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Mat McNerney is a true Roadburn veteran. Several of his bands have graced our stages throughout the years, including Hexvessel, Beastmilk, and Grave Pleasures, and McNerney is a very important part of the 2024 edition. He has created the very first music of the festival, in a way, with the eerie ambient sounds you heard in the gorgeous David Fitt video and even the intro and outro for this very podcast.

Next April, he will also be a central part of two crucial, already-announced Roadburn performances, namely Hexvessel playing their latest glacial marvel of an album, ‘Polar Veil,’ in its entirety, and a brand new commissioned piece of which we only know the title: ‘Music for Gloaming: A Nocturne by the Hexvessel Folk Assembly.’

Naturally we decided it was absolutely necessary to sit down and talk to Mat properly about all of these things. As usual with this supremely talented artist, we got more than we bargained for, including a few hints and insights on what the commissioned piece might actually look and sound like, even at this early stage of its development.

Listen to the entire conversation on Roadburn Essential Stories at Roadburn.com or Spotify.

As we have mentioned before, there will be no new lineup announcement prior to this. We are extremely proud of the first names we revealed, as they are a really good indicator of what this edition will actually be, musically and artistically. Right now, we are talking to many bands and artists to try to get them to the festival, and we need to take some time to make our vision a reality.

As we all know, things move slower post-pandemic, but we are sure that the wait and the hard work will be worth it in the end.

Thank you all so much for your patience and for putting your trust in us.

Roadburn has announced the first artist to be confirmed for the 2024 edition of the festival. Reunited experimental doom band KHANATE will play their first show in 19 years on Saturday, April 20, 2024 in Tilburg, The Netherlands. 

The legendary band returned with a surprise new album earlier this year, following a prolonged hiatus. To Be Cruel arrived in May via Sacred Bones to broad critical acclaim and the delight of a die-hard fanbase. In the years since Khanate were last active there have been many heavy bands that followed in their footsteps. Some are able to emulate the abject bleakness, some capture the low-end rumble, a lot of them are undoubtedly extremely heavy. But none quite capture the grotesque combination of all three components quite like Khanate. 

Roadburn will host their highly anticipated return to live performances. Of their upcoming show, the band comment:

“As a collective, Khanate has been silent during our dormancy, but now we will get loud; very loud. We’ll be returning to the stage, to explore tension and the elasticity of time – at Roadburn 2024. Get dead.”

Roadburn’s artistic director, Walter Hoeijmakers adds:

“We are incredibly proud that we can announce the return of Khanate as the starting point of Roadburn 2024. The impact of the band can be found in the current underground as the band has proven highly influential – even during their hiatus. We want Roadburn 2024 to reflect our very own “underground futurism” approach – inspired by the past but firmly looking into the future as well. We will be pushing boundaries of what heavy is and can be – just as Khanate has done too. We expect this to be a hallmark edition, a sonic adventure we’ll embark on together.“

Alongside their new studio album, Khanate are reissuing their back catalogue, and today have announced Khanate and Things Viral available for vinyl pre-order.

Tickets for Roadburn 2024 are on sale now. More artists will be announced in the coming weeks. For all information including tickets, please visit www.roadburn.com

Roadburn artwork is courtesy of the incredibly talented David Fitt. More information on David’s collaboration with Roadburn will follow.

Cast your mind back to the first day of Roadburn this year… opening up the main stage was the first of this year’s commissioned projects: John Cxnnor performing All My Futures Past. Brothers Rasmus and Ketil Sejersen took to the stage with a hand picked selection of guest vocalists and – quite frankly – blew us all away. If you weren’t able to join us on the day, never fear because today we’re premiering a video shot at Roadburn so you can relive the experience right alongside the rest of us who witnessed it first hand.

We were so grateful to have Peter Troest as part of our team this year – his knack for capturing both vibrant energy and quiet vulnerability is unmatched. Relive a few moments of Roadburn 2023 through his lens here.

William Lacalmontie set up studios at Roadburn to shoot some of this year’s Roadburn artists. Once again, he has created intimate portraits that take our breath away.