One of the most successful and coolest electronic music acts of the past twenty years, Prodigy is playing on the Main Stage of Sziget Festival again. No need to tell you anything else, a great show is guaranteed, so just make sure you arrive in time to get your place in the crowd. Another new feature of the Main Stage line-up is Kate Nash, a charismatic and already well-known singer from Great Britain. Kate is proud owner of a BRIT music award, which says a lot of her wonderful skills. And still talking about the Main Stage program: Kaiser Chiefs are coming to play the new songs of their freshly released album. The Chiefs are growing to become an emblematic band of present times, gaining inspiration from the punk and new wave movement of the turn of the seventies and eighties, and without doubt they are one of the most authentic and well-received indie rock bands of the United Kingdom.
The program of the Sziget Main Stage is now complete and you can view the detailed list of performers at the program section of szigetfestival.com.
Last but not least, another great piece of news: the most colourful music act of Australia, Empire of the Sun is playing at Sziget Party Arena, presenting their spectacular show, inspired by science-fiction and sometimes similar to a fashion-gala. But it’s surely not just the visuals: make sure you sing along with them while listening to hits like Walking on a Dream, or We’re the People.
Sziget is ready for you, so make sure you are ready for Sziget. Forgot something? Sure, you will need your tickets. More information: www.szigetfestival.com.
The CEE focus has 3 main attractions on this year’s Sziget: the well known Roma Tent, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and new venues like the Europe Stage and the Central Eastern European Travelling Funfair.
Lineup
Pop-Rock Main Stage
Already announced names for the Pop-Rock Main Stage include Pulp, Kasabian, The Chemical Brothers, Amy Winehouse, Dizzee Rascal, Interpol, Rise Against, Good Charlotte, Smash Mouth, Gogol Bordello, Flogging Molly, Maccabees and so much more. The newest list of confirmations is also a strong selection. It will surely please fans of quality guitar music, as they get to see Great Britain’s trendiest indie band White Lies. Other new additions to the line-up include La Roux – nominated for nearly all prestigious awards – and Manic Street Preachers presenting their 2010 album – Postcards From A Young Man – and hopefully giving us a taste of their new LP, scheduled for this November. Few people would think that members of a hardcore punk band also have modest and sensitive sides, but that’s exactly the case with Mariachi El Bronx, formed from the members of the uncompromising Californian punk band The Bronx. New-Zealand’s exciting musical export item, Batucada Sound Machine will be here as well, while fans can also meet up with one of the most important aspirants of the future soul-generation, Ben l’Onlce Soul.
World Music Main Stage
Some of the names already announced for the World Music Main Stage are AfroCubism, Gotan Project, Goran Bregovic Wedding And Funeral Band, Ojos de Brujo and Rotfront. Besides them, Oi Va Voi is also happy to return to Sziget, while psychedelic rock-country-blues band Cowboy Junkies will play in Hungary for the first time. The line-up will include Sly & Robbie feat. Jr. Reid and Slovenian Magnifico and Shtetl Superstars – only gaining popularity this year, but strong contenders to become one of the big shots of the decade. LaBrassBanda appeared three years ago in Munich and the leather-pants combo immediately made the Bavarian beer festival atmosphere their trademark. Ska Cubano is already considered to be a frequent player of prestigious world music festivals, so it is almost needless to say that they must visit Sziget, too. And we shouldn’t forget about world class Hungarian acts: Csík Zenekar, Lajkó Félix and Muzsikás will once again present their unique shows in front of a passionate world music fanbase.
Rock-Metal Main Stage
A great new open-air venue is ready to welcome fans of harder genres. Rock-Metal Main Stage will be, among many others, a home to legends like Judas Priest and Motörhead, but also Within Temptation, Deftones, Lostprophets and Sonata Arctica will make those heads bang in the moshpit. More to come soon.
