Roskilde line-up release elicits mixed response

After festival announces the rest of the acts to play in July, much of the feedback online is negative but that’s par for the course for fickle music fans

The organisers of the Roskilde Festival took to Facebook yesterday ahead of their full line-up release for a tongue-in-cheek 'complaint' that the music festival's fans were just too darned positive. 

 

"Could we please have more complaining about the line-up or just the festival in general?" they wrote. "You are way too positive, and have been for the last months. More yelling and bitterness please…"

 

A few hours later, when the full poster for this year's festival was released, the organisers got what they wished for. 

 

After the live stream of the music line-up revealed no new headlining names, many Roskilde fans took to Facebook and Twitter to express their disappointment. 

 

"The rain in 2007 was better than this year's programme," wrote Thomaz Aarsløv Jensen in a comment that got well over 200 'likes'. 

 

"Disappointing. Embarrassing. Not worthy. A few of the words that spring to mind. Admit it. You spent too much money on Rihanna. Now we are gonna settle for junior league names," Torben Dahl Larsen chimed in. 

 

Many commenters said that Roskilde Festival was outclassed this year by Aarhus's Northside Festival, which has secured headliners including Swedish darlings The Knife, American rock acts Band of Horses, Modest Mouse and the Flaming Lips, French alt rockers Phoenix, and homegrown dancehall heroes Bikstok Røgsystem. 

 

Of course, anyone who follows Roskilde knows that complaining about the programme is something of a national pastime, and the feedback on social media was not all negative. 

 

"Thank you for this incredibly brave and ambitious lineup!" Morten Achermann wrote. 

 

"Brilliant lineup! I am not at all disappointed, like so many others unfortunately seem to be," said Theis Jehl. 

 

Among the new acts added in last night's video announcement were James Blake, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Bobby Womack. They join a roster that is being seen by many as particularly thin at top. 

 

The headliners for the 2013 Roskilde Festival are KraftwerkQueens of the Stone AgeThe NationalSlipknotSigur Ros, Volbeat and, most controversially, Rihanna