One more day to go. Haldern Pop certainly has flown by this year. Still in good spirits after having a chill day only seeing a handful of acts, I’m excited to go once more. The Saturday of Haldern Pop is usually my final festival day of the year and for that reason I often find myself being pretty tired on this day. However, there’s no chance of taking it slow with acts such as YARD and Chalk on the bill.

First and foremost I should give a shout-out to this year’s weather. Haldern Pop is notorious for its extreme weather – whether it being excessive rain or 35 degree heat – and having been many times before, I think this might’ve been the only edition where the weather has been actually really nice. Yes, we had a bit of rain on Friday, but nothing we couldn’t shelter from. Overall, a solid 23 degrees and sunny spells have made for a memorable Haldern Pop in a good way. Now, on to the music we go.

Again, this day is quite a quiet one for me. Starting off late afternoon with the shoegazey Just Mustard before rolling into the industrial electro noise of YARD turned out to be a very interesting transition. Two solid acts, though. Properly enjoyed both. Chalk did what they do best: lift off the Spiegeltent’s roof with their 2024 take on post-punk. Leaving me with a mere 2 acts left today: Dog Race and King Hannah. First, the latter. I’ve heard nothing but positive stories about King Hannah’s performance who were bewitching many people in the crowd. Many people, except me. I couldn’t quite get into it so I figured it was time for me to leave after about 30 minutes. Way before King Hannah kicked off, however, there was Dog Race. A young band playing the gig of their lives.

Dog Race played in the newly updated Niederrhein Zelt, a small 3rd stage at the back of the ‘Main Stage’ area of the festival. This updated tent holds some added space to watch gigs from the side of the stage, including an opportunity to peak backstage. The young London band was probably one of the most well received bands I’ve ever seen at Haldern Pop. Only playing their first ever show outside of the UK (and their 2nd ever festival show!), they must’ve been taken by surprise how the extremely enthusiastic German crowd shouted for an encore for a solid 5 minutes straight. Clearly dumbfounded by this unique reception, the band was now backstage, deliberating a brief comeback to the stage. After a handful of minutes, Dog Race returned, much to the crowd’s consent. Having played every single song they have, it was up to the crowd whether Dog Race would play either ‘The Leader’ or ‘It’s The Squeeze’ again. Haldern Pop chose the latter.

In chronological order, all acts I’ve seen live on the Saturday of Haldern Pop 2024:
– Just Mustard
– YARD
– Chalk
– Dog Race
– King Hannah