Paperjam.lu

Foals return to the grand duchy for the fourth time when they headline Siren's Call on 27 June 

Guessing the headliner of the Siren’s Call festival has become something of a sport among Luxembourg-based music fans. After all, the annual festival put on by den Atelier and Neimënster has a track record of attracting top names to the courtyard of the former abbey--Metronomy, Cat Power, MGMT, Eels and Oscar & The Wolf have all graced the main stage in the past.

This year’s festival will see Foals return to the grand duchy for the fourth time--they have played three memorable shows at den Atelier and made their debut at Neimënster in 2011 as one of the summer concerts put on by the Hollerich venue at the time. The Oxford quintet last year released a two-part album, “Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost”, in March and October but always find time in their set to play the anthems like ‘Inhaler’ and ‘What Went Down’ as well as the epic ‘Spanish Sahara’ that will resonate with an open-air setting.

Also on the bill is Essex band Nothing But Thieves, whom The Guardian once called (in a positive review, it has to be said) “Southend’s foremost specialists in agitated but serious-minded guitar rock”, likening them to “a vulcanised fusion of Muse and Radiohead”.

Following last year’s sweat-drenched performance by Idles, this year’s show at Melusina during the festival is handed over to Swedish post-punk outfit Viagra Boys, who Pitchfork described as “a tour de force of musical comedy disguised as society’s most accepted reprobates.” But the festival also has its quieter moments, and none more so than the performance by Polish pianist and neo-classical composer Hania Rani in the Eglise St. Jean.

Other acts already confirmed for the music programme include German alternative-electronic composer Josin, upcoming British band The Howl & The Hum, French urban pop artist Joanna and two Luxembourg artists--singer-songwriter Charlotte Bridge and pop singer Chaild.

But the festival is also a showcase for performance art and this year features a proper theatre production in the shape of “Le Dernier Ogre”, which is described as “a powerful interdisciplinary play inspired by a well-known French fairy tale.” And then there are the light and sound installations, yoga and dance workshops, a design expo and an intitiatives market during the day.

The whole shebang takes place on Saturday 27 June (with a free pre-party the night before) with doors opening at 3pm. Children under the age of 10 get in for free. Tickets are available here.