Ones To Watch: The Best of Roskilde Festival 2026
Words By Jake Hall
Photo by Malthe Ivarsson
In the summer of 1971, a small team of Danish high school students decided to set up their very own Woodstock in the sleepy city of Roskilde, nestled in the outskirts of Copenhagen. They had no idea what they were doing but persevered anyway, buoyed by the hippie ideals of music as a catalyst for community.
That first year’s line-up was small — around twenty bands from all over the world, but with a strong focus on Scandinavian acts. Grease Band, one of the headliners, even had a Woodstock set under their belt. Word spread quickly, and around 12,000 people bought tickets. Feral teens hurled themselves over fences to avoid the entry fee, pitching tents wherever they could in order to be as close to the action as possible.
More than fifty years later, Roskilde is still going strong — only now, it attracts 130,000 fans per year and routinely sells out. It’s a non-profit behemoth which pumps millions of kroner into the city’s community organisations, attracting tourists with star-studded line-ups. This year was no exception. I spent the weeks leading up to Roskilde eagerly earmarking all the acts I had to see: The Cure, Zara Larsson, Lykke Li, Gorillaz, David Byrne, Lily Allen… and so the list went on.
It didn’t take me long to realise that the true highlights of Roskilde are the ones you least expect. The best approach is to sink a few beers and wander around in a trance-like state, following the echoes of music from faraway stages. Roskilde’s diverse booking team are experts in countless different genres: there are the pop and rock experts, but also the Afrobeats connoisseurs, the death metal enthusiasts. Together, they curated a truly global talent line-up.
So, beyond the headliners, here are the artists to add to your next playlist.
Krøyer
The first thing to know about Krøyer is that she's the vocalist of Vulvatorious, a Danish black metal band in hot contention for the best band name ever. Her Thursday night set happened to clash with Gorillaz’ headline slot, but the crowd swelled as the energy picked up; before long, Krøyer was the bald, eyeliner-slicked doyenne of a full-scale rave, snarling ferociously as she screamed: “ARE YOU AFRAID OF ME?!”
Krøyer’s solo material is less sludgy than Vulvatorious, and decidedly more frenetic. Her sweaty set featured strobe lights aplenty, thumping industrial production and a chain-heavy set design that could have been lifted straight from a Berlin sex club. It was an unexpected highlight of the week, an adrenaline shot straight to the eardrums.
Hemlocke Springs
Fresh from a Chappell Roan co-sign and the release of her debut album, the apple tree under the sea, Hemlocke Springskicked off Friday afternoon with an epic and elaborate set. In just a few years, Springs has developed a trademark sound that’s somewhere between hyperpop and bardcore, all propelled by a voice that’s saccharine one moment, snarling the next.
The hour-long set depicts Springs as a heroic medieval maiden on a voyage of self-discovery, and it is — like Springs’ pop persona — so gleefully, delightfully weird. In an age of so-called “algorithmic pop,” her commitment to the Ren Fair bit is brilliant to watch, translated into the sonic wizardry of crowd favourites like “sever the blight” and “heads, shoulders, knees and ankles”.
Getdown Services
Not many bands could get away with screaming “come on, you Danish twats!” at their audience, but Bristol-based band Getdown Services are as renowned for their banter as they are for their music. They’ve become a cult favourite over the last year in particular; their crowds have quickly multiplied in size, and their Roskilde set is heaving with fans spilling out of the tent.
Sonically, Getdown Services meld The Streets’ deadpan, sarcastic and distinctly British social commentary with lo-fi production; there's an occasional disco flourish amongst the guitars, and plenty of lyrical homages to junk food staples. Songs like “Eat, Sleep, Quiche, Repeat” capture the sheer mundanity of everyday life, but they’re mantras recited as a bonding ritual, which explains their ability to rile up the crowd. Everyone is topless, everyone is sweaty, and everyone loves it.
Kin’Gongolo Kiniata
The name of this Congolese band translates to “the crushing sound,” which is an apt description of their wildly high-octane, punk-inspired sound. They’re perfectly placed on the line-up: at 11pm on Friday night, their huge audience thrashes away in unison, trying to keep up with the escalating pace of their rapid-fire percussion.
Kin’Gongolo Kiniata embodies the ethos of Roskilde in more ways than one. They're on a social mission to uplift the working-class youth of Kinshasa, and they take a pragmatic approach to creativity; in their world, anything from a discarded plastic bottle to a rogue kitchen utensil can — nay, must — be repurposed as an instrument. Their propulsive set is a stroke of creative genius, one that reshapes perceptions of what music can sound like and brings a spirit of euphoria to the start of the weekend.
Pil
There are plenty of excellent Danish acts to pick from — the iconic new wave band TV-2 draws a mammoth crowd on Saturday afternoon, and hip-hop stalwart Tessa hypes up the crowd with her rapid-fire raps and EDM-laced production. But each year, Roskilde Festival starts off the week with its First Days programme, designed to spotlight the best of up-and-coming Scandinavian talent. The team then keeps an eye on the talent for the years to come, and the best of the best get invited back to open the Orange Stage, the festival’s mammoth main stage.
This year, the honour went to Pil, whose dreamy pop soundscapes and hypnotic vocals have earned her widespread acclaim over the last few years, with Wednesday’s set marking her biggest to date. It’s a testament to Roskilde’s role as a talent incubator, with the First Days line-up acting as a cheat sheet for Scandi musical excellence.
Honourable mentions
Sara Parkman — “Folk music knows no borders,” says an impassioned Parkman, whose ethereal set is steeped in violins, walls of ambient synth and recitations of ancient hymns. Propelled by a truly otherworldly voice and the occasional scream, it's one of the week’s best sets.
Naïka — As a sheet of rain descends on Thursday night, Naïka switches from dancehall to R&B in a wide-ranging set which celebrates her Haitian roots. Not even the weather can dampen the crowd’s spirits as we dance in our raincoats, repeating the melodic refrain of “zobodobob” in unison.
Truck Violence — A group of fans wave a Canadian flag as the Montréal-based punk band erupts into a wall of sound. There’s a streak of melancholy embedded in the set of sludgy hardcore, lyrics about everyday life in Western Canada transformed into tracks with titles like “My dog would fuck the air” and “Jaundiced and reaching for a mother.”