Twenty-two years ago last month, I sat at an aughts-era version of this same airport gate in order to fly to Austin, Texas, for my first-ever South by Southwest. I was still doing college radio. On that trip, I’d meet the guitarist and bassist I’d be in a band with from 2005-2010, and it was the trip where I met the crew of Small Stone Records, made friends I still have and, arguably, helped solidify me on the heavy path I’ve been walking since. I usually pass by it on my way to the further-ass-end of Newark Liberty Terminal C and smile a little. Today it’s where I’m supposed to be.

My flight leaves at 5:45 and it’s 3PM now. I’ll get into Amsterdam at 7AM tomorrow, make my way to the baggage claim, then on to the car meetup, catch my ride to Tilburg where a good friend I can’t wait to see has very kindly offered his couch to crash on for the morning. I am lucky to be going to Roadburn.

Sitting at the airport to write a post on the way out is something of a tradition. I remember last year I was nervous because it had been half a decade and I wasn’t sure if my friends would still be my friends. This year, the country I live in is eating itself like Saturn’s children, and I’m curious how re-entry into this ongoing shitshow will be. By curious, I mean terrified.

But that’s Next-Monday-Me’s terror. This-Tuesday-Me is stoked to be on my way. The lineup for Roadburn 2025 is of course three fests’ worth of epic. Here are the timetables:

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday:

So that’s where I’ll be. It’ll be a good trip, and in the back of my head I know that as itchy as I’ve been the last three days with this looming and as itchy as I am to get on the plane and “get this show on the road,” as my dear wife might say, as soon as the music starts, it’ll all be okay. A couple days living NOT entirely in my own head will be welcome, and as much as that’s ever possible anyplace — to be fair, I have a pretty big head and there’s lots of open space in there for me to dwell (and dwell… and dwell…) — it’s possible at Roadburn.

Thinking about that trip when I was barely 21, it’s no wonder it changed my life. It was a magical world where everyone was an adult, but still drunk like sloppy teenagers. Myself included. I don’t drink anymore, and the ensuing two decades have pushed through any number of other attitude changes that I hope have made me a better human being than I was then — failure assumed — so while the gate is the same, I’m not expecting Roadburn to set me on a lifepath in 2025 or anything. I’m 43. I had a whole career there for a while. Mostly now I just take the kid to and from school.

But what I do expect Roadburn to do is reset my trajectory, make sure I’m not bumping into walls I just built in front of myself for no fucking reason whatsoever. I will be exhausted when it’s done, but I’ll have seen friends and had I’m sure more than my fill of good music and good times, and that is sustaining for me in ways I consider integral. In Austin 22 years ago, I took notes with a hotel pen by hand and struggled to read my addled handwriting after the fact. Now I’ll probably just write as I go on my phone, but the idea is the same: to try and capture some element of the experience, of my experience, and convey it in probably-typo-laden run-on sentences that no one will ever read.

I need a bottle of water for the flight. I’m in the window seat, row 41, which is nowhere special. Weather is good, and the flight should be seven and a half hours. I have a chance for an empty seat next to me and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

If you’re going to Roadburn, please say hi if you see me in the back and forth. I’ll be there, going from the 013 to Koepelhal and back. I’m sorry I’m a big weirdo, but I do appreciate human communication, so hi.

What unfolds from here is my 13th Roadburn. I don’t have a plan, beyond seeing Kylesa and a few other musts, but tomorrow night at the 013, Temple Fang are playing the pre-show, and that’s very much a thing I want to see. The rest will work itself out.

Thanks for reading and keeping up if you do. Let’s go RB25.

Tags: Roadburn 2025, Roadburn 2025 Coverage, Roadburn Festival, The Netherlands, Tilburg

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2025 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.