GALLERY: 19.4.2026 Roadburn – Day 4 @ 013, Tilburg

June 21, 2026

Lastly, it was once again that bittersweet last day of the festival. We actually had a lot of anticipation for quite a few of the bands we’d get to see today, but also knew it would definitely be more relaxed than the previous two. In a way, we have found our own balance eventually after a few editions of Roadburn, with the right mix of planning, improvisation, learning that you cannot do everything, and allowing yourself a break from time to time. It was with this spirit that, following a quick lunch, we started the day with the traditional Q&A with Walter Hoeijmakers. Always a pleasure to hear about the inner workings and behind-the-scenes decisions and insights of how the festival came to be, some interesting anecdotes, and the recurring theme of the year, which was clearly “past, present, and future,” in case you didn’t figure it out yet from the various bands playing multiple sets throughout the weekend. Walter righteously mentioned that this year it feels like they managed to reach a good balance between the old and new, what the festival used to be, what it’s been like in the last few years, and where it’s headed. We can only agree, and it looks like this will be the way forward also in the next edition (with SO MANY people wishing for NEUROSIS to be there – including, we are certain, many in the Roadburn camp – but we’ll just have to wait and see!).

There was plenty of time after this pleasant panel discussion to KRALLICE‘s last set of their annual residence, this time focused on the present of the band, which was not so different from the future one, musically speaking. The atmospheric and ambient aspects are there, and if you love the latest iteration of the band, this was the set for you. The use of the keyboards and the slow building of the songs up to the more extreme parts are what stood out in this iteration. Interesting to have this as a first set of the Sunday because, to be honest, it might have ended up being the most “undetected” of their three sets, but still something most of the fans wouldn’t have wanted to miss out.

We did, however, leave a bit earlier to be able to catch up with the latter half of the panel, including the talented Lane Shi (OTAY:ONII), discussing the performance of “Moonstruck Old Tales” and how it came to be, along with the whole band. It was interesting to know about the costumes and the Chinese folklore linked to them, about the preparations for the set, about how one of the members came by bus from Helsinki… all of these curiosities that add layers to the understanding of the show itself. Including her wish to eventually bring this to China, and the “spoiler” of the afternoon show later today with HUGGING. Interestingly enough, the moon made of candy gave some allergic reaction to one audience member, but thankfully, it wasn’t anything serious!

Skipping on SIEM REAP, we decided to take a few minutes break before heading for the main stage to see SLOW CRUSH‘s premiere of their new effort “Thirst”. The band did play their debut “Aurora” just a couple of days earlier, so they were now going full circle with their newest material. The sound was excellent, which played in favor of the shoegaze, emotional doom, and gloom offered by the Belgian band. However, we didn’t quite manage to get into the right mood for this kind of music at this time, so before the end of the set, we were on our way back to the Terminal for PRIMITIVE MAN, having missed them earlier in the weekend. The band was playing their latest record, “Observance,” and being their crushing, heavy, loud, merciless selves, delivering exactly what one would expect from the Colorado-based trio. It would have just been nice to be able to witness more of their set, as LILI REFRAIN was calling on the Next Stage.

Finally, after many missed chances, we were able to see this eclectic Italian live. In a low-key, dimly lit atmosphere, she unleashed her composing talent, mixing loops, synths, percussion, guitar, and various other instruments in an intimate yet enveloping performance that glued the audience to the stage from the beginning. We only had to leave before the end due to INTER ARMA starting on the nearby stage, but the show left a positive mark, and we were pretty glad we could finally tick the box next to her name, having had to miss her live performances already a few times in the past. Hopefully, this will reverse the trend. So onwards to the Main Stage, where INTER ARMA played in full for the first time, “The Cavern” from 2014. Joining them on stage was a violinist, as in the EP itself, and that added another layer to this immersive show, not quite as intense and raw as we got used to seeing from them, but still epic, especially considering this is a 45+ minutes single track. The quality of the sound in the 013 did the rest, and this was definitely one of the shows we were looking forward to the most today. We did have to skip on the final part as another long-awaited band for us was about to start at the Engine Room: KISS

THE ANUS OF A BLACK CAT and their dark yet somewhat cheerful-sounding, Americana-infused neofolk. The more mellow music worked very nicely as an interlude before slowing things further with WARNING, but it was also much more than that. Creative band name aside, KTAOABC brought to the stage something that really got the audience involved, in a way we probably saw last with the likes of KING DUDE. It was something different from everything we saw over the weekend, in a sense providing both some relaxation and recharging us at the same time, even singing along – or at least humming the tune – at times. Plus, it’s always fun to get to see someone play the banjo, just because. A good part of the set was made of “Hewers of Wood and Drawers of Water,” due to its 15th anniversary reissue, but the impression is that not very many people were actually familiar with the band beforehand. The only bummer was not being able to find any merch related to them at the festival.

Still in a good mood from the earlier show – which some might say is a bit strange given the kind of music – we made our way to the skatepark for the secret HUGGING show, which we mentioned at the beginning. It’s honestly always nice to see any iteration or projects where Lane Shi is part of, and this more raw, punk attitude of the band, made for the occasion mostly of the same musicians who played the OTAY:ONII set on the previous day, made for a really enjoyable several moments. Clearly, at least some part of the audience agreed with us, as there was some crowdsurfing going on, let alone the headbanging both on and off stage. As usual, it’s nice to have the skatepark for these more DIY, emotionally charged, and more intense sets; it really adds that little extra to the whole Roadburn experience.