A38-Wan2 Stage
It has already been announced that Christal Castle, Peter Bjorn and John, Marina and the Diamonds and Hurts will play at A38-Wan2 Stage. Among the new names a strong British presence is evident: Bomb The Bass, Kode9, Digital Mystikz and Gaslamp Killer will give their best for Sziget fans. Suicidal Tendencies and Xiu Xiu will be representatives of the United States and there are also three Dutch artists in the line-up: De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, DeWolff and Kees van Hondt. Besides them A38-Wan2 Stage will be happy to host Mitch & Mitch (PL), Selah Sue (B), Terry Poison (ISR) and Buraka Som Systema Live (P), too.
Party Arena
Some of the names performing at Party Arena have already been announced: The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77 and Kid Cudi will definitely come to do a set. New additions include Trentemoller and Zombie Nation and finally there are also news on the late evening acts. 2manydjs led by the Dawaele brothers is planning to give all fans a spectacular and crazy night at Party Arena. The coolest trance-collective of Great Britain, Above & Beyond will not only focus on their classic tracks, but will also make you dance like crazy with their new album Group Therapy, to be released in June. The most popular and versatile techno-musician of Spain, Cristian Varela will be here and the oustanding dj, producer and remixer Dubfire will also arrive to this year’s Sziget in the company of Carlo Lio. Another guest of the Party Arena will be Richie Hawtin, one of the most outstanding features of the minimal techno scene, living in Berlin for a long time. And Technasia will play again for party faces open for a special and exotic techno experience.
Europe Stage
Europe Stage is fresh and open-air, a venue where bands from several European countries present their skills. These bands are all extremely popular in their home countries, but still waiting for an international breakthrough. Now they have the chance to prove in front of an enthusiastic Sziget crowd. The already confirmed Europe Stage line-up includes Go Back To The Zoo from Holland, Triggerfinger and Wallace Vanborn from Belgium, Verdena from Italy, Söhne Mannheims from Germany, Ismo Alanko & Teho from Finland, For a Minor Reflection from Iceland, Elvis Jackson from Slovenia, Puding Pani Elvisovej from Slovakia, Skyline from the Czech Republic, Gravity Co. from Bulgaria, Francis International Airport from Austria, and The Mono Jacks from Romania.
Ticket information
Sziget Festival early bird weekly tickets (including camping) are available for 170 Euros till 30 April and if you are not the camper type, you can buy a non-camping weekly for 140 Euros. The prices will go up 30 Euros each after the early bird period is over, so it does make sense to think ahead. Daily tickets will be available from May for 45 Euros.
Beware of ticket fraud! In the past few weeks, dozens of fake tickets have appeared on the festival market. Serial numbers of counterfeit tickets have been banned, so these are invalid. Sziget Festival puts great efforts into the extension of its official ticketing network, so check the list of our distribution partners on our website and be sure you only deal with them.
Amongst the first names of the Pop-Rock Main Stage you get Pulp, coming back on stage after a long period of silence and already announcing that 2011 will see them playing only a few big festival gigs – including Sziget Festival, of course – in their classic line-up. Dizzee Rascal was chosen as the best male performer at last year’s BRIT Awards, and this time all Sziget-fans will have the chance to see why. Main Stage will also host Chicago-based melodic hardcore act Rise Against, Californian rockers Smash Mouth and folk-punk icons Flogging Molly. Interpol is currently on tour with their new album and without any doubt they are going to be one of the most awaited bands of this year’s Sziget Festival. The delicate, enchanting chamber-pop of The National has already fascinated the audience of the world’s most important festivals, and it was definitely not by accident that they received the album of the year prize from Q magazine. Sziget-fans were crazy about Gogol Bordello, so we are more than happy to announce that they will return this year, while Chemical Brothers also promise a spectacular new show for 2011.
The newest venue of Sziget Festival is called Europe Stage, aiming to present bands from various parts of the Old World. These bands are typically very popular in their own countries, often filling arenas and stadiums, but not yet achieved break through on an international level. Sziget Festival does its best to open up gates for bands like Triggerfinger, often referred to as the Flemish AC/DC, or the Belgian Queens of the Stone Age, promoting their new album All This Dancin’ Around. The Europe Stage also welcomes one of the most popular Italian alternative rock bands Verdena and make sure you get ready for Söhne Mannheims, German allstars formed of a dozen of outstanding musicians and covering a wide range of styles from r’n’b to reggae, rock, hiphop and pop.
