July and August are great months to be in Europe. Not only is it summer in the Northern Hemisphere – it’s also the peak of the festival season. 

For that very reason, every year, I try to suss out a different music event that programs Aussie artists on the Old Continent. This year, I’m heading to Roskilde Festival – the biggest music event in the Nordics – to see four artists making some serious waves in the global music scene right now. 

But I don’t want my claims about Ecca Vandal, Royel Otis, Folk Bitch Trio and Genesis Owusu to be unfounded. So I’ve engaged Roskilde Festival’s Head of Music in a conversation about what makes them stand out to festival booking teams and why European audiences welcome them with open arms.

PART 269 OF “AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN?” A RANDOM COLLECTION OF UNKNOWINGLY OBVIOUS FACTS ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC SCENE

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I think Danish people will agree that, most of the year, Roskilde is a pretty quiet place. 

This quaint town of just over 50k inhabitants is located 30 kms west of Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen. With a long and rich history dating back to the Viking era, it features typical northern European architecture, offers good shopping options, and boasts pretty surroundings (also lending its name to one of the fjords, a natural wonder Scandinavia is so famous for). It’s definitely worth a visit, but – normally – it’s pretty uneventful.

That changes radically at the beginning of the European summer. Every year, over 100k music fans, around 27k volunteers and around 180 music acts from all over the world descend on the quaint town for a very sound (pun intended) reason – the famed festival. For eight days, Roskilde Festival (and the town itself) becomes the fourth largest (and probably the loudest) city in Denmark.

Established in 1971, Roskilde Festival has a reputation for programming music industry game changers. With six music stages, ten other venues for cultural activities, and the event area covering approximately 2.500.000 square meters (the equivalent of 350 football pitches), it’s an important spot on the global festival map.

So it’s not an exaggeration that playing Roskilde is a pretty big deal for international artists. Especially the ones from remote continents who are on the verge of breaking overseas.

“I think the European audience, and especially in the Nordics, is more open and curious about new acts”, Thomas Sønderby Jepsen, Roskilde Festival’s Head of Music, tells me on the phone. It’s less than two weeks from the event’s kick-off, and we’re chatting about how the festival puts its massive line-up together.

Thomas has been with Roskilde Festival since 2009. He started as a volunteer for Team Music and became a permanent employee five years later. In 2022, he took over as Head of Music. So it’s safe to say he has a solid understanding of what can make or break the festival’s vibe.

That’s why he stresses prioritising the live experience over streaming numbers and other metrics when programming acts. Apart from extensive research on trends and tendencies, the festival’s programming team scouts bands at gigs and other festivals. For the whole team, it’s essential to get a feel for how artists connect with audiences.

Thomas tells me a story about his personal experience at the festival to prove that point.

Celebrating a friend’s round birthday, they saw Flume together when the Aussie muso played at Roskilde Festival for the first time (during the day, I might add). That was back in 2013 when “not too many people knew Flume yet.” Nevertheless, Thomas recalls the up-and-coming producer delivered “a sharp, bass-driven set that really defined the space.”

And it wasn’t just any space. It was the now-decommissioned Apollo Stage – a special place for Thomas because he was involved in starting it. Hence, he thinks of Flume’s performance in nostalgic terms. “It’s all down to experience, the moment you’re in, and making memories”, he summarises.

On that note, we chat a bit about the Aussie representation at Roskilde Festival over the years because Thomas has “a good feeling about the contemporary music from the Antipodes.”

During his career, he struck up professional relationships with the Sounds Australia team and has a vast network of contacts on the other side of the world. He also praises Australian acts as “a consistent source of new ideas and distinct voices.”

He backs it up with stats – there’s an artist from the Land Down Under on the line-up almost every year. From beloved headliners, including Nick Cave, Tame Impala and Empire of the Sun, to more niche or experimental projects, like Stella Donnelly, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Body Type, the Roskilde Festival music programming team has consistently championed Aussie music in Europe.

