It is always a pleasure to travel to Aarhus for music events. The city has a vibrant, rich music scene and a certain level of authenticity that Copenhagen sometimes lacks. That was one of the reasons I was excited to attend Northside Festival. First of all, of course, it was the line-up. For the past few years, the organisers of Northside have managed to find a perfect balance between well-known acts and something fresh and brand new. This year was no exception, and the diversity among both Danish and international names was so impressive that I finally gave in and marked my calendar for a weekend getaway up north.
Northside may well be as civilised as a 3-day music festival can possibly get. It is a very clean space with a lot of delicious food options and a surprisingly low number of drunk attendees. The concerts seemed to run smoothly with no delays or major overlaps.
The only let down, perhaps, was the clashing of Lydmor and Gnags. The choice was made in favour of the Aarhus rockers, which, in retrospect, was not my best idea. Maybe I should have at least seen a bit of both. On the other hand, discovering a new band Liss was a lovely surprise. Moreover,ย The Minds of 99 were not only my favourite concert of the festival but one of the best I have ever seen.
Overall, I am in awe of how the Northside organisers managed to make a huge field festival with 3 stages feel cosy and homely. Hyggelig, if you will. It took a few extra days after returning back home to Copenhagen for me to finally come out of the Northside bubble and back into real life.
Looking at the lineup posters from the past few years, I have no doubts that Northside 2020 will be just as diverse and enjoyable. Good Because Danish will certainly be there, and we invite you to come along.