Mol, 19 – 23rd June 2025
Day 1 | Day 2 | Festival Accessibility | Local Transport
There were far too many things to share about Graspop for one post. More to come soon! Feel free to use the links at the top to jump through the content.
I was not one for going to music festivals. That changed a couple of years ago; I simply didn’t want to miss my favourite bands! Last year, for the same reason, I graduated from indoor to outdoor festivals. My first taste was Bloodstock. I enjoyed it so much, I knew I would do it again. The question was… which one? As soon as both Charlotte Wessels and Soen were announced for Graspop, I had my answer.
Having friends who, like me, did not enjoy camping, sealed the deal. Nothing beats having your own bed, shower and toilet at the end of a long day.
Graspop was a great adventure, once we finally got there, more about this later, but first. Let’s talk music
Day 1
The line up for this day was the main reason we traveled.
Charlotte Wessels
You already heard me talk about Charlotte more than once. We almost missed the start of the set. Luckily our friends from the Patreon community save us a spot near the front.
This was her first round of festival appearances after the release of The Obsession. I might have seen the songs performed a few times in the last year, yet I loved how they kept evolving.
This time the stage lighting and backdrop were upgraded, adding momentum to songs like The Exorcism. A beautiful mic stand adorned with sunflowers, referencing the set of the video for Chasing Sunsets, completed the setup.
They were joined on keys by Nina Van Beelen (replacing Sophia Vernikov). The addition of Nina to The Obsession resulted in some beautiful work in backing vocals, especially for tracks like Praise and Vigor and Valor. Hopefully, this marked the beginning of an ongoing collaboration with Charlotte.
Can’t wait to see them again touring with Epica and Amaranthe next year!
Soen
I had to make a run to catch Soen. They were playing only 20min after Charlotte. No chance I was going to miss them!
One of my friends helped figuring out how to get to the stage. We were still finding our way around and there was some distance between them, we couldn’t make it to the front row but still managed a decent spot.
It was a fantastic set filled with emotion and energy, despite some technical difficulties. Joel was not short of jokes and smiles to the audience. He really got us all going. This was my second time seeing them with Stefan Stenberg in bass, replacing Oleksii “Zlatoyar” Kobel. I really appreciated Stefan’s performance. He loved to vibe with the music.
I was on Lars side of the stage and was taken away, once again, by his capacity to effortlessly switch between multiple musical instruments. What a genius!
The set list comprised mostly of their heavier songs from Memorial, Imperial and Lotus. I liked how they went into Antagonist straight after playing Sincere, great change of energy. They got us dancing with Lascivious and won our hearts with Lotus. It finished with Violence, brilliant vocal performance by Joel. Time passed far too quick, as every time I see them!
I was especially happy to hear some of my friends from the Charlotte community also came to check out Soen and enjoyed it. Spreading the love for the boys far and wide, yay!
Can’t wait for the release of their new album, Reliance, in January next year. I am sure I’ll be seeing them live again!
Dream Theater
I only got into Dream Theater in the last year, mainly because of their connection to other bands I follow. They were playing in one of the main stages, next to where Epica were on later. By this time, I was hanging out with a group of friends from Charlotte’s Patreon community. We wanted to have a good spot for their set, as a result, I heard Dream Theater rather than watch them.
I loved getting to hear Pull Me Under live. I was not sold out on the singer’s voice, however, their guitar and drum work was as amazing live as I imagined.
One of the girls from the group who traveled all the way from Australia, mostly to see Charlotte and Epica, was also around in the crowd. We ended up vibing to the music for most of the set. I still smile when I think about that afternoon!
Epica
I was really looking forward to Epica’s set. Specially because I was obsessed with their latest album, Arcana. This was my second time seeing them and clearly remembered they lived up to their name in the past.
The set was a good mix of crowd favourites such as Unleashed, Beyond the Matrix and Consign to Oblivion as well as tracks from their latest album such as Cross the Divide, T.I.M.E and Arcana. There were plenty of visual effects and pyrotechnics, no small feat considering how hot the weather was! There were many special moments of band interaction too, including Coen coming down to the front row to play keyboard and high five excited fans. I had so much fun!
Iron Maiden
I listened to Iron Maiden occasionally. Admittedly, I struggled to get into Bruce Dickinson’s voice. I always loved the heaviness of the multiple guitar solos and how epic the music was.