In 2026, four Australian acts are on the festival’s bill, which, according to Thomas, is a testament to “their relevance in the current music landscape.” They are also scheduled to appear on different stages “to represent where they are in their careers” at the moment, he explains. Line-up’s diversity in that context is also something the festival’s music booking team leverages every year.

This year’s Aussie contingent is also a solid argument for my trip to Denmark.

I can’t believe it’s already been three years since I saw Royel Otis on one of the smaller stages at the Reading Festival in the UK. The indie pop duo has totally blown up since then, claiming its rightful place in the Aussie music scene by taking home the AIR, APRA and ARIA Awards.

They’ve also won over international audiences, and it certainly didn’t hurt when they were named one of 25 Artists to Watch in 2024 by the Grammy Awards. Aside from original music, their cover of  Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s song “Murder on the Dancefloor” for the popular triple j ‘Like A Version’ segment (which, it turns out, was whipped out quite impromptu) is one of their most-streamed tracks. So I’m psyched to see how their live show has changed to reflect that impressive global rise to fame.

Out of the four Aussie acts, Ecca Vandal is the one I’ve followed for the longest time. I was in Oz when her fierce self-titled album dropped, and I’m pretty sure I’ve been significantly contributing to boosting the streaming numbers for “Future Heroine”. I also had a chance to suss out this genre-bending artist live when she supported Incubus in Brisbane in 2018. 

But what she’s been doing for the last two years is totally next level. I’m talking about the music (finally a solo female artist not afraid of proper belters), the image (I stand by the claim that she’s one of the most originally dressed Aussie acts these days) and the overall attitude (I’m loving her DIY punk with a glamorous, sugary edge). I’ve recently written about the massive year Ecca Vandal’s been having so far, and it’s only the beginning of July. So mark my words because her new album, “LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO UNFOLLOW”, is definitely going to make the list of the best Australian releases in 2026.

Folk Bitch Trio landed on my radar just over two years ago. And I’m probably not the first one to say it, but their band name had heaps to do with it. Despite that sassy attitude in the artist moniker, their tunes are more on the warm, melancholic songwriting side. I’m totally sold on their pretty melodies and honesty in the lyrics, too. 

I haven’t had a chance to see the Melbourne-based trio live yet. But if Phoebe Bridgers herself (who, just as a reminder, also forms part of an indie folk supergroup you might have even heard of called boygenius) praised their clean harmonies, then Roskilde’s Fauna stage – favouring intimate experiences – will surely be the perfect setting to verify that.

Until the beginning of this week, that would have been it for the Aussie representation at Roskilde. But some artists had to pull out last minute, so in an unexpected but very welcome turn of events, Genesis Owusu has joined the bill. 

The addition of the Canberra-based hip-hop/punk artist is another gem courtesy of the Roskilde programming team. The singer has had the Aussie music industry at the palm of his hand since Smiling with No Teeth cleaned up at the industry awards in 2021 and 2022. His experimental sound and raw commentary on current world affairs in his lyrics are definitely why so many fans worldwide have started paying attention to his sound. He also delivers creative spectacles rather than regular gigs, which I already witnessed two years ago at the MAD Cool festival in Spain.

Looking at the Australian representation at Roskilde and the whole line-up, it’s evident why the festival is completely sold out this year. So I congratulate Thomas on his team’s commitment and dedication to putting together a music event so many people are keen to attend. They surely have the best job in the world, scouting artists who one day might come back as headliners, right?

Laughing, he agrees. But he also points out that it is “only 177 acts.” And given how many amazing musicians there are in the world, it is also a pretty hard job to have to choose amongst them. Nevertheless, he feels extremely happy and proud of what the team has achieved this year.

I inquire if Thomas has a hunch who the next breakout act from the Land Down Under might be. But he plays it safe, saying, “I guess we have to wait and see”. 

I’m willing to wait, as well as long as that means the festival’s future editions will also feature some of my favourite Aussie acts. 

Check out my full conversation with Roskilde Festival’s Head of Music below:

_{Cover photo: Roskilde Orange Stage by Kim Matthäi Leland}

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