Pinkpop is everyone’s friend among festivals. During an unprecedentedly warm edition, in which weather records were broken, we managed to offer something to the different types of visitors in Landgraaf, South Limburg. Crowd surfers fall over each other during a hard punk show by the band Idles, while later in a tent, slick pop songs are sung along by fans of emerging pop singer Alessi Rose. Oh, and somewhere on the grounds a World Cup match of the Dutch national team was also being watched. Although most people just stayed to watch the acts performing. Bee Editors for example, who were there for the seventh time. The band didn’t do anything new, but as Pinkpop nostalgia it worked fine. Frontman Tom Smith wore an orange football shirt and a leather jacket – a tough choice in such warm weather.
The fifty-fifth edition of the festival was largely dominated by the heat. „It’s fucking hot”, summarized the indie rock band The Beaches it simple together during a nice performance in a very sweaty tent. Friday was the warmest June 19 ever, with an official measurement of 34 degrees in Limburg, although weather apps even indicated 37 degrees. Every centimeter of shade on the site was occupied. At one point there was a long line of people standing under the narrow shadow of a light pole. The extra shade areas that the organization had created proved to be insufficient at the hottest times. Despite an expansion with a new area, the Pinkpop site remains a gigantic field with a race track around it. The organization will have to deal with this kind of heat more often and must consider what else is possible to keep it bearable for visitors.
Pinkpop 2026: warmth and musical contrasts: the punk of Idles to the Nederpop van Suzan & Freek.
Photos Andreas Terlaak
Fortunately, special things happened on that field, especially on Saturday evening. At that moment it was TheCure a headliner that brought everyone together. The British band played at Pinkpop for the fourth time in forty years and did what it does so well: bringing together enchanting, sometimes hypnotic new wave with an unbeatable load of pop songs. Frontman Robert Smith, now 67, is still in excellent voice. With his smeared lipstick, black eye shadow and tousled hair, he remains one of the most recognizable figures in pop music. At the start, he first walked quietly across the stage for several minutes during the instrumental beginning of ‘Alone’, the impressive opener of the latest Cure album. Songs of a Lost World.
New generation
The Cure has gained a new kind of momentum because a younger generation is also embracing the music. The 23-year-old pop artist Olivia Rodrigo, who closed the Pinkpop Saturday last year, used The Cure as a major source of inspiration for her new album and recorded a duet with Smith. The set on Saturday was patiently constructed and also made plenty of room for the lesser-known songs. Everything was played with passion, with a crystal clear sound. When a song like ‘Just Like Heaven’ comes on you think: yes, this is the best pop song ever made.
The biggest hits, including ‘Friday I’m in Love’ and ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, were traditionally saved for the half-hour encore. At that moment, menacing-looking thunderbolts could be seen in the distance, which fits perfectly with the dark side of The Cure. It remained dry, unlike on Friday, when visitors got a huge shower on their heads during the headline show Twenty One Pilots.
Twenty One Pilots at Pinkpop.
Photo Andreas Terlaak
Robert Smith is not a typical crowd pleaser who communicates a lot with his audience. That’s something Suzan & Freek would like to do. This duo, who are also lovers, had a lot of talk with the field earlier in the day. The Nederpop song by Suzan Stortelder and Freek Rikkerink is about the ordinary things in life and being happy with your life outside the big city. Everything changed for the two when it was announced that Rikkerink had incurable lung cancer.
Last year the news was fresh and they watched Pinkpop together via a livestream, said Rikkerink, who also indicated that he is currently feeling good. During ballads ‘Lichtje Branden’ and ‘Niet’, emotions flew over the field. But the two mainly wanted to celebrate life and went for a cheerful show, with a wink in it. “Speak up, all the men who were forced to go to Suzan & Freek,” Rikkerink shouted during a long piece of audience participation.
Humor and Dutch hits were also on the main stage the day before. Singer Roxy Dekker had the audience singing along to ‘Satisfyer’ and ‘Sugardaddy’. Dekker’s light-hearted pop contains enough winks so that it does not become too smooth. Like many other artists, she referred to the heat: “I know you guys are overheated, but do you want to jump?” she asks. An earthquake like in 1994 with Rage Against The Machine did not follow, but many fans happily granted the request.
Editors frontman Tom Smith supports orange and Saturday also saw Pinkpop Netherlands score
Photos Andreas Terlaak
Dancing with Zara Larsson
The most summery show came from the Swedish singer Zara Larsson. She converted the North Stage into one glitzy version of Garden of Eden where she and her band and dancers performed a show full of bright clothes, tight poses and semi-daring dances. A regular occurrence at Larsson performances: a fan who is picked from the audience to do the viral dance to megahit ‘Lush Life’. That fan who came on stage on Friday almost burst with enthusiasm and performed the choreography with verve. Larsson gives the kind of pop show that would have been looked down upon in the past, when Pinkpop was much more of a guitar festival. Now not a word of displeasure was uttered.
There were also plenty of guitars, as in The Vaccines, Franz Ferdinand, Wodan Boys, Die Spitz and Idles. Sweat poured over frontman Joe Talbot’s head during this performance, especially after he stood on his head. During ‘Danny Nedelko’, a tribute to immigrants, guitarist Mark Bowen flew into the audience and the temperature reached a boiling point.
Singer Zara Larsson had her glitzy version of the Garden of Eden at Pinkpop
Photo Andreas Terlaak
The Hague rockers Wodan Boys
Photo Andreas Terlaak
Idles guitarist Mark Bowen is praised
Photo Andreas Terlaak
Triggerfinger, reborn as a duo
Photo Andreas Terlaak
Rasfan with The Cure tattoo
Photo Andreas Terlaak
The contrast with the melancholy pop show that Halsey later gave on the same stage was great. Just like Zara Larsson, she made a big splash with a big kick and flames. However, her theatrical show did not really get Pinkpop going.
Rock band Foo Fighters will close Pinkpop 2026 on Sunday evening. It was a red-hot edition that did not have the most innovative line-up, but had an unforgettable headliner with the enchanting show of rock band The Cure.
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Pinkpop braves the heat on the first day and jumps with Zara Larsson, Roxy Dekker and Twenty One Pilots
