Photo: Alexia Arizzabalaga
Going strong since 1971, Roskilde is the Glastonbury of Denmark and the festival line-up is always a momentous beast. This year, shoegaze pioneers The Jesus and Mary Chain and Slowdive have just been added to the bill making it more enticing than ever.
The Mary Chain (as they are commonly referred) have just put out Damage and Joy - their first album in nineteen years to ecstatic reviews. They bring to the Roskilde line-up a timeless no holds barred rock 'n' roll sound that provides inspiration for aspiring musicians as much now as it did in 1985 when they were being promoted by soon to be Oasis manager Alan McGee. An unmissable force live, and a reminder of the great scene up in Scotland in the '80s they will draw fuzz worshipers in their thousands at the legendary Danish festival.
Meanwhile, Slowdive are a great addition to the line-up, too. Britpop killed them off in 1995 meaning the introverted escapism of shoegaze was made redundant by the happy clappy sound of Blur. However, even when they were dormant their sound became an inspiration to many of the most popular bands of today such as: DIIV, Deerhunter, Tame Impala, Grizzly Bear, Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
With their enduring influence becoming more and more apparent as years ticked by, it was obvious that a reformation years later would be more than welcome. The band reformed in 2014 to the joy of many who missed the ethereal vocals and experimental abrasive guitar. That year they played to 50,000 fans at Primavera Sound for a gig that went down as a one of the best the festival has ever hosted. The fact they've an album coming out 5 May means hopefully this is a prolonged return and recent shows have seen many fans in awe - the recent single from the album is well worth a listen below. Certainly set to be a highlight of the Roskilde line-up.
Furthermore, The xx, who are a band that are more modern and likely to be looked back upon with the same revere as we do the above shoegaze legends in years to come, have also been added. Their latest LP I See You is an extroverted effort with rolling basslines and thunderous dance beats that makes them more of an energetic live proposition than they were the first time around. However, when they do draw from the more poignant shoegazing murmurs of the previous two albums are likely to create some of the most hair-raising, goosebump moments of the summer event.
Our top three picks aside, here are the other groups just added to Roskilde Festival line-up 2017:
ANTHRAX / THE AVALANCHES / FUTURE ISLANDS / HALSEY ICONA POP / NICOLAS JAAR / RESIDENTE / ROYAL BLOOD / THE SAVAGE ROSE / SEUN KUTI & EGYPT 80 feat. YASIIN BEY
Joining the previously announced artists the complete line-up is as such:
Wednesday 28 June
THE WEEKND, JUSTICE
BLINK-182, BONOBO, G-EAZY, RAG'N'BONE MAN
75 DOLLAR BILL, A DAY TO REMEMBER, ALSARAH & THE NUBATONES, BICEP, HAMID EL KASRI GNAOUA ENSEMBLE feat. JUSTIN ADAMS, IDLES, KEVIN MORBY, MADAME GANDHI, MARCHING CHURCH, PHLAKE, RED FANG, RÜFÜS, VANISHING TWIN, WARPAINT
Thursday 29 June
THE XX, SOLANGE
BRYSON TILLER, CARL EMIL PETERSEN, ELZA SOARES, ERASURE, FUTURE ISLANDS, GUCCI MANE, THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN, NICOLAS JAAR, POPCAAN, ROYAL BLOOD, THE SAVAGE ROSE 67, ACID ARAB, ANDRÁS, AUTHOR & PUNISHER, AYIA, BLOOD COMMAND, CLAMS CASINO, DISCWOMAN (UMFANG + DJ HARAM + VOLVOX), DUB DE GAITA - LOS GAITEROS DE SAN JACINTO, HAMILTON LEITHAUSER, HIGH ON FIRE, HUN SOLO, IFRIQIYYA ELECTRIQUE, JAH9, JULIA JACKLIN, KINK feat. RACHEL ROW, KSIĘŻYC, LORENZO WOODROSE, MARGO PRICE, PERT NEAR SANDSTONE, PIG DESTROYER, PRINCESS NOKIA, SHAME, SIGRID, VIAGRA BOYS, WEYES BLOOD
Friday 30 June
FOO FIGHTERS, TRENTEMØLLER
ANGEL OLSEN, THE AVALANCHES, DEN SORTE SKOLE, FATHER JOHN MISTY, ICONA POP, LORDE, MØME, SEUN KUTI & EGYPT 80 feat. YASIIN BEY, TINASHE, 47SOUL, '68, AFENGINN, AGAINST ME!, ALEX CAMERON, AV AV AV, BASOKIN, BCUC, BOTANY, BOUJELOUD, CANCER, FIRST HATE, FATIMA YAMAHA, HIEROGLYPHIC BEING, JAGWAR MA, KANO, KAREN ELSON, KARL WILLIAM, LA MAMBANEGRA, MAMMÚT, MATS GUSTAFSSON'S NU ENSEMBLE ”HIDROS ZAP”, MOON DUO, NILS BECH, NOGA EREZ, NONAME, OF MICE & MEN, SVIN, WIKI
Saturday 1 July
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, ARCADE FIRE, MODERAT/MODESELEKTOR
ANTHRAX, HALSEY, THE LUMINEERS, NEUROSIS, RESIDENTE, SLOWDIVE, SORT SOL
ATOMIKYLÄ, BABY WOODROSE, BAIANASYSTEM, BJARKI, BLACK STRING, CASHMERE CAT, CIRCUIT DE YEUX, DEBASHISH BHATTACHARYA, EMIL STABIL, FULL OF HELL, GROUP DOUEH & CHEVEU, IBAAKU, JANKA NABAY & THE BUBU GANG, JENNY HVAL, KELLERMENSCH, KREPT & KONAN, LI
