ROSKILDE FESTIVAL SHARPENS THE ROLES IN THE BOOKING TEAM

On top of 50th edition of the festival, Roskilde Festival is now changing its organisation. The changes include more responsibility for the Program Director, a new Head of Music Booking, and an increased focus on involving volunteers in the programming.

After this summer's festival, Roskilde Festival is now preparing for the future. As a major cultural meeting point for young people, it is necessary to be in constant motion, and therefore the organisation of the music booking team is now being changed.

Anders Wahrén, who has been a booker at Roskilde Festival since 2003 and Program Director since 2014, will continue to have the overall responsibility for music, art, and activism and thus the artistic profile at Roskilde Festival, but he will not be booking acts for future line-ups.

Roskilde Festival’s Program Director, Anders Wahrén, says:

"It is absolutely essential that we continue to push the limits and develop Roskilde Festival in new directions. That is why we are now changing how we put together our music programme. Partly in the distribution of roles in the booking team, but we are also in the process of rethinking how we can involve volunteers even more in programming in the future.”

Going forward, he will have a sharpened focus on strategy, management, and development of the organization behind Roskilde Festival. He will also be responsible for the festival's extensive production team.

Anders Wahrén says:

"Our programming must be in constant development, so that Roskilde Festival stays relevant and keeps up with time. Therefore, it is necessary to move around the roles occasionally, and I can support the work better when I can also relate to our surrounding world and the festival landscape in general."

New Head of Music Booking
This means that Thomas Jepsen will be the new Head of Music Booking at Roskilde Festival.

He has been associated with the booking team since 2009 – the first years as a volunteer and from 2014 as a booker at the festival.

At recent editions, he has especially booked the big, international artists. Together with the rest of the team, he will be responsible for bringing the hottest names as well as new artistic waves to Roskilde Festival in the future.

Head of Music Booking, Thomas Jepsen, says:

"I would like to build on the work we are already doing, where our focus is especially on young people's communities. We want to continue to pique people's curiosity and give them something more than what they necessarily have on their wish list.”

"At the same time, we must ensure diversity in the music programme. In recent years, there has been a necessary, increased focus on the gender distribution on the festival line-ups, we will also in the future pay even more attention to the representation of minorities in our programming."

More volunteers in the booking team
Roskilde Festival's foundation rests on voluntary engagement. Therefore, the new organisation also has a focus on involving even more volunteers in the booking team and on developing new ways in which they can engage.

Anders Wahrén says:

"We have a goal of reaching all corners of the musical trends, and the risk of hitting blind spots is minimized if we expand the group. Therefore, we are now investigating other ways to volunteer. It could, for example, be as a scout, where you go to concerts and report back to us. It could also be on a more organisational level. We are developing that.”