Soon after the end of the show, we headed back to the main stage for one of the most awaited acts of the day, if not of the festival, as Patrick Walker this time dusted off the old WARNING cap, after several shows with 40 WATT SUN or simply solo (like many artists, he seems to like hanging around here, and we totally get it). After all, it’s been what, only 20 years since the release of “Watching From A Distance”, so here we are with a new record (“Rituals of Shame”) coming up, and the prospect of various live shows bringing the band on tour later in the year. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea for the vocalist to spend the previous night hosting karaoke (something we only realized later, as we would have really wanted to check out!), but it was still good to see WARNING live after many years of waiting. Nonetheless, it was still great to hear at least one new song (“Stations”) and a few from “Watching From A Distance,” before heading to the Terminal for STREET SECTS.

At this point, we were four sets – and one quick dinner – away from the end of the festival, and we started to kind of feel that in a way. Still we were determined to see this other face of the Texan duo live, after having enjoyed the STREET SEX performance quite a lot earlier. This was maybe a bit darker, more on the industrial punk side of things – and amid the darkness on the stage, we also spotted PORTRAYAL OF GUILT‘s Matt King on guitar, as the two bands have previously collaborated with each other. Good to get back to some harsher sounds after the last two shows, but not as danceable as the “sex” counterpart. So after a quick okonomiyaki, we went back to the Engine Room for what was going to be by far the weirdest, but also one of the coolest shows this weekend (and also a very low-key one, as a lot of people seemed to be unaware of this band). AK’CHAMEL – or “the giver of illness” – is an amazing trip into psychedelic, post-apocalyptic folk. The trio covered in rags and dirt and weird masks, these weird mystical presences engulfed in a foggy, yellow light, offered the biggest “what-the-hell-am-i-watching-but-this-is-pretty-awesome” moment of the entire Roadburn. The tribal ritual nature of the whole thing, with various folk instruments (save for one bass guitar), led into this mesmerizing, hypnotic semi-trance, with the only discernible lyrics in the entire show being the one sentence that was being repeated ominously during the last song: “I have seven cigars in my pocket! Let no one take them from meeehhh!”. As enigmatic as the rest of the show, just to be true to the overall bizarre vibe that this band emanates. And that made this particular show one of the most memorable of this year – and the reason why we ignored BORIS on the main stage this time.

With a very different sound but similarly dark themes, we got to see next the sludge doom of CHAINED TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN, with a heavy focus on their more recent music, including, of course, their last, Dantesquely-named, EP “Let Us Not Speak Of Them, But Look And Pass On.” To be completely honest, we were still kind of reeling from the previous show, which left us a bit dazzled and confused (but in a good way), plus the fatigue from four full festival days and general lack of sleep was starting to hit, therefore we couldn’t appreciate their show as much as it would have deserved, and we hope we can revisit this band later. Our Roadburn 2026 journey ended like last year with the Main Stage, and again like last year with a Finnish band, of which, again, Kaukolampi was part of. He is, in fact, the “K” in K-X-P. And just like in 2025, HAUNTED PLASMA was the perfect finisher, their hypnotic krautrock-y, highly repetitive music fit like a glove in closing the curtains to this year’s edition of Roadburn. The good sound, the atmosphere, and the starry background with spotlights being cast in a seemingly random way on the musicians did the rest in adding to the magic of this gig. A reminder that when it comes to “weird” music, Finns sure know how to do it. We didn’t have it left in us to go to the Next Stage at this point, nor frankly had much interest in a pure DJ set (is this a sign of ageing?). So we ended up wrapping the night with some beers, friends, and, ironically, some dancing in the hallway of 013 with another, more regular DJ. Thus it was on the notes of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” that, among smiles and laughters we bid goodbye to this annual 4-day getaway, each of us taking different paths on the way home, with the unspoken promise – or at least hope – to see everyone once again here in 2027. If there is one thing about Roadburn, it is that it always makes you want to come back!

What’s there left to say? A few minutes into the first day of the festival, I was thinking in my head, “I’m home!” That feeling stayed with us for the whole four days, of course, not without a bit of anxiety when things were the most crowded and hectic, but learning to take a step back, relax, and regroup definitely helped going forward, even in those busiest times. Roadburn is a microcosmos in its own right. Almost like a separate dimension where you travel to have a blast with your regulars for 4-5 days, meeting new people, discovering new bands, enjoying all sorts of things you can possibly experience on planet Tilburg, before returning to this plane of existence and starting the countdown to the next annual appointment. This year felt particularly enjoyable as for once our mind was way more free – we had been previously at this festival in the middle of some dark, personal times – and as such we were once again much more open to the full extent of the experience, kind of like the very first time all over again… but with much better insights on how everything works, and therefore clearly wiser.

There were a few really “must-see” shows for us this year, maybe also due to the fact that as we get older, it gets every year a little more difficult to see something really new, but thankfully Roadburn caters splendidly to this need, and in fact there were some very nice new discoveries and otherwise pretty interesting shows we could or would not have dreamed of seeing elsewhere. We are not going to make a list of highlights this time, but it’s good to mention that in the chaos of this 4-day musical voyage, we only really regret not having been able to see ZU, and having missed about 99% of WORLD PEACE, which in turns it means we had it pretty good, and our planning worked quite nicely even with the occasional secret show throwing a wrench into it. It could have been nice to be able to check out also some of the OFFROAD program – especially in the Little Devil, there were some very interesting gigs – but we are only human, and therefore haven’t yet learned how to be in many places at once.

Either way, the countdown to next year has started, tickets have been bought, and everyone is holding their breath to see NEUROSIS being announced. Will it happen? Let’s find out!