Kurt Vile joins Fontaines D.C. as a guest onstage at La Route Du Rock festival

Kurt Vile joined Fontaines D.C. as a guest onstage at the La Route Du Rock festival, playing "Roman Holiday" with the band during their closing set at Fort de Saint-Pere in France on August 15, NME reported. Vile had performed on the same stage earlier in the day with his band The Violators.

The pairing carried extra weight: Fontaines frontman Grian Chatten has said "Roman Holiday," from the band's 2022 album Skinty Fia, was substantially inspired by Vile. Chatten previously told Rolling Stone he wrote the song after watching Vile perform in Croatia and envying his relaxed stage presence: "The sun was going down and he was able to stand there and chill out," he said. "We spend 10 minutes before going on stage slapping each other in the face," he added. "I envy someone who can send a text to his kid, go off on stage and them just play really well."

Vile and Fontaines have crossed paths before, both contributing to the 2021 Velvet Underground tribute album I'll Be Your Mirror, with Fontaines covering "The Black Angel's Death Song" and Vile covering "Run Run Run." Bassist Conor Deegan III called the connection to Vile "class" at the time, describing his own contributed track as "an absolute banger." The set also aired two new Fontaines songs, "Marianne" and "Six Shot Morning," which the band recently debuted at their first headline show of 2026.

That first show back marked a return to the stage following the death of the band's manager, Trevor Dietz, whom they had described as "the sixth member of the band." Their first performance since his passing came at the BBC's final live session at Maida Vale earlier this month.

Fontaines D.C. have now confirmed their fifth studio album, Dopamine Chamber, is coming via XL Recordings; the record is due October 16. Bassist Conor Deegan III said earlier this year that the group "can't stop writing," while guitarist Carlos O'Connell added in January, "We've been writing, it's been fun... I think if the music is there, it could get busy."

The band play more European dates this week before topping the bill at Reading & Leeds and then headlining Electric Picnic in Ireland on August 30. Vile, meanwhile, released his 10th studio album, Philadelphia's Been Good to Me, in May, and plays End of the Road festival next month, part of a busy year for both acts in rock and indie music.