The Beautiful Decay festival celebrates its fifth year this weekend at Koerich Castle, having steadily grown and evolved since its inception. Organisers have expanded both the musical line-up and the range of activities on offer, aiming to appeal to a broad spectrum of festivalgoers. The festival kicks off on Friday evening with an event dedicated entirely to electronic music, organised in collaboration with the PEAK Collective.
On Saturday and Sunday, the focus shifts to rock, hip hop, indie, and alternative genres. A particular highlight this year is Sunday’s headline performance by Australian rock group Jet.
Festival organisers take pride in attracting major names to Koerich, as Thierry Schmitz of the Friends of Koerich Castle states that "for once, it was a big band reaching out to us, asking if they could play at Beautiful Decay”. Maintaining a strong mix of international and local acts is a priority for the festival’s programming.
This year, Luxembourg will be represented by bands such as The Disliked, Stay Fou, and the Waffle Killers. The line-up also features several German-language acts, including Bibica and Tiavo, as well as a special “secret headliner” whose identity will be revealed on Friday.
Schmitz emphasises the importance of collaboration with local musicians and agencies when curating the festival, explaining that sometimes they reach out to Luxembourgish artists, such as Tun Tonnar, to ask if he knows the agency behind the secret headliner.
He adds that the festival's first edition was supported by Georges and Bartleby, who will also be performing this year with Nils Engel as Engelbert. Schmitz stresses that they enjoy broad support and receive advice from many different people, such as, for instance, Tun Biever for last year's edition.
Given the strong German presence in this year's line-up, the festival is introducing a shuttle service from Saarbrücken to the castle and back for the first time. One of the German acts, Theke 1, dubbed the German Mambo Schinki, will even join festivalgoers on the bus, bringing their trademark party atmosphere all the way to Koerich and back to Saarbrücken after Jet’s concert on Sunday.
While music remains at the heart of Beautiful Decay, the festival also features a significant art component, namely the Craftwork Village with 22 stands this year. For the fifth edition, the Craftwork Village will be open from Friday, offering activities alongside the electronic music line-up. Saturday will feature a dedicated kids’ festival with workshops, bouncy castles, food and drink for children, graffiti sessions, and live performances. New this year is that a children’s band will take the stage, a pilot project the organisers hope to expand if well received.
Another addition for 2024 is a wine bar showcasing both local and international winemakers, broadening the festival’s culinary offerings.
The complete programme and line-up are available at beautifuldecay.lu. The identity of the secret headliner will be officially announced on Friday morning.
