Roskilde Festival gives back the stage to upcoming stars

The corona virus took away the stage from an entire generation of musicians who were on the threshold of a breakthrough. In the ‘Sounds Like Roskilde’ campaign, Roskilde Festival gives the stage back to the artists through a concert app and a vinyl release. “We hope our festival-goers will help give artists the attention they deserve.”

At a crucial moment in the careers of numerous promising musicians, the corona virus took the stage. Last summer’s festivals were cancelled and the venues in Denmark are empty yet again.

A whole generation of new artists lost the opportunity to present their music to the audience – and the audience missed a meeting with what may just be the future big stars. If only they get the chance.

With the ‘Sounds Like Roskilde’ campaign, Roskilde Festival focuses on the artists who should have performed on the stages for upcoming talent, Countdown and Rising, at the 2020 festival.

Roskilde Festival’s head of programme, Anders Wahrén, says:

“2020 is the year everyone will remember for the corona virus, but in the slipstream of the virus the artistic growth layer in particular is at risk of being forgotten. This may damage the musical food chain for many years to come, which is why we have launched the ‘Sounds Like Roskilde’ campaign to bring the artists back to the public.”

AR concerts to be enjoyed in isolation

A new concert app offers brand-new live performances with eight names from the upcoming programme. Using augmented reality technology, everything can turn into a stage, and with a smartphone everybody can experience concerts in whatever setting they want.

In these isolation-defined times, users can experience newly recorded live performances with acts such as Rune Bagge, Greta, Tuhaf and Ydegirl – on the living room floor or on the kitchen table, in the backyard or on a stage they have built by themselves in the bookshelf.

Roskilde Festival’s head of programme, Anders Wahrén, says:

“All artists are chosen because they have shown great potential ahead of the summer of 2020. Evidently, that potential was not redeemed. We hope that our participants will help us give the new artists the stage back by listening to the music, downloading the app and sharing their concert experiences with friends.”

“Despite social distancing, we can still share musical experiences, and I think everyone needs that right now. Together, we can give artists the attention they deserve.”

Limited edition vinyl box set

Earlier this month, the vinyl box set ‘Sounds Like Roskilde’ was released in 1000 copies, containing music by 38 upcoming artists on four orange-coloured vinyl records.

The album went straight to number one on the vinyl sales charts in Denmark, and we only have a few copies left. All the profits from the sale go in full to the artists.

Ensuring artistic sustainability

For years, Roskilde Festival has focused on artistic sustainability. The festival has stated a goal to strengthen the position of art in society and actively supports the artistic growth layers by making the festival an available platform for new artistic meetings, formats and experiments.

Every year, approximately 40 bands and soloists have their debut on Roskilde Festival’s stages for upcoming talent, Rising and Countdown, during the festival’s opening days.