Following the announcement of Taylor Swift headlining Roskilde Festival 2020, a wave of new artists is revealed for the 50th edition of Northern Europe’s largest festival.
Radiohead frontman THOM YORKE has long been the forward-thinking spearhead of modern British music. Having first played Roskilde Festival with Radiohead in 1993, he will finally play as a solo artist. His electronic setup isn’t all Thom: apart from his computers, THOM YORKE Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes is joined on stage by long-time collaborator Nigel Godrich on keys, bass and guitar and visual artist Tarik Barri who live-mixes abstract projections.
Rap veteran PUSHA-T is indisputably at the top of his game. Having played Roskilde Festival with Clipse in 2007 and solo in 2014, he is now president of Kanye West’s GOOD Music and collaborating with Kids See Ghosts, Future and, of course, Kanye West. His latest album, Daytona, earned him raving reviews and a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album.
Despite just two albums to their name, THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE gained legendary status for their unpretentious indie-funk-disco-house. Their last album was released in 2009, the same year they last played Roskilde Festival. They’re now back for an exclusive show at the Danish non-profit bash! Erlend Øye – also known from Kings of Convenience and contributing vocals for Röyksopp – has spent the past few years enjoying life in Sicily and Chile, and now he is finally ready to give back some joie de vivre to Scandinavia.
The new announcements include plenty of other indie favourites: Irresistible soft falsetto favourites WHITNEY, Japanese sensation CHAI, Australian weirdo-blues-punk outfit TROPICAL FUCK STORM and indie super group THE NO ONES. The latter is made up of R.E.M. members Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey and Norwegians Frode Strømstad and Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen from I Was a King.
The 50th edition of Roskilde Festival will be a celebration of diversity, and these artists from all parts of the world reflect just that. We have icons such as Thom Yorke and Pusha-T, we have totally fresh artists like CHAI and Mura Masa, and we have a reunited fan favourite in The Whitest Boy Alive. With 170 more artists to be announced for our music programme, there is plenty to look forward to.
Anders Wahrén – Roskilde Head of Programme