Eclectic mix: The festival lineup revolution

Festivals worldwide are reaping the rewards of diversifying their lineups as audience tastes evolve, organisers tell IQ.

According to a joint report by IQ and music biz directory and data platform ROSTR, which analysed the lineups of 50 top European festivals, rock/indie acts accounted for just 30% of headliners in 2024, compared with 43% the previous year.

Conversely, genres like hip-hop (14%), dance/electronic (26%), R&B/soul (4%), metal (5%), and “other” (5%) – including country, folk and classical, all experienced growth.

Hungary’s Sziget Festival will welcome the likes of Charli xcx, Shawn Mendes, A$AP Rocky, Anyma, Post Malone, and Chappell Roan to Budapest’s Óbuda Island, from 6-10 August this year, with roughly half of its 65,000 daily festivalgoers coming from abroad.

“We try to focus on diversity a lot to represent all our visitors,” says booker Virag Csiszar. “We always do an artist poll, where people can vote for the artists that they would like to see. This is what we use as the basis when we look at artist booking for the festival, and when we see the results, we see lots of different people with different music tastes.”

This format of audience participation began about a decade ago, with trending genres shifting greatly in that time.

“Back then, it was more about the big rock bands that were touring festivals,” she says. “It has changed a lot in recent years, because we’re seeing many more pop artists. Last year, hip-hop was especially popular; This year, we can already see that pop artists — especially female pop headliners — are huge.”

Csiszar says audience fervour was a key motivator in their decision to elevate Roan to a headliner for this year.

“We didn’t even consider [Roan] as a headliner from the beginning of the booking season for ’25,” explains Csiszar. “In the end, we changed our mind and we gave her the headline slot on the closing day, because obviously she grew so quickly and became so big in such a short of time that now she’s an obvious headliner for us.”

“We have to target different crowds, audiences, and generations”

Down in Colombia, Estéreo Picnic Festival celebrated a blowaway edition earlier this year. The 27-30 March event welcomed roughly 40,000 people daily, anchored by headliners Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Timberlake, Justice, Shawn Mendes, Alanis Morissette, Tool, Beck, and Rüfüs Du Sol.

Festival director Sergio Pabon Castañeda says that having an eclectic lineup is integral to the Bogotá festival’s longevity.

“We are very open and like many genres, because the markets aren’t that big here,” says Castañeda. “So if we were just dealing in a couple of genres and their audiences, it wouldn’t be enough to make the festival viable. We have to target different crowds, audiences, and generations. People love Latin music and reggaeton, but they also like electronic and rock. Maybe we’re all unified by the word party. They are very open to going from one party to another.”

With a range of offerings, the Páramo Presents-produced festival is seeing a boost in international attendees at its Parque Simón Bolívar home, up about 20% this year.

“There are so many people wanting to come to this country and discover it, and this might be the best excuse,” adds Castañeda. “We’re seeing more and more people doing that, and we have to think about how to make everyone more welcome. Trying to offer from a programming point something for people who are not just Colombian or Latin.”

“We’ve learned that our audience is far more eclectic than most festivals give people credit for”

In Romania, Electric Castle is set to return to the historic Banffy Castle in Cluj from 16-20 July. The 24-hour festival’s 11th edition will be led by Justin Timberlake, Queens of the Stone Age, Yungblud, BICEP, Shaggy, Artemas, Sofi Tukker, and Róisín Murphy.

As the festival has evolved from a “niche electronic/alternative festival to a full-blown multi-genre experience,” head booker Edmond Lenarth says its audience is helping steer the ship.

“Diversity is part of our brand now,” he asserts. “We’ve learned that our audience is far more eclectic than most festivals give people credit for. They might be front row for a legendary punk band, then dance until sunrise at a techno set. That kind of openness is what defines Electric Castle.

“These days, our strategy leans heavily on contrast: pairing acts that wouldn’t typically sit on the same bill, and giving audiences a journey. We’re also more strategic now about how every stage is curated — each one has its own personality, and we use that to frame different sounds.”

He notes the rise of Afro-house, dark techno, and genre-bending pop in the Romanian market, genres he calls “acts that defy categorisation.”

“There’s also a growing appetite for live electronic performances, not just DJ sets.” continues Lenarth. “We’ve reflected these trends in how we curate stages like Hangar, Booha, Hideout, Backyard and in spotlighting artists who are pushing hybrid sounds. Romanian trap and indie scene are also evolving, and we’re paying attention there.”

“We’re noticing that fans are more willing to explore music outside the Anglo mainstream”

Speaking to IQ last year, economist Will Page suggested streaming algorithms were having a direct impact as listeners dip in and out of different styles.

“Today, it’s best to think of the algorithm’s impact on our choices, be it listening or live, as a concierge,” he said. “If that multigenre festival poster doesn’t resemble the playlist my concierge has built for me, I ain’t gonna go.”

Electronic or club-like offerings are a trend across the board. Sziget will launch an electronic district with three venues this year, with programming on until 6 AM, while Estéreo Picnic have integrated an after-hours clubbing offer to their schedule, with spaces up to 5,000-capacity for a post-headliner party that runs past 3 AM.

“It’s great for a festival, because it makes us less dependent on the lineup and more on offering a great experience,” says Castañeda. “That feeling of the club and being in a dark tent is way more intimate than being in front of a huge stage. We’ve got a reggaeton club, a cabaret with a strong LGBTQ community presence, a techno club – it’s become an activity that people really love.”

With audiences hungry for different types of experiences, languages no longer look to be a major restriction for organisers. Just last week, Live Nation said ticket sales for non English-speaking artists have nearly tripled pre-pandemic levels as the global artist pipeline continues to grow. Non-English speakers now account for twice as many of the top 50 tours, relative to 2019, the company revealed in its Q1 2025 earnings report.

“Language is less of a barrier now — people connect to energy, authenticity, and stage presence,” says Electric Castle’s Lenarth. “We’re noticing that fans are more willing to explore music outside the Anglo mainstream, and we’re responding by integrating more acts that perform in their native languages, whether that’s a cumbia-infused party set or a Korean R&B artist.”

In conclusion, an increasingly interconnected world will continue impacting how organisers put together their events.

“I believe the essential role of a festival is to reflect the spirit of our times in which we’re living, so as that changes and evolves, the programme has to change and reflect towards new audiences,” says Castañeda. “We change to what the audience says and the music changes to reflect the times, but I’m sure that people go to the festival and find something new that they weren’t expecting.”

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