Rockwave festival returns with an unexpected lineup
Rockwave, Greece’s biggest annual music festival, returns on July 11 and 12 with legendary Animals frontman Eric Burdon and more than 40 other acts set to perform on the two stages at the TerraVibe Park just outside Athens.
Since it burst onto the music scene in 1995, Rockwave has turned into something of an annual institution, where thousands of fans descend on this countryside location near the village of Malakassa for a few music-filled summer evenings. However, this year’s festival holds a couple of surprises in store. The Vibe Stage, which in the past has hosted the main acts, will showcase a particularly varied mix of performers, while the focus at the Under the Roof of Terra Stage will not be on rock music, in what appears to be an attempt to attract a wider audience. The lineup has sparked a fair amount of controversy among local rock fans.
On the Vibe Stage, both nights will warm up with established house and electronica DJs from abroad.
Eric Burdon, former frontman of the Animals – which put out now-classics such as “The House of the Rising Sun” in the 1960s – who went on to join Californian funk rock band War before embarking on a solo career, will be the headliner on Friday night. Festival-goers can expect to hear some tracks from his new album, “Till the River Runs Dry,” released last year.
Burdon will be followed by British alternative rock/new wave act The Godfathers, which first formed in 1985, and up-and-coming Greek bands, with an emphasis on rock.
On Saturday night, the big names will include French neo-folk musician Woodkid and Americana/Tex-Mex/indie rockers Calexico.
Stage 2
The Under the Roof of Terra Stage will be dedicated to hip hop on Friday night. A number of big Greek rappers as well as Rodney P – the godfather of the British hip-hop scene – will gather to create a paradise for fans of the genre.
Saturday night will be dominated by Greek entechno (art-house) bands, such as Yannis Haroulis and Natassa Bofiliou. With them, Chinese Basement, an indie rock/industrial post punk band created by four 18-year-old lads from Thessaloniki, will present an interesting mixture of electronic sounds.
Tickets for this year’s Rockwave cost between 16 and 20 euros for one day or 30 euros for both. Tickets can be purchased at Ticket House (42 Panepistimiou) and Reload Stores (54 Panepistimiou). Buses to the TerraVibe Park will be departing from the Larisis Station in central Athens until 8 p.m. and from the TerraVibe Park after the end of the shows.
