The Foo Fighters cancel Glastonbury, Rock Werchter and more

The Foo Fighters have cancelled their upcoming shows after Dave Grohl fell off the stage in Gothenburg last week.  This includes the Friday night headline slot at Glastonbury, Rock Werchter and more!

The statement from the band: "Due to injuries sustained in Dave Grohl's fall from the stage during Foo Fighters' June 12 show at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden, doctors have required the cancellation of the remainder of the band's dates in the UK and Europe. After undergoing surgery Monday, Dave's full recuperation time is still to be determined. It was previously announced that Foo Fighters' June 14 appearance at the Pinkpop Festival and June 16 show at the AFG Arena in St. Gallen, Switzerland were cancelled. The following dates have now been cancelled as well: June 19 & 20 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium June 23 – Edinburgh, UK – BT Murrayfield Stadium June 25 – Werchter, Belgium – Festivalpark Werchter June 26 – Glastonbury Festival 2015."  

Florence and The Machine to return to Rock Werchter in 2015

A particularly commanding lady will again make her appearance at Werchter next summer. Florence + the Machine will perform in the Festival Park on Thursday 25 June. Other names already confirmed for Rock Werchter 2015 are Foo Fighters, Muse, Pharrell Williams and alt-J. More to follow shortly.

Florence Welch is a young woman of pedigree who has always dreamed of a musical career, full of creative twists and turns, just like that of Björk, Kate Bush and PJ Harvey. And she created a dream team to make sure it happened. The key figure is keyboard player Isabella Summers, who is nicknamed 'Isabella Machine' because of her electronic music talents. Instantly the band is much loved by the British critics and dominating the radio over here with 'Dog Days Are Over' and 'You Got The Love', a fine cover of an old soul number. In 2010 the debut album 'Lungs' (2009) led to a memorable concert at the festival's former Pyramid Marquee. The tent should have been three times bigger and was rocked so hard by the fiery Welch that it left a rip in Florence's long black dress. Two years later on the Main Stage she says 'Let's hope that happens again'. She captures the hearts of the audience with ease. It's onwards and upwards from here.

Foo Fighters & Muse to headline Rock Werchter 2015

Rock Werchter is pleased to announce Muse will headline on Sunday 28 June.  Foo Fighters will headline the festival in Belgium on Thursday 25 June 2015. 

Foo Fighters are coming by general demand. Every year we collect the wish lists from the friends of the festival and this year Foo Fighters are right at the top. To be sure of landing the band of the moment Rock Werchter is moving its dates forward a week. This is because the band is heading back to the States at the end of June to play a huge concert in front man Dave Grohl's home base of Washington D.C. on Saturday 4 July. In 2015 Foo Fighters will play Werchter for the third time in their 20 year history. They made their last appearance way back in 2005. Put together in eight iconic recording studios, the new album 'Sonic Highways' (2014) is Grohl's homage to the rich musical history of America, of which Foo Fighters are a fine example.

Muse have released six studio albums and have sold in excess of 20 million albums worldwide. Widely recognised as one of the best live bands in the world, they have won numerous music awards including five MTV Europe Music Awards, six NME Awards and six Q Awards. They have twice been awarded "Best British Live Act" at The Brits and have also been nominated for five Grammy Awards, winning Best Rock Album for The Resistance. Their last tour commenced in October 2012 and saw the band perform to over 2 million fans worldwide. Muse's sold out show at Rome's Olympic Stadium in July 13 was the first concert film to be filmed and presented in 4K Ultra High Definition. The band are currently in the studio working on their seventh studio album, scheduled for release in 2015.

Rock Werchter 2014 completes its lineup

The Rock Werchter 2014 programme is set and includes 79 names. Fourteen new names complete the picture. Radkey and Bombay Bicycle Club have been added to the line-up on Thursday, July 3. Coely, Puggy and Paolo Nutini have been added on Friday, July 4.  Altrego, Jonny Lang, Twenty One Pilots, tUnE-yArDs and Ozark Henry will perform on Saturday, July 5. Oscar & The Wolf, Kuroma, Royal Bloodand Lykke Li complete the programme on Sunday, July 6.  The time schedules will be announced soon. 

