Roskilde Festival 2016 – shooting concerts and atmosphere
By photographer Kim Matthäi Leland
Roskilde Festival is the largest music festival in Northern Europe. With more than 180 concerts and some 130 000 people attending every year, it’s an endless source of great photo opportunities.
I had been to Roskilde Festival before as an accredited photographer, working for the music magazine GAFFA (See this previous blog post in Danish).
This year, I was asked to be the official promo photographer of the festival. My main task was to shoot images depicting the atmosphere of the festival – and fortunately, I also got to shoot a lot of concerts.
The festival lasts a week from Saturday to Saturday. The first four days are “warm up”-days with lots of events and concerts with upcoming bands, and from Wednesday to Saturday, the main festival site is host to concerts with some of the most interesting bands, both Danish and international.
Thousands of people queuing up for the festival. I used my light weight tripod (Sirui T-025X) as a makeshift pole to get the camera up in the air for this overview image.
Exactly at 6 p.m. Saturday, the gates open, and the most enthusiastic festivalgoers rush in to get the best camp site.
A week of good times with your best friends.
Dream City is an audience-driven area of the campsite where the most creative festivalgoers get to build their own unique camping area before the festival starts.
Happy days in Dream City.
Action on wheels in Street City.
The first music! Danish metal thrashers Orm on the Rising stage.
Fans enjoying stoner rock from the band Bersærk. This image won me the prize “Audience Photo of the Year” in the Gaffa Photo Awards 2016.
Casper Popp of Bersærk.
The rain didn’t seem to bother the festivalgoers.
Roskilde Festival was founded in 1971, making the 2016 festival the 46th in a row.
Most Roskilde goers are from Denmark, but there are also quite a few from Sweden, Norway and other countries.
Backstage with R&B/soul duo Phlake, who later in 2016 won no less than five Danish Music Awards.
Phlake’s lead singer Mads Bo is an avid football (soccer) fan and didn’t want to miss the quarter final between England and Iceland in the European Championship.
The other half of Phlake, producer and keyboard player Jonathan Elkær, getting ready for the show.
Let’s blow them away!
Some 25 000 people attended the concert at the Rising warm up-stage. It’s a good guess that Phlake will play at the actual festival next time.
Danish indie singer Katinka on her way to the stage.
The Roskilde crowd enjoyed Katinka’s experimental pop.
The DIY boom boxes get bigger every year. Here’s one used for throwing a party in Dream City.
Last party before the actual festival: Danish DJ collective Den Sorte Skole making music and visuals come together.
A few of the festival’s 32 000 volunteers in front of the iconic Orange Stage. Tomorrow it all goes down.
Wednesday, the gate opened to the main festival site.
One of the first concerts of the actual festival: Alex Vargas, playing his soulful electronic pop.
Rock-funk veterans Red Hot Chili Peppers playing the Orange Stage. Again, I used my tripod (legs together) as a pole to get the camera in the air.
Seattle-based Black Breath deliver a brutal blend of thrash and death metal.
The energetic lead singer Jehnny Beth of the British post-punk quartet Savages.
The new Countdown stage hosted upcoming electronic music during the warm up days and then transformed into a portal that acted as the entrance to the main festival site.
Eerie looking lead singer Papa Emeritus III of the occult Swedish metal band Ghost.
Members of the Danish arty dream pop band Blaue Blume getting ready for their show.
Here we go! Blaue Blume on their way to the Avalon stage.
Blaue Blume’s lead singer Jonas Smith has an impressive vocal range.
Both critics and the audience embraced the dreamy tones of Blaue Blume.
Thank you, Roskilde!
With more than 80 food stalls you can get all kinds of food at Roskilde Festival. Here it’s the taco stall run by the good people of the local concert venue Forbrændingen.
Danish rock trio Dizzy Mizz Lizzy were extremely popular in the 90s. After a long hiatus they’re back again, energetic as ever.
Lead singer and guitarist Tim Christensen has had a successful solo career in between the ‘lives’ of Dizzy Mizz Lizzy.
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy’s bass player Martin Nielsen worked as a postal worker for the several years, the band wasn’t playing.
My last concert of the festival was an absolutely magical show by Danish new wave inspired The Minds of 99.
Lead singer Niels Brandt looking into “The Stars of the Sky”, which happens to be the title of one of the most popular songs of The Minds of 99.
