The Dour Festival will not be held in 2020, since the edition has been postponed for a year. The Dourstalgia knows no bounds, and this summer organisers will be totally distraught at not being able to shout DOUREUUUH while making their way from stage to stage or waking up at the campsite with their heads full of images from the previous day’s performances.
But the long two-year wait between the two editions of the event will just be an opportunity to experience a historic Dour Festival in 2021 with ten times as much enthusiasm and an exceptional programme, on which all the teams have been working since the postponement was announced. And it gives us great pleasure to reveal the first names in the XXL-format programme for the 2021 edition, which will offer a mix of the best of 2020 and the best to come in 2021.
The first names begin with a further confirmation from ANGÈLE, who will perform exclusively on the Last Arena stage for her only festival date in Belgium. Since her appearance in 2018, the girl from Brussels, who is now an international icon, has made it big time with each of her titles, alternating between commitment and self-mockery. The Franco-Congolese artist NISKA, who has come to be one of the musical symbols for a whole generation, with a voice you can distinguish from a thousand others, is the second confirmed headliner on the Last Arena.
As for the new names, Dour Festival is happy to announce the return of ROMÉO ELVIS on the Last Arena, with his new EP, “Maison”, an “aperitif” ahead of the rapper’s second solo album, due to be released before the end of 2020.
The fans of hard-hitting techno will be delighted with the debut here of SVEN VÄTH, whose sets are worthy of DJing vinyl masterclasses, and the appearance of the acid house veteran CARL COX. This artiste, who started off on the hardcore techno scene at mid-80s raves in England, will also present his own evening show, as will France’s neo-priestess of industrial techno, AZF. 2021 will also see the return of Antwerp’s AMELIE LENS, who will whisk festival-goers along her techno acid motorway. The Chicago activists HONEY DIJON + THE BLACK MADONNA and the MODESELEKTOR duo will be live on stage too. SQUAREPUSHER, the IDM and drill ‘n’ bass maestro, will also make a comeback following the release of his new album, “Be Up a Hello”, as will PALMS TRAX, working his present-day magic.
On the hip-hop side, the festival will be glad to reconfirm JOSMAN, the best hope of the French rap game, and PRINCESS NOKIA, the feminist campaigner with the unique flow, and SWING, performing separately from the L’Or du Commun trio. FREEZE CORLEONE and LALA &CE, rising figures in French rap, also feature as headliners. As for new names, the Belgian scene will be represented by the duo CABALLERO & JEANJASS, who have just signed off the release of their 4th album, “High & Fines Herbes”.
A drum ‘n’ bass and jungle big wave is to be expected, with confirmations from BLACK SUN EMPIRE FEAT. MULTIPLEX, considered by many to spearhead the hardest, deepest and most experimental drum ‘n’ bass, DIRTYPHONICS LIVE with their incomparable raw energy, BILLX and his gentle 190-bpm joyriding, as well as KINGS OF THE ROLLERS & INJA and their old-school jungle, howling like no one does any more.
Other fine confirmations to officially launch the 2021 countdown include the French singer YSEULT with her solid gold voice and the dirty garage songs of the BLACK LIPS from America.
The festival teams have mobilised to concoct the best for 2021 and still have some nice surprises in store for you. The party under the wind turbines in 2021 will be legendary!
Stay tuned. In the coming months, the Dour Festival will announce the 200 other names that will make 2021 an exceptional event.