Here is an alphabetical list of the 79 names that grace the Rock Werchter 2014 line-up: Agnes Obel, Altrego, Angus and Julia Stone, Arctic Monkeys, Arsenal, Babyshambles, Bastille, Biffy Clyro, Birdy, Bombay Bicycle Club, Chase and Status, Coely, Crystal Fighters, Damon Albarn, Daptone Super Soul Revue featuring Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires, Antibalas, The Sugarman 3 with special guests Saun and Starr and Master of Ceremonies Binky Griptite, Dropkick Murphys, Eels, Ellie Goulding, Foals, Foster The People, Franz Ferdinand, George Ezra, Gesaffelstein, Haim, Imagine Dragons, Interpol, Jack Johnson, Jonny Lang, Katy B, Kings of Leon, Kodaline, Kuroma,  London Grammar, Lykke Li, Major Lazer, Melanie De Biasio, Metallica, Metronomy, MGMT, Midlake, Miles Kane, Milow, Moderat, Oscar & The Wolf, Ozark Henry, Paolo Nutini, Parov Stelar Band, Parquet Courts, Passenger, Pearl Jam, Pixies, Placebo, Puggy, Radkey, Reignwolf, Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Royal Blood, Rudimental, Sam Smith, SBTRKT, Skrillex, Stromae, The 1975, The Black Keys, The Naked and Famous, The Opposites, The Strypes, The Subs, The Temperance Movement, The Wombats, Trentemøller, Triggerfinger, Trixie Whitley, tUnE-yArDs, Twenty One Pilots, Valerie June, Warpaint and White Lies.

Biffy Clyro, Miles Kane and more added to Rock Werchter

The Summer Festival Guide can announce that Rock Werchter adds six new artists to its lineup over the weekend of the 3rd July to the 6th July.  Bastille, Miles Kane, Biffy Clyro, London Grammar, Midlake and The Wombats will perform over the weekend.

Biffy Clyro

An overview of the bands announced so far for each day of Rock Werchter 2014:

  • Thursday 3 July: Metallica, Placebo, Damon Albarn, Skrillex, Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, Dropkick Murphys, Miles Kane, The Wombats, London Grammar, Valerie June
  • Friday 4 July: Arctic Monkeys, Ellie Goulding, Major Lazer, Jack Johnson, Crystal Fighters, The 1975, The Naked and Famous
  • Saturday 5 July: Pearl Jam, The Black Keys, Pixies, Triggerfinger, Imagine Dragons, Biffy Clyro,  Haim, Agnes Obel, Midlake, Kodaline
  • Sunday 6 July: Kings of Leon, Stromae, Franz Ferdinand, Bastille, Babyshambles, MGMT, Birdy, Foals, Passenger, Metronomy

Damon Albarn confirmed for Rock Werchter

Damon Albarn is the musical superman of the 21st century, though perhaps it is not that noticeable. The reason for the description is probable his high productivity. The Brit does so much that it is hard to keep up: rock, opera, African music… It is always interesting and cool. Plus: Albarn is getting better as the years go by. He is known first and foremost as the frontman of Blur, the group which staged such a fantastic performance at Werchter last year. And he has already been here with The Good, The Bad and The Queen. His greatest commercial successes have been achieved with Gorillaz. The second album “Demon Days” (2005) has been doing well on both sides of the Atlantic. After more than 20 years in the frontline, Albarn is now releasing a first album under his own name. “Everyday Robots” (2014), he says, is a mix of folk and soul. Superman goes solo. Damon Albarn will headline KluB C on Thursday 3 July.



List of names confirmed and announced so far for Rock Werchter 2014. 

  • Thursday 3 July: Metallica, Placebo, Damon Albarn, Skrillex, Dropkick Murphys
  • Friday 4 July: Arctic Monkeys, Ellie Goulding, Major Lazer, Jack Johnson, Crystal Fighters, The Naked and Famous
  • Saturday 5 July: Pearl Jam, The Black Keys, Pixies, Triggerfinger, Imagine Dragons, Agnes Obel
  • Sunday 6 July:  Kings of Leon, Stromae, Franz Ferdinand, Babyshambles, MGMT, Birdy, Passenger,  Metronomy

Damon Albarn

Ellie Goulding, Babyshambles, MGMT and more added to Rock Werchter

Rock Werchter add to the already impressive lineup for 2014 annoucing that Ellie Goulding, Babyshambles, MGMT, Birdy & Crystal Fighters will be performing.

