – will likely be a familiar name to Roadburners. The band performed at Roadburn 2022, and prior to that they beamed into homes around the globe as part of Roadburn Redux where they performed two sets, one of which, Atem, was also a commissioned project. Sebastian’s tenacity for composition and his forward looking approach to psychedelic music has kept him firmly on Roadburn’s radar.

Meanwhile, the Metropole Orkest is internationally recognised for their work with the likes of Brian Eno, Antony and the Johnsons and more, but they will always hold a special place in the hearts of those who attended Roadburn 2019, when they performed alongside Triptykon. Their collaborative performance was the spectacular final piece of the puzzle for Tom G. Warrior as he worked to complete Celtic Frost’s Requiem trilogy.  With assistance from Fonds Podiumkunsten yet another groundbreaking commissioned project will be added to Roadburn’s history books.

Roadburn’s artistic director, Walter Hoeijmakers, comments: “Sebastian has proved to be one of the most exciting and forward thinking musicians exploring psych music. By teaming up with the Metropole Orkest, Sebastian will push the envelope of modern psych even further – we expect a mind-altering composition perfect for traveling both inward and outward; something you will feel in every fibre of your body.”

Sebastian comments:
“Since entrusting me with the creation of Atem for the 2021 Redux Edition of Roadburn, Walter Hoeijmakers has consistently presented me with truly exceptional projects, fostering an environment that encourages me to delve deeper into my artistic expressions. The prospect of collaborating with the globally acclaimed Metropole Orkest, and witnessing the collective power of 50 musicians bringing my new composition to life, is an extraordinary honour that surpasses even my wildest aspirations. I am profoundly humbled by this opportunity and eagerly anticipate the moment when I can share Lux Tenera with the orchestra during our performance on April 21st.”

To read more about Lux Tenera, please click here.

The commissioned projects already announced for Roadburn 2024 are Mat McNerney presenting Music for Gloaming: A Nocturne by the Hexvessel Folk Assembly and Kavus Torabi presenting Lion of The Lord’s Elect. Elsewhere the Roadburn 2024 line up features The Jesus and Mary Chain, Chelsea Wolfe, Lankum, Khanate, Clipping, Blood Incantation and many more.

We have every hope that this announcement is a case of third time lucky for us and for White Ward. Originally scheduled to play in 2020, we then re-booked them for 2023 with the intention of presenting their incredible album False Light in its entirety. That show was then cancelled due to the ongoing war in Ukraine; the band were understandably unable to leave their homeland for performances. So, it is with renewed hope and plenty of enthusiastic anticipation that we’re preparing once again to welcome White Ward to Roadburn 2024. 

As one of the leading lights in experimental and avant-garde metal, White Ward truly captured imaginations with the release of 2019’s Love Exchange Failure. It is a critically acclaimed patient exploration of black metal with exquisite jazz-infused flourishes that secured their booking at Roadburn the following year. They followed this with the release of False Light in 2022 – a thematically bleak album inspired by the novel Intermezzo written by Ukrainian author Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky.  Once again, the band seamlessly blended their signature black metal with an experimental leaning that sets them apart. 

Of their upcoming appearance at Roadburn, the band comments:
“Since we cancelled our spring tour and despite all the happening around we decided not to give up and continue to look for a solution for foreign concerts, as we understand how important it is not only for us but also for the Ukrainian underground scene and cultural ties with the European community. And now, after many months, we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

“Hope to finally see you in Tilburg, at Roadburn 2024!”

The road to Roadburn has not been a smooth one for White Ward, but we’re looking forward to finally hosting them for what is sure to be a monumental and incredibly special performance.

Wiegedood have performed at Roadburn twice before – their latest show in 2022 being an awe-inspiring performance of that year’s There’s Always Blood At The End Of The Road album. We’re no strangers to their high voltage black metal and their electrifying sets are always something to cherish. We’ve invited them back to Roadburn for 2024, but this is not Wiegedood as you’ve seen them at Roadburn before. For this very special performance, originally commissioned by VierNulVier arts centre / Film festival Ghent, they will be performing their soundtrack to the silent Japanese horror film, A Page of Madness. Prepare for something completely different… This performance will open the main stage on Thursday – the perfect location for Wiegedood to set the tone for what will be a varied and experimental edition of Roadburn.

Roadburn has today added over thirty new names to the 2024 lineup. Amongst the artists announced is Health who will make a triumphant return to the festival, Kavus Torabi who will perform a specially commissioned project, and a second set for experimental hip hop group, Clipping. 

These artists – and more – join Blood Incantation who were announced for the festival last week. The Denver-based four piece will perform their ambient album, Timewave Zero, in full, as well as a second set that will encompass tracks from their metal catalogue. 

Roadburn’s artistic director, Walter Hoeijmakers comments:
“It’s a huge pleasure to finally bring you this extensive announcement. We have been working intensely for such a long time. As we add these artists to the lineup, we can see it beginning to reflect the broad scope and feel of Roadburn 2024, truly showcasing the underground as it is today – varied, innovative and incredibly exciting. 

“We are flying in a lot of these bands from all over for the festival, and we know how daunting it can be for an artist to travel halfway across the world for just one gig. With that in mind, we have asked several of them to play multiple sets. This will help make the most of their time at Roadburn, amplifying their voices as much as possible and giving them a rare chance to fully express themselves through all of their different artistic and musical facets.”

Roadburn 2024 will take place between April 18-21 in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Tickets are on sale now. 