I was curious to check them out and intentionally skipped watching any of their past live performances. The set was incredibly theatrical. There were loads of costume changes from Bruce, the stage seemed to transform with every song. This was one of the biggest productions I had seen for a festival.
The setlist included classics like Killers, Run to The Hills and Fear of the Dark. I loved seeing them come alive.
I was so happy one of my friends finally got to catch them live, she’s been a fan for years but always missed out on their concerts. It was a very special end of the day for us fan girls.
Day 2
The second day of Graspop was a mix of discovering new bands and seeing classic acts whilst trying to escape from the hot weather.
Bloodhunter
Bloodhunter was an extreme metal band from Galicia, Spain. I discovered them after I came across an audition by lead singer Diva Satanica on the Spanish edition of the voice, anyone heard of YouTube rabbit holes? That’s mine!
When I heard Bloodhunter was going to be at Graspop, I knew straight away I wanted to catch them. I am very glad they played A Twist of Fate to Come to open the set, my favourite from them! We stayed and watched a few tracks. It was a powerful performance by a well seasoned metal band. I only wished they had a bigger audience!
A couple of friends who came to watch the set got into them too. Success!
Villagers of Ionnina City
I found out about this band thanks to a music friend I made at the festival. Their set was at the same time as Bloodhunter’s. It already started when we walked over.
Originally from Greece, Villagers of Ionnina City mixed psychedelic rock with traditional instruments. When we arrived, they were performing Age of Aquarius. This was one of the tracks that stayed with me from that set. Specially because of the instrumental bridge. They moved on to Dance of the Night and managed to create a trance like atmosphere, mesmerising!
I checked them out after coming back home and really liked their work, gave me some vibes of doom metal, music for the darker months of the year.
I will be playing some more of their tunes in the next few months!
Jerry Cantrelj
As someone who grew up with the music of Alice in Chains back in the 90s, this was an unmissable for me. Their tunes were one the gateway drugs that led me to metal. I decided to head over the stage early and managed to catch a spot in the front row!
The legendary singer guitarist was joined on stage by Greg Puciato on vocals. The setlist consisted of a mix of tracks from Cantrell’s solo albums such as Atone and Had to Know as well as classics from Alice in Chains catalogue such as Would, Them Bones and Rooster.
I had been listening to heavier tunes most of the weekend, meaning my poor brain had a bit of music whiplash adjusting to the pace of the set. Once I did, I really enjoyed it!
It was very special to be there, listening to tracks I never thought I’d see live. I was filled with emotion after they finished and ended up grabbing a celebratory beer!
Opeth
Opeth was another band I got into in the last year. Must be the nerdy art historian in me, I wanted to dig deep into the roots of prog metal and understand the artists that influenced the music I listened to.
I saw them earlier this year at Birmingham Symphony Hall. Their set clashed with Slipknot who were headlining the main stage. I stayed out to watch a bit and couldn’t get into them. I didn’t want to ruin the mood so asked a friend to walked with me to the Opeth stage. She would still have enough time to get back and catch the rest of the headliners.
The set was epic and left me mesmerised. Just like when I saw them first, I loved the way Akenfeld effortlessly went from death growls to clean vocals whilst playing intricate cords on the guitar. Every member of the band contributed in their own way to paint the emotional landscape of the songs.
As every Opeth show, there was also a good dose of humour. Akenfeld got us all laughing when he proceeded to greet the crowd by saying “Good evening, we are Slipknot”!
I was glad I got to see them for the second time this year. Can’t wait for next year, when I’ll be seeing them in Halifax.
I will share more about the music and the adventures in Belgium on part 2. Let’s talk accessibility.
Festival accessibility
- Use of accessible facilities by campers can be organised by contacting Graspop in advance. More information on the festival website
- Non campers can request use of the facilities via live chat. More information available through Graspop social media
- Good phone signal available throughout the grounds
- Accessible toilets available
- Easy to use, fairly accessible website
- Accessible and easy to use festival app
- Festival is cashless. Skullies (cash tokens) can be bought in advance or on festival grounds. Web interface not accessible
Graspop was the biggest metal festival I have been to. It boasted three indoor and three outdoor stages. There was a good selection of food, abundant water charging points, well-equipped toilet units and even an amusement park!
Accessible viewing platforms were located at the back of outdoor and indoor stages. There was also some free space to stand on the side of one of the indoor stages, regularly used for people with limited mobility.
The disabled toilets were some of the nicest and cleanest I have used. As well as ramp access and plenty of space, they were well lit and have their own sink.
