Roots & Roses Festival: Graveyard, Kadavar, Psychonaut & The Datsuns among others announced for this year’s edition!

Roots & Roses Festival will take place on April 30th and May 1st, 2023 in Lessines, Belgium.

There will be 28 bands over two days. A full program of roots music in the broadest sense, from Americana to folk, including acoustic blues, rhythm ‘n blues and modern country variations. But also more electric and energetic trends, from garage to hard blues, including all forms of rock ‘n’ roll.

This new generation is not afraid to show its inspirations: psychedelic rock, old blues & folk, garage or pure blues rock. In short, a strong, contemporary, coherent and diverse line-up!

The Datsuns will take the stage on April 30th, while Graveyard, Kadavar and Psychonaut will be performing there on May 1st.

Like every year we believe that we have an attractive bill for a large public, also outside of Belgium.

But Roots & Roses is not just about the music. The festival has its own philosophy based on the quality of the audience experience.

Roots & Roses // April 30 – May 1, 2023

Roots & Roses returns this year, in top form and with 28 bands on the bill.

The 2019 edition was a record-breaker. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to Covid. In 2021, a Roots & Roses in a special pandemic configuration was held for three days in July. In 2022, the festival returned to its traditional dates and infrastructure, just as the covid’s grip was beginning to loosen.

The 2023 edition is therefore a great comeback, without any constraints and with a programme that is also 100% unrestricted.

The programming line-up of Roots & Roses remains the same. Or rather, the programming lines. Two major trends will once again shape the festival’s line-up: on the one hand, roots music in the broadest sense, from americana to folk, including acoustic blues, rhythm ‘n blues and modern country variants; on the other hand, more electric and energised trends, ranging from garage to hard blues, including all energetic forms of rock ‘n roll.

The programming principles remain, but the international scene is evolving. The 2023 line-up is rooted in the 21st century and built around the great bands of today.

The new generation is taking up position at Roots! And is gradually embracing other musical genres, including stoner, rich in psychedelic rock, sometimes even with a bluesy edge.

These bands openly display their sources of inspiration: psychedelic rock for Graveyard, Kadavar, Ron Gallo or Psychonaut; old blues & folk for Pokey LaFarge, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis or Leyla McCalla; garage for The Datsuns, The Courettes and Les DeuxLuxes. While others remain faithful to pure blues rock, such as The Devil’s Barkers, Barrence Whitfield and Lee Bains.

In the end, a strong, current, coherent and diversified line-up!

But Roots & Roses is not just about the music. The festival has its own philosophy, based on the quality of the reception of the public.

At Roots & Roses, no VIP tickets for a privileged few! Everyone is treated the same: the festival is a great VIP. A first-class welcome at a very low price! For everyone! And we are very proud of that!
The site is lovely, green and spacious. No beers from the big distributors, no sweet softs from the big brands. Exclusivity to the excellent and numerous craft beers of the area, to the fruit juices of a local producer, to the water bottled within 40 km…

We can also say that Roots & Roses is now a gastronomic event! A team of more than forty cooks is busy preparing home-cooked dishes using quality, local and organic ingredients wherever possible. You can eat Mexican, Japanese, Italian, Mauritian, Belgian… Everything is excellent and cheaper than the usual junk food.

It is worth mentioning that the festival excludes all products from factory farming. This is to respect the animals, the workers and the environment.

Baroque’n roll relaxation areas, made from recycled materials, welcome festivalgoers who want to relax.
These themes of sustainable development and eco-responsibility are now fashionable. And so much the better. However, Roots & Roses is a pioneer in the small world of rock’n’roll festivals. It is based both on a desire to better welcome the public and a local network of exceptional producers. In our region, artisanal production has always remained active: family-run breweries, sustainable farms with diversified production, and agricultural cooperatives have always occupied the field, without discontinuity. What was long considered the remnant of an outdated model is now rightly seen as the right solution. It is on this fabric that the Roots has based a large part of its public welcome since 2010, in line with an approach introduced by the CC René Magritte, organiser of the festival, in 2003.

In short, at Roots & Roses, the organising team has always chosen to put the festivalgoer at the centre of its thinking: the person who buys a ticket will never be a number in a computer.

Practical info:
Lessines, on the E429 between Brussels and Lille. On the language border, next to Grammont.
Outdoor festival. Two stages under two marquees. A third tent hosts a bodega bar.

Prices:
2-day pass: presale: 70 € / box office: 76 €
Day ticket: present 42 € / box office: 48 €
Subscribers and under 26 years old: 30% discount
Under 16 years old: free

More information:
rootsandroses.be (with information about hotels)
facebook.com/roots.and.roses.festival

Facebook event: facebook.com/events/1590084904761696

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well