Following a mind-blowing performance at Roadburn 2022, Health will return to Tilburg to bring their distinctive sound and unparalleled energy back to the festival – this time on the main stage. With the release of their brand new album Rat Wars propelling them forward, the sky’s the limit for Health.

Clipping. have added a second set – the experimental hip hop trio will now play both Thursday, 18 April and Friday, 19 April, promising that “one will be more of a “party” (more upbeat, dance-floor-ready tracks) and the other will be something darker (more of our harsher, less beat-driven tracks).”

Kavus Torabi – renowned for his work with the likes of Gong, The Utopia Strong, Knifeworld and The Holy Family – will present a commissioned project titled Lion of The Lord’s Elect. This performance will comprise original material, performed for the very first time, commissioned by Roadburn. 

Uboa will be an artist in residence at Roadburn – performing three distinctive sets over the course of the festival. The Australian noise artist will showcase different facets of her creativity across the trio of performances. 

Labelmates Ragana and Drowse will perform a brand new collaborative piece of music titled The Ash from Mount Saint Helens. These two artists both release music under The Flenser label, and are uniting to create a new composition that will premiere at Roadburn. 

Also announced:

• Alber Jupiter will release a new album in 2024 and promise interstellar kosmische missives galore.
• The experimental folk and drone of Annelies Monseré is set to leave an impression on Roadburn audiences.
• After biding their time, Benefits will make their presence felt this coming April..
• Birds In Row will perform their 2022 album, Gris Klein, in its entirety. 
• Body Void will return to Roadburn to perform their new release, Atrocity Machine, in full. 
• After much unavoidable delay, Cult Leader will finally perform A Patient Man at Roadburn this Spring.
• Krautrock and misty soundscapes collide as Darsombra prepare to take to the stage.
• The effervescent Deaf Club will make their Roadburn debut 
• Melancholic, ambient solo artist Kyle Bates aka Drowse will perform his own show as well as the collaboration with Ragana.
• Eye Flys bring their distinctively caustic sound to Roadburn. 
• Drawing influence from the bleak tones of a post-industrial Northern England, Forest Swords will bring his spectral soundscapes to life.
• Making their first foray into Europe, Frail Body will stop by Tilburg to perform tracks from their hotly anticipated new album.
• Fuck Money are an incomparable band from Austin, TX – bringing their chaotic maelstrom of transgressive audio aggression to our doorstep.
• The brand new psychedelic, organ-driven sound of Full Earth is heading to Roadburn.
• Having dominated Europe already this year, Home Front will return with Roadburn in their sights; expect synth-driven post-punk.
• The acerbic sound of macabre grindcore will make an appearance thanks to Knoll.
• Industrial beats, apocalyptic noise, and gothic flourishes will all make an appearance during Lana Del Rabies’ Roadburn set
• Laster will perform their incredible new album, Andermans Mijne, in full.
• Titillation and transformation are high on the agenda for Patriarchy
• Having made a huge impact with their latest album, Desolation’s Flower, Ragana will at last make their Roadburn debut.
• Richard Dawson’s distinctive take on British folk is long overdue an appearance at Roadburn.
• Royal Thunder will perform two sets at Roadburn; one career-spanning set titled TIME + SPACE + REVIVAL and the other being a run through of their latest magnificent opus, Rebuilding The Mountain.
• Sunrise Patriot Motion offer up an alluring take on gothic post-punk 
• New Jersey’s Sunrot will be making their first trip to Europe, starting at Roadburn.
• Shadowy three piece, Thantifaxath, will bring their angular take on black metal to the festival.
• After many years, The Bevis Frond will return to Roadburn – having last appeared with their take on psychedelic sonic explorations at the festival back in 2006.
• Oppressive doom trio Torpor will perform their latest album Abscission in full. 
• Belgian-based trio Use Knife will present their radiant energy to Roadburn. 

All ticket and accommodation options for Roadburn are now on sale. For all information relating to Roadburn please visit roadburn.com. The above artists join The Jesus and Mary Chain, Khanate, Chelsea Wolfe, Clipping., Lankum, Hexvessel, Fluisteraars, Agriculture, Cloakroom, Dodsrit, Devil Master and Mat McNerney who will perform a commissioned project.

Mat McNerney is a true Roadburn veteran. Several of his bands have graced our stages throughout the years, including Hexvessel, Beastmilk, and Grave Pleasures, and McNerney is a very important part of the 2024 edition. He has created the very first music of the festival, in a way, with the eerie ambient sounds you heard in the gorgeous David Fitt video and even the intro and outro for this very podcast.

Next April, he will also be a central part of two crucial, already-announced Roadburn performances, namely Hexvessel playing their latest glacial marvel of an album, ‘Polar Veil,’ in its entirety, and a brand new commissioned piece of which we only know the title: ‘Music for Gloaming: A Nocturne by the Hexvessel Folk Assembly.’

Naturally we decided it was absolutely necessary to sit down and talk to Mat properly about all of these things. As usual with this supremely talented artist, we got more than we bargained for, including a few hints and insights on what the commissioned piece might actually look and sound like, even at this early stage of its development.

Listen to the entire conversation on Roadburn Essential Stories at Roadburn.com or Spotify.

As we have mentioned before, there will be no new lineup announcement prior to this. We are extremely proud of the first names we revealed, as they are a really good indicator of what this edition will actually be, musically and artistically. Right now, we are talking to many bands and artists to try to get them to the festival, and we need to take some time to make our vision a reality.

As we all know, things move slower post-pandemic, but we are sure that the wait and the hard work will be worth it in the end.

Thank you all so much for your patience and for putting your trust in us.