Susan Hayden discovers her inner rock chick at a Scandi-lous music festival It would be difficult to imagine a place more magically resplendent with fairytale charm than Scandinavia in the summer.It's as if nature feels bad about the northern tribes' suicidally bleak winter and wants to compensate for the endless months of frigid grey by delivering spring on speed.Seemingly overnight, green fields turn scarlet with acres of poppies; rambling roses in bright, jewel colours burst forth and hang heavy on hedges while the sun, which normally lies low and introverted on a featureless horizon, climbs a wide, generous arc and burns determinedly till midnight.story_article_left1And while all of this glory is going on, champagne blondes are making up for their long, imposed hibernation by dipping naked in deep, dark lakes, concocting tarts out of hand-plucked berries and brewing elderberry wine in readiness for the midsummer celebration.It's every bit as gorgeous as it sounds, and I haven't even mentioned the salmon and the beaches and the acres of virgin forest.Since hooking up with a Dane I've been fortunate enough to spend Cape winters in the glory of southern Sweden.And although the Roskilde festival, which happens annually in Denmark, is one of the biggest and most coveted music festivals in the world, selling 100,000 tickets way in advance, and happens practically on our doorstep (thanks to the Øresund bridge which connects Sweden and Denmark), I habitually avoid it because I'm just not a music festival kind of girl.I'm much more of the comfy bed and hot shower ilk. Also, there's the issue of the weather. It's par for the course that at least part of the festival will be rained upon, and rain and tents do not make me cheerful.But this year the wily organisers conspired to choose exactly the moment I'd put away the better part of a bottle of shiraz and was in an unusually jolly mood to send me the festival itinerary.And who was playing? None other than two of my all-time favourite bands: Red Hot Chili Peppers and New Order, the latter's music having been the nostalgic soundtrack for my years of teenage angst (because how does it feel to treat me like you do?).And before you could say "queue to the loo" there I was, dressed in biker Wellies, sporting an orange armband and making my way to the nearest beer tent, channeling Kate Moss at Glastonbury and feeling pretty adventurous.block_quotes_start But what I discovered is that even if you're not really Kate Moss and into mad partying, this festival is worth attending anyway block_quotes_endThe little town of Roskilde, 35km from Copenhagen, hosted its first festival in 1971. Since then it has grown to become the biggest cultural event in Denmark, drawing music enthusiasts from all over the world.No fewer than 30, 000 volunteers happily pour beer and fry burgers in exchange for a ticket. The event is non-profit, with all proceeds donated to social and cultural development projects across the globe.The festival lasts five days, but enthusiasts pitch their tents two weeks before the first act begins. The partying that goes down in "Tent Town" is not for anyone over the age of 30.Make that 25. (Happily, a friend offered us her house for the duration). But what I discovered is that even if you're not really Kate Moss and into mad partying, this festival is worth attending anyway.Because while it has all the right elements (great bands, a chilled vibe and plenty of drunk people), it's also in Denmark, which means it's cool, sophisticated and well run.full_story_image_hleft1Even though it's attended by 130,000 eating, drinking, partying people, the grounds remain neat and tidy, the loos are cleaned every two hours so you never have to wee behind a tree, and there is a contingent of social workers and psychologists who patrol the festival grounds making sure everyone's OK. (Gotta love that about Scandinavia.)As for the food...slow-cooked duck baguette, brioche with beef and béarnaise sauce and even an Icelandic musk-ox burger.Every stall is required to sell at least one vegetarian item, but since it is Denmark, the stall called "Horse of Course" sells horsemeat and tarragon sandwiches.But oh ja, the music. The beating heart of the Roskilde festival is the Orange Stage - orange tent purchased from the Rolling Stones in the '70s and replicated when it started to fall apart.It's a big deal to open Orange because it's the act that officially kicks off the festival, so it was something of a surprise to the crowd when a Syrian woman in a hijab took to the stage and started singing in Arabic.Opening with the Orchestra of Syrian Musicians was, as the festival organisers explained, a step towards countering the dehumanisation of Syrian people. It wasn't long before people were up and dancing, proving that music has the power to penetrate cultural barriers.story_article_right2The biggest drawcards this year were Neil Young, Choir of Young Believers, Elle King, Danish superstar Mø (pronounced "Mer" - Danes don't think this is funny) and then, of course, the Chili Peppers and New Order.Fans were pretty eager to see what the Californian party boys were going to come up with this time since their last Roskilde event had them so trollied they could barely perform and apparently disgraced themselves in no small way.Later I read some grumpy journos complaining that the band was "unfocused", but they played all my favourites and my love for Anthony Kiedis burns so strong so they'd have had to be pretty dismal for me not to have loved their performance.New Order, however ... watching one's teenage icons perform years later is dangerous because, well, they're old now and not even the coolest of the cool can escape a gammy hip at 70. But despite their lacklustre performance and visuals from 1983, the crowd was generous and determined to party.The best part of festivals is hardly ever the itinerary. Some of the most interesting things happen while taking a rest stop.I saw a wheelchair train (three disabled people in regular wheelchairs being towed by a guy in a motorised chair); a group of young men with long, blond hair in French plaits decorated with flowers; a woman in her 80s, in a silver jumpsuit, pulling a stuffed dog on a leash...Sitting on a patch of grass under a shady tree I had the sudden, happy realisation that I am a rock chick after all...