What makes a major festival headliner?

After a barren few years for new headliners, the festival business suddenly finds itself with an embarrassment of riches to choose from.

The industry struggled to produce fresh superstar talent over a decade of discontent – a drought that was exacerbated by the global touring boom, as A-list acts increasingly skipped the festival circuit in favour of their own headline shows.

Yet accusations of an over-reliance on heritage acts – ironically enough – are becoming a thing of the past. According to ROSTR, which analysed the 2024 lineups of 50 top European festivals, the artist with the most headline slots this year was Fred Again.. with seven, followed by Måneskin (6) and Dua Lipa, The Chainsmokers, Lana Del Rey, SZA, Sam Smith, Bring Me The Horizon and Pulp (5).

With the…

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