It’s never too early for a festival announcement, and Roadburn agrees. The Netherlands-based festival will take place on April 19-22 and will boast an impressive lineup.
First up, as Saturday and Sunday headliners, is Godspeed You! Black Emperor who will perform two different sets. In a press release, Roadburn spoke on their headliner in glowing terms. “Godspeed You! Black Emperor have slid smoothly into our collective consciousness, picked apart the very notion of what it means to be a band and teetered on the precipice between serenity and all out chaos,” Roadburn says. “The diversity of their output and their ability to always keep us guessing is a big part of why having them perform two headlining sets at Roadburn feels like a natural fit.
The praised group has been releasing a steady stream of new music leading up to their new album, and are currently on tour of their own.
The festival also announced their curator for 2018, Jacob Bannon. “When Converge performed two groundbreaking sets at Roadburn 2016, followed by Jacob’s Wear Your Wounds…we knew we’d found a kindred spirit,” says Roadburn. “Bannon’s influence is broad and his Roadburn wish list is very much in tune with our own visions.”
Speaking of Bannon, Converge will play forthcoming album The Dusk in Us on Thursday April 19, and You Fail Me on Friday, April 20. “In 2016, we played our Jane Doe album in its entirety at Roadburn Festival,” says Bannon. “For our 2018 return, we will perform our album You Fail Me in its entirety. Originally released in 2004, this album marked a turning point for our band internally and in many ways it is considered the beginning of the modern era of our band. This performance will be a one-time only event, exclusive to Roadburn… It will be an honor to play this material in its entirety for the Roadburn audience. We hope it will be as special for you as it will be for us.”
Hugsja, the collaborative musical duo between Ivar Bjørnson and Einar Selvik, combines indigenous and contemporary music, incorporating elements of Norse and Norwegian poetry, as well as a variety of instruments new and old. In addition to their music set, the duo will be providing a “guided tour,” of their group, explaining the origins and influences of their compilations.
Bell Witch (who will perform their landmark album Mirror Reaper in full as well as a collaborative set with Aerial Ruin), Panopticon, Igorrr, a “solo” set by Aerial Ruin, Sangre de Muerdago, The Heads, Ex Eye and Richey Beckett will round out the lineup with musical perofrmances for now, and Roadburn artistic director, Walter Hoeijmakers was more than excited for 2018’s guests. “At Roadburn, we’re always looking to push the envelope when it comes to working with creative and diverse artists…These first artists should give you an idea of the direction that Roadburn will be taking in 2018.”
UPDATE (10/11): A second round of artists has been announced for Roadburn. Incredible, this latest round measures up to the high standards set by the initial lineup that included artists like Bell Witch, Converge and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The lineup for this round includes Julie Christmas performing with Cult of Luna, Weedeater, Grave Pleasures, Uniform and Wreckmeister Harmonies.
Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas released one of the best albums of 2016, Mariner. They have spent the last year or so touring behind that behemoth of a release. This show marks the first performance of the two artists’ collaborative album of 2017.
Stoner pioneers Weedeater will be performing their 2007 album Good Luck and Good Speed in full at the festival.
Other artists performing at Roadburn will be Grave Pleasures, the Jacob Bannon-curated Greenmachine, Future Occultism, Årabrot, Furia, Gost, Hell, Maggot Heart, Mizmor, Occvlta, Sannhet and Thaw.
UPDATE (11/15): Roadburn has announced yet another incredible update to its 2018 lineup, with Earthless, Zola Jesus and Crowbar joining onto a fest that is already packed with incredible performers.
First up is the announcement of San Diego psych/doom extraordinaires Earthless as an artist in residence – meaning they will perform three sets at the festival. According to the press release, expect some music from the band that is exclusive to Roadburn.
The first set will be a standard Earthless set, consisting of music from guitarist Isaiah Mitchell, bassist Mike Eginton and drummer Mario Rubalcaba. The second set will be those three alongside Damo Suzuki, a legend of the progressive rock and improvisational avant-garde musical genres. The final set will be a “San Diego Pysch Takeover” featuring members of other bands from the San Diego heavy-psych scene (Harsh Toke, Sacri Monti, Joy, Petyr) as well as members of Japanese band Kikagaku Moyo.
