ROADBURN 2019

VARIOUS VENUES, TILBURG, NETHERLANDS

THURSDAY

Even more so than previous years, the 20th Roadburn Festival feels like a cathartic, spirit-lifting experience. Perhaps it’s the memories of cherished artists who had passed that will permeate the next four days, or that its sense of communal, chilled refuge has taken on added necessity, but not even the unseasonal cold snap can take away from the knowledge that Roadburn is a personal, transformative pilgrimage. If you’re looking for clarity, ’s crystalline lilt is a good place to start. Seated at a grand piano in the main 013 venue, her folk set isn’t so much connective tissue as connective gossamer, an elegant yet elemental undertaking that puts your brain on the most natural of highs. Fronted by Farida Lemouchi, sister of the late Selim, are a liberating, if initially bewildering experience, putting The Devil’s Blood’s DNA on a roaming, jazzier footing that takes time to coalesce around their frontwoman’s soaring, open-hearted vocals. Nature comes calling again with ’s full rendition of their album. Earthy, intimate yet prone to psychedelic excursions, this is folk as plaintive act of communion. Raw, intense, emotional, uncomfortable: is all of these things, her deeply personal Green Room performance and unnerving sincerity leaving everyone breathless and bruised. Her music is intermittently beautiful grotesque, but it’s an aching cover of Dolly Parton’s that seals the deal with a rapt crowd. ’s reverberating sonic wall of sound fills the Koepelhal like a warm embrace. Backed by Jaye Jayle, she focuses predominantly on songs from 2018’s but the best moment comes when she stands alone for a beautiful rendition of . ’s mixture. The 013 is absolutely packed for and their percussive, ritualistic energy resonates on the most enthralling of frequencies. By turns wild, serene and rave-like, it’s a spirit-retuning spectacle that you take away with you as a gift.