Smukfest 2025: Still Denmark’s Most Beautiful

I arrived Wednesday afternoon. Pitched my tent at NaturligHeden, then headed to the Press Tent to greet good colleagues I had also met here in 2023.

Along Sølund Path to shop supplies at Netto. It’s absolutely possible to run a budget-friendly festival that way.

Christopher the pop craftsman conquers the Beech Stage

Christopher can write and deliver pop with an international edge. Take a track like “Told You So” from the album of the same name, which he closed his concert with. That number could just as well have been Justin Timberlake. But it’s Christopher’s song, though the arrangement and production are Timberlake-inspired – and it has scale.

We also got a few songs in Danish, including one Christopher had written at just 17. Back then, he had no clue what the future would bring. But in retrospect, he sensed the song might lead to something, he tells us. To my ears, that song wasn’t good. Immature and derivative. Christopher is at his best when writing and singing in English – and there he truly succeeds, both with international-sounding hits and with personal, genuinely emotional songs, like the ones we know from the film A Beautiful Life.

50 Cent: Effective hip-hop and major presence from the iconic American. It pumped and moved exactly as expected. Convincing. Like British Stormzy at this year’s Roskilde Festival, it was a backyard party of the highest order. 

Those songs from tv-2 that have been existential and sociocultural soundtrack for three generations (and counting…)

Annika: Just like at Roskilde Festival – absolutely superb. Sincere, honest, fully present, charming, joyful, and proud.

The world’s dullest band warmed up nicely

Good old tv·2: A bit sleepy at first, with hints of duty and routine, both in the crowd and from Brandt & Co. I missed them on the Beech Stage rather than The Hood. That would have made sense for a genuine people’s party, considering their legendary status and all the songs that have been an existential and sociocultural backdrop for multiple generations (and counting…).

But through sheer hard work, tv·2 once again got us to love them. I myself sang along arm in arm, cheek to cheek, shoulder to shoulder, with both beautiful young people, peers, and the festival’s elder statesmen, as the setlist rolled on.

This year Smukfest launched a collaboration with the Castle Church, located not far from Skanderborghus and about 500 meters outside the festival grounds. A brilliant initiative, because sacred spaces and quiet acoustic songs work phenomenally well – and the contrast between the church’s reverent atmosphere and the festival’s decibel pressure and dancing, shouting crowds is striking and powerful.

Carl Emil Petersen in a captivating intimate church concert

Luckily, I was on time for Carl Emil Petersen’s intimate concert in the Castle Church early Thursday afternoon. Several hundred people, both locals and festival wristband holders, sadly had to wait in vain in a long queue, as the church only holds 170. It was completely full.

Carl Emil radiates calm and maturity in his songs. People listened intently, drawn into the stories and tones – and phones stayed in pockets. That doesn’t happen often.

The church space appeared beautiful and atmospheric with its dark wood panels and carved benches. The simple altar decoration and subdued aesthetic created an atmosphere where history literally speaks from the walls and candelabras.

Carl Emil sat alone with his guitar between altar and baptismal font. He radiates calm and maturity in his songs. People listened intently, drawn into the stories and tones – and mobile phones, including my own, stayed in pockets. That doesn’t happen often.

It was beautiful and elevated, and during the songs “København” and “Amager Forbrænding” chills ran down spines and even a few eyes grew misty. Magical, intense, and superb. After the concert, I had coffee, cookies, and a cozy chat with the parish volunteers outside. They too were thrilled about the church’s collaboration with Smukfest.

Benjamin Hav with frenetic dance moves and a wacky family

Admittedly: I can’t stand Benjamin Hav’s hit “Du Ligner Din Mor”, and I generally struggle with his narcoleptically monotonous voice. So it was with tense shoulders and tight lips that I ventured into his “total theater” on the Beech Stage.

It was Hello at the Seaside Hotel in a stage orgy with Drengene fra Angora. And live, it’s contagious – so even reluctantly, you’re forced to go all in.