Kikagaku Moyo will also take part in the Japanese Psych portion of Roadburn. This event, which looks to the past (i.e. 60s and 70s) of psych music in Japan will also feature Minami Deutsch and Dhidalah.
Specially curated by Converge’s Jacob Bannon will be a performance by Crowbar – they will play their album Odd Fellows Rest in its entirety. Another artist curated by Jacob Bannon is Zola Jesus, an artist who sonically is much less “heavy” than her counterparts on the festival, but aesthetically and thematically fits right in at Roadburn. She recently released new album Okovi, which should see itself near the top of a lot of year-end best-of lists in 2017.
Also just announced as performing this festival are Wreck and Reference, Mutoid Man, Big Brave, Dawn Ray’d, Hällas, Kælan Mikla, Planning for Burial, The Ruins of Beverast, Une Misère, Wiegedood and Yellow Eyes.
The last new artist added to Roadburn 2018 is Jarboe. She is known for her work with Swans in the 80s, working in tandem with Michael Gira. She will perform along with Father Murphy, who will also have their own set before the collaborative performance.
UPDATE (12/15): Roadburn has announced yet another phase of its 2018 lineup, bringing in more of the best avant-garde and heavy artists in the world. The Denmark festival already had a packed-to-the-gills lineup; now, it’s even better.
Dark Buddha Rising and Oranssi Pazuzu will team up on a commissioned project that will be known as the Waste of Space Orchestra. The two bands will perform music that they will create specifically for Roadburn 2018. The performance will include an original video accompaniment, while the music will tell a parallel story. Set to reach an hour in length, the 10 part performance will delve into the minds of three individuals.
Also announced for the festival are Boris, who will team up with Stephen O’Malley for a performance of their breakthrough 1996 album Absolutego. The one-track drone album will be performed in its entirety.
More additions to Jacob Bannon’s curation have been announced, including Motorpyscho, Godflesh playing Selfless in full, collaborative sets from The Body and Thou, Forgotten Tomb, a reunion of Justin Broadrick and Kevin Martin (The Bug) as Zonal performing along with Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother), and Hooded Menace. Lastly, other bands confirmed for the festival include Khemmis, Wolfbrigade, Jonathan Hultén, Worship, Fuoco Fatuo, Alda, Zuriaake, Vampillia, VMO, Watter, Hail Spirit Noir, Kairon; Irse!, Horte and Old Tower.
UPDATE (1/16): Roadburn Festival has announced another round of bands that will play at the four-day festival as well as posters highlighting the performances for each day.
Joining the first specially commissioned performance (Waste of Space Orchestra featuring members of Dark Buddha Rising and Oranssi Pazuzu) is a second performance featuring music commissioned just for Roadburn Festival 2018. This show will feature members of bands from the Icelandic black metal scene — Misþyrming, Naðra, Svartidauði, and Wormlust — who will perform a piece called “Sól án varma” under the moniker Vánagandr. Those that aren’t fluent in Icelandic, that means “sun without radiance.”
Other performances announced for the festival include curator Jacob Bannon’s own solo project Wear Your Wounds, All Pigs Must Die (which features Converge drummer Ben Koller), Stomach Earth (FMA Nyarlathotep), NYIÞ and Wormlust performing Hieros Gamos, Gallops, Scatterwound featuring Justin K. Broadrick (who will certainly be busy over this extended weekend), Brooklyn band Spotlights and Supersonic Blues.
UPDATE (4/16): Following the tragic accidental death of Cave In/Old Man Gloom bassist Caleb Scofield last month, Roadburn has announced a special Cave In set at the festival. The set will consist of Stephen Brodsky and Adam McGrath playing a special set at Het Patronaat.
The band left an official comment about the tribute: “Please join us for an afternoon of Cave In songs and cover tunes dedicated to Caleb Scofield, our best friend and bandmate who passed away tragically and suddenly on March 28th, 2018. Sincere thanks to the good-hearted people of Roadburn for swiftly and gracefully giving us an opportunity to honor Caleb’s life and legacy.”
Please note that entrance will be on a first-come-first-served basis; doors will open at 12:30 and the performance will start at 1 PM local time.
Photo Credit: Adam Blyweiss
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