The American rap icon Kendrick Lamar returns to Roskilde Festival for a third time, eight years after his most recent visit to the Danish festival.
The non-profit festival adds 16 new acts to the 2023 line-up, in an announcement which also includes Caroline Polachek, Weyes Blood, Indigo De Souza, Special Interest, Angélique Kidjo and the celebrated metalcore outfit Code Orange.
Roskilde Festivals head of programme, Anders Wahrén, says:
“This announcement features some of the most vehement vocalists and powerful performers right now, acts whom in each their own way convey hope, meaning and change. Roskilde Festival has shared a special, decade-spanning bond with artists like Kendrick Lamar and Angélique Kidjo, and they always bring something new to this festival”.
In 2015, Kendrick Lamar played in front of 70,000 people at the main stage of Roskilde Festival, Orange Stage. The “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” rapper was also part of the festival billing in 2020 and 2021, before COVID-19 eventually cancelled both festivals.
In other words, this summer’s festival will mark a long-awaited reunion between Roskilde Festival and the voice-of-a-generation rapper.
Roskilde Festivals head of programme, Anders Wahrén, says:
“Kendrick Lamar is one of the most requested artists among our festival audience, and he possesses a peerless artistic vision. He is no doubt the most influential rapper of his generation, and we’re excited to welcome him back.”
International heavyweights
Roskilde Festival 2023 is already shaping up to be a hub for powerful performances from some of the most acclaimed international acts right now. The queen of afro pop, Angélique Kidjo, first played at Roskilde festival in 1994, and is a true inspiration to some of the most forward-thinking artists across the African continent, including Burna Boy, Mr Eazi and Yemi Aladi, who all featured on Kidjo’s most recent album, “Mother Nature”.
US singer/songwriter Caroline Polachek, who released the bold, universally-acclaimed album “Desire, I Want to Turn into You” just a couple of weeks ago, will play Roskilde Festival for the first time this summer. Weyes Blood returns to Roskilde Festival following her majestic 2019 show on the Pavilion stage. And Indigo De Souza will make her Denmark debut, just months after the release of her highly-anticipated new album ‘All of This Will End’. American compatriots Special Interest and Nora Brown will also play their first Danish shows at our festival this summer.
New additions to Roskilde Festival’s Art & Activism program include cellist and composer Josefine Opsahl and choreographer and visual artist Jules Fischer as well as the Danish cultural institution Resonating Rooms. They join a line-up that already features renowned American choreographer Marikiscrycrycry and American-based visual artist Lise Haller Baggesen.
“To be a part of Roskilde Festival means to be absorbed, to be inspired and to be introduced to new communities and perspectives. Together, Jules Fischer and Josefine Opsahl challenge accepted norms, and Resonating Rooms will showcase a sound installation that celebrates a cornerstone of Roskilde Festival: voluntary action.”
Today the following 14 musicians have been added to Roskilde Festival 2023
Kendrick Lamar (US)
Angélique Kidjo (BJ)
Caroline Polachek (US)
Code Orange (US)
Weyes Blood (US)
Benny Jamz (DK)
Clarissa Connelly’s Canon (DK)
Derya Yildrim & Grup Simsek (TUR)
First Hate (DK)
Fulu Miziki (CD)
Indigo De Souza (US)
Nora Brown (US)
Phelimuncasi (ZA)
Special Interest (US)
