The great puzzle

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The annual band schedule may be the most anticipated piece of information. Read about some of the challenges our bookers have to deal with before the band schedule finally sees the light of day.
Spreading out 180 bands over the course of a long weekend is a logistical trial of strength. Gear, effects, hotel reservations, vegetarian diets – all must be in place before the music starts playing.

The preparations begin many months before the festival. When the first bands are confirmed, we have to respond to wishes and preferences.

Some bands live in Copenhagen, they will most likely stay throughout the entire festival and can play all days. Other bands have to travel around the globe and may have to consider other shows before or after Roskilde Festival.

Good planning is not always enough
The big picture is painted early on, but for each day the festival comes nearer, new challenges arise.

Many bands accept to play at a particular date in good time. We all know how things can look straightforward and uncomplicated at a distance.

When we are planning in details, and the little things have to fall into place, new challenges come along.

It is sometimes underestimated how comprehensive it is for a band to pack their gear and get it ready again between two different festival jobs. Suddenly, we have a band who want to be moved from the time slot late Friday afternoon to Friday evening, because they cannot get from Scotland to Roskilde in time – something they, on paper, thought they had plenty of time for.

Then we have to switch things around – and one single exchange of bands may complicate the schedule in other places.

Changes are often forecast prior to the festival. However, artists will get caught up in air traffic as it can happen to anyone. Not even the biggest rock stars are above force majeure, and then we have to rethink the schedule in short time – and that pains us just as much as it can pain our audience.

Increasing popularity?
A band’s popularity must also be considered. The popularity of a band can grow enormously from the time it is booked to the time of the festival. Our audience would be very disappointed to miss out on an act because of lack of space at one of the smaller stages. A big name on a small stage gives the audience a bad experience.

Some bands are booked while their fate with a wide audience is still undetermined. In such cases, the band’s further journey up and down the charts leading up to the festival often determines the choice if stage.

Overlapping
Then there is the question of genre overlapping. We really try not to let two metal bands play at the same time. Also, we try to spread out the musical offers across the entire festival. But to plan after the audience’s taste across classic genre boundaries is an impossible task.

The entire mix of idealism and logistics is a Roskilde booker’s reality year after year. The band schedule re-merges almost daily with new adjustments – and it would be ill-timed to present it before everything is correctly in place.

Now the band schedule is out, and we hopefully we have succeeded in most of the above-mentioned points.