Since I was not going to camp, I contacted the festival staff through their Whatsapp and arranged using the accessible facilities whilst on the festival grounds. They replied straight away to say this would be possible. It came in very handy when I decided to check some of the acts on my own.
The grounds were quite flat and the route around the stages was predictable, I could work my way around after a while, as long as I took it slow and allowed myself enough time.
We all wanted to see different bands on Saturday, so I took the chance to do things more independently. This is how I managed to catch Imminence, Novelists and Carnation. I would have caught more, if it hadn’t been nearly 30C. I could barely manage indoor stages.
My only disappointment came when seeing Opeth. I approached one of the members of staff and asked to be guided to the disabled area, hoping it would be on the side of the stage. Instead, the only choice was a raised platform with chairs at the back. I welcomed sitting down after such a long day, however, the screen right in front was partially blocked by curtains. Excessive brightness made it impossible to see anything when pointing my phone at the screens. I ended up hearing Opeth instead of seeing them. This was the perfect example of how designing spaces without considering all types of disabilities could create barriers instead of removing them.
Graspop website was fairly easy to use. Good contrast, straightforward navigation and well organised information. The app was also very easy to use. Included a way to select favourite acts and generate a personalised timetable (good for spotting band clashes). It also had a live map of the grounds. Came in very helpful when finding our way around the grounds.
I found issues with the interface to buy cashless tokens. It had poor contrast and was embedded on the festival site, making magnification difficult. I persevered and eventually got my Skullies. It saved money and time, especially useful after some delays on our way in (more on that later).
Fun story, the Ferris wheel at the amusement park caught my eye as soon as I spotted it. On the hottest day of the festival, I decided to go up with one of my friends to escape the crowds and the heat. It was an excellent decision. The view was incredible: sunset on one side, two active mosh pits, fireworks and crazy crowds on the other side. On the ground, the outdoor stages were far apart from each other so the sound wouldn’t mix. Not the same experience on air. It was a bit of a cacophony. Asides from that minor detail, it was an excellent ride!
Local transport to the festival
- Regular free shuttles to / from the festival run from designated local points (subject to change, check on festival’s website)
- Drop off point for buses / cars is about 15min walk from the festival. Allow plenty of time when heading in / out.
- Paid coaches to / from towns close to the Graspop are available via the festival’s website. They are organised by a separate company. Book at your own risk
- Headline acts finish around 1:00am. If staying outside the grounds, make sure to organise travel for the whole route back, public transport is not available late at night.
- Taxi rides can be organised with local companies. Book in advance when possible
- Limited number of Uber drivers available during the days of the festival. Waiting times / prices vary. Book in advance when possible
Figuring out how to get to and from the festival was not as straightforward as we thought. Our plans of renting a car fell through. The hotel was not close to local transport routes.
We settled for the daily shuttles going from Turnhout, where we’d be staying, to the festival. The pickup point was in the outskirts of town, meaning we had to work out how to get there and back, especially considering we’d be dropped back around 2:30am. Thankfully, we managed to book rides in advance through a taxi company recommended by the hotel.
We also arranged trips to the shuttle pickup point through Uber. They are normally not available in the area, however, most of the drivers told us they came to look for business during the festival.
“What could go wrong except everything” says a song. On the first day of the festival, the shuttle didn’t turn up, leaving about 20 eager metal heads stranded.
No missing shuttle could come between us and Graspop. We quickly got chatting to each other, split in groups and shared rides. One of the guys from Belgium contacted the company, who claimed they had stopped and saw nobody there. They said they would cover our alternative travel arrangements.
When our ride arrived, we thought we’d be finally on our way, only to find ourselves stuck in stationary traffic with a moody driver who liked to speed. After waiting for what felt like an eternity, the driver suddenly changed lanes, and we found ourselves heading towards a huge truck! He managed to dodge it and reluctantly came back to the queue after discovering that was the only way in. Almost two hours later, we got into the grounds with just enough time to catch Charlotte Wessels set. It was an expensive and dangerous ride. Glad to have made it there alive!
The rest of our transport arrangements went well, except for another day when a shuttle driver missed the festival entrance. It was thanks to other passengers helping him with directions that we managed to get to Graspop, about an hour late. At least we didn’t fear for our lives this time.
This has been the most challenging post to write to date, so much to share. Watch out for the second part with more music and travel adventures coming very soon!
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