My antipathy was far from erased – but I had to admit I was positively surprised. Hav’s diction was as monotonous as feared, but the man undeniably has showmanship, with a varied song catalog and a family of musicians who onstage resemble a school camp gone wild on amphetamines and mushrooms.

It was Hello at the Seaside Hotel in a stage orgy with Drengene fra Angora. And it spreads live, so even reluctantly you’re forced to go all in. From 80s-decadent sax solos to keytar played by a confirmand, fake buck teeth from a backing singer, and Hav’s clowning in a captain’s blazer with gold buttons and shorts too short. Then came the dreaded hit about our mom, and my disgust returned. That track is shamefully bad, and the lyrics so idiotic that not even irony can save it.

So, Benjamin Hav: thanks for a good show, send your moves and tricks to a satire program, and retreat to a mountain cabin to write some good songs without all the gimmicks. If you can. But until then: respect here for a conceptually solid madcap show.

Skinny dipping and drenched Men in Black

Friday afternoon the sun shone bright, and I wandered to Skanderborg Lake for a refreshing swim. At the shore: beach vibes, sand between toes, a pier for diving, and a small charming “ferry” (really a raft) pulled by rope that carries people out to another bathing platform with a fountain.

I hadn’t brought swim trunks or towel from the tent – but no problem to do a classic skinny dip and dry in record time in the heat. Heavenly.

A hybrid between boy band pop and Seattle grunge. The concert lived fully up to that label.

Aqua on the Beech Stage: pure nostalgia at best, and for some a setup for a communal party – but Aqua has never been my cup of iced tea, so I’ll leave that review to others.
Andrew Strong on the Beech Stage: solid soul and blues from our Irish friend from the music film The Commitments (1991). It swung damn well.

Bradley Simpson on the Star Stage: In the program described as a hybrid between boy band pop and Seattle grunge. The concert lived fully up to that label. Three young British lads on stage. Full blast on drums and guitar, sparkle in the eye – and a deeply charming frontman. Brad is lead singer of The Vamps, already fairly recognized. But now he’s touring with a solo album, and we got energetic tracks from that.

He jumped around like a fish in water, fully engaging with the audience, talking endlessly between most songs. In a way that radiated genuine excitement, joy, and love.

Only about a third of the woodchip-covered lawn in front of the stage was filled. But for those of us there, it was an outstanding party with Bradley and friends.

We love Elsked and Turboweekend

Elsked on The Hood: sizzling house beats splitting the beautiful blue evening sky.

Turboweekend: What can I say? The reunited guys from Nørrebro nailed it on The Moon. Stylish, assured, with tingling nerve and powerful punch. The band has played Smukfest 11 times over the years. As in their triple sold-out show at Vega in April, we got both stage dives and a primal scream from frontman Silas Bjerregaard on the monster hit “Trouble Is.” Yes, please!

Saturday early afternoon I packed up. It pained me to leave Smukfest, but I had planned it that way and had a gig in Copenhagen Saturday night. Three days of music and vibes was enough for me – and I didn’t want, as in 2023, to stay until Monday morning, since Sunday has a bit of a closing-hour feel with only two stages open. 

Smukfest 2025 I’ll especially remember for lovely encounters, the fluorescent green beech forest, the clean surroundings at NaturligHeden and all across the festival grounds – even on Saturday, impressively.

Musically, these moments sparkle brightest in my memory catalog of Smukfest 2025: the soulful tunes from Carl Emil Petersen in the Castle Church, Bradley Simpson’s ultra-charming energy, 50 Cent’s commanding performance, Christopher’s party on the Beech Stage, tv-2 because they still warm hearts and seduce an audience, Turboweekend’s raw power – and Annika, who just like at Roskilde, with her beautifully frayed voice, distinctive phrasing, and lovable spontaneity, carries an utterly irresistible package.