World music fans get a five-day roundtrip of various genres and as usually, Sziget Festival’s World Music Main Stage will focus on the latest revelations and the biggest shots of the scene without geographical or stylistic limits. A fine example is AfroCubism, one of the greatest sensations of the past few months. We should also mention Cuba-based Eliades Ochoa and band, teaming up with Mali giants Kasse Mady Diabaté, Toumani Diabaté, Bassekou Kouyaté and Djelimady Tounkara to make an unforgettable show. The Argentine-Swiss-French combination of Gotan Project will once again present an undoubted skill in pushing the borders of tango, while the world music venue also offers a fine selection of Balkan music: Goran Bregovic will play beloved Romany anthems together with his remarkable Wedding And Funeral Band. A great news for fans of flamenco as well as hiphop is the gig of Barcelona-based Ojos de Brujo, playing at Sziget as an important station of their farewell tour. Rotfront from Berlin will try their best to be even more successful than they were last year… quite a challenge to say the least. And this is still just a prelude of happiness. France, a clear stronghold of folk- and world music will also have a firm representation with two beautiful bands. Old friends Les Hurlements d’Léo will create a special merge of the sensitivity of French chanson and ‘merciless’ punkrock, while Debout Sur Le Zinc will play the first Sziget show of their 12 years career, revealing their irresistible style of Celtic-Klezmer-tango-rock-gypsy-fusion.
The A38-WAN2 Stage has been offering a wide selection of trendy and cult bands year after year and this process goes on also in 2011. The venue will host Marina and the Diamonds, who is not only a fashion-dictator, but was also nominated for BRIT, BBC Sound and NME music awards, and has even received the prize of the best British/Irish band of the year at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Another great band playing on this stage will be Skunk Anansie, a band hard to label in terms of genre, playing an interesting merge of metal, reggae, electronics and post new-wave. And we should not forget about Hurts, flagship of contemporary British synthpop, awarded as best new band on the 2011 Shockwaves NME Awards.
The Party Arena is the place to be at nights if you are into dj’s and partyculture in general. But even more than that: before the sun goes down this is also an exciting live act scene. Some of the artists playing here will include The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, one of the most talented players of the electronic scene and new rave allstars Hadouken! Fans will also get the chance of listening to Crystal Castles, aiming atan audience that is open to visualize unknown and fantastic levels of musical existence. Those who have already seen them play live are captured by their sound and charisma forever. So make sure you arrive early to fit in the tent.
Sziget Festival has also a lot to offer for the fans of harder styles. This year organizers will make sure that rockers can get out of their well known tent and enjoy some fresh air with the introduction of the Metal Main Stage. The venue will present rock and metal acts in an open-air scenery with two international and two domestic stars playing each day. For this stage the focus is not necessarily on following the latest trends, rather on highlighting brutal guitar-riffs and some of the legends of the scene. The two early names announced suggest that this venue will be one of the most popular stages of the festival this year. Who are they? According to some fresh news, one of the most important metal bands of all times, Judas Priest is going on tour for the last time ever and they will definitely visit Sziget to make sure fans get stiff necks after a crazy night of headbanging. Motörhead will also return to Hungary, playing a thundering, high-speed, friendly and evil gig like they always did throughout the thirty-five years of their career. If you have ever seen them before, you already know that they simply ignore the age factor, so their live shows are as crazy and wild as the ones you get from musicians half of their age. Co-headliners playing at the venue will include Finnish power-metal heroes Sonata Arctica, already crowned with four golden records and surely considered as one of the most striking bands of the scene.
Although this is just the beginning, only a fragment of all the star-performers to be announced later, it is already clear that music fans from all over the world will have a great time at Sziget Festival also this year.
Last but not least, another great piece of news: you can buy your Sziget Festival tickets in 2011 for the same price you did last year. Early bird weekly tickets (including camping) are available for 170 Euros till 30 April and if you are not the camper type you can buy a non-camping weekly for 140 Euros. The prices will go up 30 Euros each after the early bird period is over, so it does make sense to think ahead. Daily tickets will be available for 45 Euros.
