World music at Roskilde Festival

The global music scene has been well-represented at Roskilde Festival since the start.

Roskilde Festival has a great reputation in the world because of many things. The special atmosphere, the hottest rock acts, the unforgettable moments of community in front of Orange Stage.

But the festival would not have its special name without the special focus on the global music scene. Since the 70s, the most unfamiliar sounds, rhythms and harmonies have been a part of the festival programme – shoulder to shoulder with the other bands or on Roskilde Festival's own prize Ballroom stage (1997-2006).

RAVI SHANKAR is, according to George Harrison, world music's godfather, and the Indian sitar virtuoso and composer played at Roskilde Festival already in 1976 where he was a headliner alongside Procol Harum. Later, Anoushka Shankar followed her famous father's footsteps: the also talented daughter played at Roskilde Festival in 2006.

ALI FARKA TOURÉ played at Roskilde Festival already in 1988. The concert took place at Blue Stage, and the crowd may not have been that big. Different scene in 2005. The West African desert blues legend returned in the company of Toumani Diabaté on Arena where a packed crowd welcomed them.

Today GOGOL BORDELLO is for fans of everything from balkan to Bad Religion. That was not the case in 2003. Back then the band was still a specialty for the most well-versed in the balkan scene. The band was on Roskilde Festival's poster back then. In 2009 Gogol Bordello joined the festival programme at the last minute, and the explosive outfit proved that Orange Stage is not oversized for creating a raving mad music party with a Yugoslav and gipsy-like flavour to it.