List of names confirmed so far for Rock Werchter 2014:

Thursday 3 July: Metallica, Placebo, Skrillex
Friday 4 July: Arctic Monkeys, Ellie Goulding, Major Lazer, Jack Johnson, Crystal Fighters
Saturday 5 July: Pearl Jam, The Black Keys, Pixies, Triggerfinger
Sunday 6 July: Kings of Leon, Stromae, Franz Ferdinand, Babyshambles, MGMT, Birdy

Ellie Goulding

Keep an eye on the Summer Festival Guide for more Rock Werchter lineup news!

Kings of Leon to headline Rock Werchter 2014

The Summer Festival Guide 2014 can now reveal that Kings of Leon will headline Sunday night at Belgium's Rock Werchter.

They join Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Jack Johnson, Major Lazer, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Pixies, Placebo, Skrillex, Stromae – who said himself on Facebook this week that he’d be there – The Black Keys and Triggerfinger, all already announced for Rock Werchter 2014. Festival tickets have been on sale since early December. Ticket sales for Rock Werchter 2014 are at 60,000 and still counting. The 18,000 day tickets for Saturday 5 July are already sold out. Still on sale: combi-tickets and day tickets for Thursday, Friday or Sunday. More festival news to come soon.

Kings of Leon

About Kings of Leon:
”There is no festival we’ve played more,” said singer Caleb Followill to the Werchter crowd last year. The pleasure is ours, Caleb. No name has graced the bill as often in such a short space of time: in 2014 it will be the sixth time in eight years. This mutual respect tells a Werchter fairytale: young band makes headliner status through repeat visits. The first time around, in 2007, Kings of Leon were honoured by a visit from Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam). Two years later they topped the bill. By then “Sex On Fire” and “Use Somebody” had brought them world fame and they were heaping up the gold records. The album “Come Around Sundown” (2010) was overshadowed by internal stresses, but that was only a glitch. “Mechanical Bull” (2013) sees them back in good form. More roots than arena rock. Good stuff.

Pearl Jam to headline Rock Werchter

t may have been a long courtship, but the love they share with festival friends at Werchter is more intense than ever. It wasn’t until 2006 that Pearl Jam played on Belgian soil for the first time, at a sold out Sportpaleis in Antwerp. And a year later the American band finally played Rock Werchter. Next year they will take to the festival’s main stage for the fourth time. Pearl Jam headline on Saturday 5 July. And they’ll be giving a full show. Pearl Jam are planning just 11 shows in Europe next summer. They’ll play at only 2 festivals – Open’er in Poland and Rock Werchter. It will be a fine reunion.

Pearl Jam

These days the best marathon shows are given by U2, Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam. The UK’s Q magazine recently gave Eddie Vedder & Co. 5 stars for a concert in New York. Above all, the music magazine praised the almost homely welcome they gave the fans. Pearl Jam combine the energy of fledglings with the blessings of twenty-five years’ experience. They are superstars who play like it might be their last concert. Not one note too many, furious and compelling. Constant touring has perfected the band and given them a huge and fanatical following. More than 20 years after the magnificent ‘Ten’ (1991), Pearl Jam is still very ‘Alive’. In that time they have sold about 60 million albums. Did you know: ‘Lightning Bolt’ (2013), the tenth studio album, was their first number 1 in Belgium.

Now confirmed for Rock Werchter 2014, we have Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Jack Johnson, Major Lazer, Metallica, Pixies, Placebo, Skrillex, The Black Keys and Triggerfinger.

Major Lazer, Skrillex and more added to Rock Werchter 2014

Today more names were added to the Rock Werchter 2014 bill. Five particularly resounding names: Franz Ferdinand, Major Lazer, Pixies, Skrillex and Triggerfinger. Nice. Tickets for Rock Werchter go on sale on this Saturday. More festival news is on its way!

Skrillex is coming to Werchter on Thursday 3 July. The prince of American dance created something of an earth tremor in 2012. This time too, he promises great beats across the fields. Get out the dancing shoes again on Friday 4 July, because that’s when the hottest party machine of them all, Major Lazer, is at the festival. Then, on Saturday 5 July, Werchter is all about guitars. Or so the initial confirmations say. Pixies will generate a wave of pleasant frenzy over Werchter. And Belgium’s finest, Triggerfinger will be there on Saturday as well. At present the band are recording the successor to their successful album “All This Dancin’ Around” (2010) in Los Angeles. Franz Ferdinand will play the festival on Sunday 6 July. These Scots get the guitars swinging, more so now than ever. It’s party time!

Major Lazer