There are places, and festivals, where the real magic isn’t just the music. It’s the people: their warmth, their openness, the way strangers turn into friends in minutes, the sheer emotion hanging in the air. The music is just the icing on the cake. That’s exactly what Poland Rock feels like. It’s one of the biggest festivals in Europe, and indeed the world, offering a huge spectrum of genres to lose yourself in.
This year’s edition, the 32nd, took place on a decommissioned airfield in Czaplinek-Broczyno, in north-western Poland, from 30 July to 1 August. Estimates put attendance somewhere in the hundreds of thousands, with figures ranging up to three quarters of a million: an ocean of fans there for nothing but good music and an even better time. Costumed revellers and grinning strangers everywhere you looked created an atmosphere it was impossible not to get swept up in. The festival is organised by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity and its endlessly charismatic frontman, Jerzy Owsiak, an organisation that has, over the years, funnelled millions into Polish hospitals and charities through public fundraising and the generosity of kind-hearted people around the world. Pol’and’Rock is, in a sense, a thank-you to all of them. What’s crazy is that the whole thing is free! No tickets, no gates. You just show up with a tent, stake out a spot on the sprawling meadows, and lose yourself in music of some of the biggest names in Poland and beyond. Even the artists play for little more than a token fee. But let’s start from the beginning.
Day 1 (Thursday)
At exactly 3pm, thousands gathered in front of the main stage, flags waving and sunflowers in hand (the festival’s official emblem), and recited the traditional oath: a promise to treat this patch of earth with respect, and to celebrate on it in a spirit of brotherhood, friendship and tolerance, all in the name of rock and roll.
Minutes later, Britain’s The Lottery Winners (an indie-pop outfit from Greater Manchester) kicked things off on the main stage, followed by America’s Vended, a heavy metal band from Iowa fronted by Griffin Taylor (son of Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor) with Simon Crahan (son of Slipknot’s Shawn Crahan) on drums. Next up was Poland’s own L.U.C. with the Rebel Babel Orchestra, blending hip-hop with orchestral arrangements and traditional folk instrumentation, a great warm-up for what was still to come.
Then Sweden’s Orbit Culture took the stage, and things got heavy fast. This melodic death metal outfit absolutely tore it up: crushing riffs woven together with melodic solos, all topped off with vocals that swung between soaring cleans and guttural growls. It was a scorching, sun-drenched day, and the crowd’s mosh pit kicked up a dust cloud you could probably see from the car park. Raw, ferocious energy, all set against a setting sun.
After barely twenty minutes to catch their breath, the crowd surged back to life for Boston’s Dropkick Murphys. These Irish-rooted musicians delivered a set overflowing with energy, a mix of Irish folk, rock and punk that hit the crowd like a wave. Just standing still wasn’t an option. Thousands got to hear banjo, flute and accordion woven in alongside the usual guitars, bass and drums, and that traditional Irish flavour had everyone’s feet moving whether they meant to or not.
After a short break, the legendary Godsmack walked out, and I’d bet this set goes down in Poland Rock history for more than one reason. First, the music itself was outstanding: hard-hitting tracks like ‘When Legends Rise’ and ‘Awake’, plus a few surprise cover snippets thrown in. All of that was just the lead-up to an unbelievable, roughly five-minute dual-drum solo between vocalist Sully Erna and drummer Shannon Larkin. Just when it seemed like nothing could top that, the evening’s most moving moment arrived. Sully sat down alone at a piano and delivered a gut-wrenching rendition of ‘Like a Shooting Star’, dedicated to musicians we’ve lost: Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell, Amy Winehouse and Ozzy Osbourne. As if that weren’t enough, every light on the field cut out except the spotlight on him, and tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of phone flashlights blinked on in the darkness. And right then, on a perfectly clear night, a full moon rose from behind the stage. Pure magic! The band closed things out with their anthem ‘I Stand Alone’. Sully himself said the next day that what happened that night felt unreal, almost as though he wasn’t sure it had actually happened.
The night wrapped up with Myslovitz, the long-running Polish rock-pop staple, and their set turned into one giant singalong. Songs like ‘Chłopcy’, ‘Chciałbym umrzeć z miłości’ and ‘Długość dźwięku samotności’ are practically part of the national songbook at this point. Even though the band’s original, legendary frontman Artur Rojek has since been replaced by younger vocalist Mateusz Parzymięso, the performance held up beautifully, a genuinely strong show from every player on stage. To close out the night, organiser Jerzy Owsiak invited all the musicians to sit down together and lead the whole crowd through an unplugged version of ‘Dla Ciebie’.
Day 2 (Friday)
Day two brought more of the same brutal heat, clouds of dust and buckets of sweat.
Things kicked off with Bum Bum Orchestar & Friends, whose sound is an explosive mash-up of Balkan brass, klezmer and Polish folk traditions.
Next came Dziwna Wiosna, purveyors of Polish psychedelic rock shot through with alternative and grunge influences, songs that swing wildly between hushed quiet and full-throated screaming.
Norway’s Spidergawd came up next. The band had actually been booked for the main stage last year but had to pull out at the last minute for health reasons. This time around, they delivered exactly what they promise: a healthy dose of “happy heavy metal”. Melodic guitars and a booming vocal were backed by drumming so ferocious it brought Dave Grohl’s Nirvana-era playing to mind, plus an unexpected addition for the genre, baritone sax courtesy of Rolf Martin Snustad, which gave the whole set a genuinely one-of-a-kind flavour. They did a fantastic job of warming the crowd up ahead of the evening’s headliners.
Next on the main stage was Polish blues-rock legends Dżem, and this set felt like it bridged generations. Right in front of the stage you could spot teenagers belting out every word alongside seventy-somethings riding the crowd surf, an incredible sight. The band, who’ve played together since the 1970s, opened with a few tracks off their new album, released earlier this year. Interestingly, the current frontman is Sebastian Riedel, son of the band’s true legend and original singer, Ryszard Riedel, whose deeply personal lyrics and remarkable voice carried the band to the top of Polish music. As if that weren’t poignant enough, the show fell just one day after the 32nd anniversary of Ryszard’s death. The band also ran through timeless hits like ‘Wehikuł Czasu’, ‘Whisky’ and ‘Harlej Mój’. Combined with the stunning guitar work of Jerzy Styczyński and Adam Otręba, arguably Poland’s most recognisable guitar duo, and a rock-solid rhythm section, it made for a truly moving, atmospheric set.
The mood flipped almost instantly, though, once Alborosie & Shengen Clan hit the stage. This Italian act brought a heavy dose of reggae to the field. Frontman Alberto D’Ascola’s voice was impressive enough on its own, but his thigh-length dreadlocks were incredible. Backed by a two-piece female chorus and the rest of the band. For a while, it felt like a Jamaican beach party, dancers as far as the eye could see.
Then came a set the crowd had been waiting for: Nocny Kochanek, serving up melodic heavy metal in the vein of Iron Maiden, laced with tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic lyrics. The crowd went absolutely wild, pure ecstasy from start to finish. They ran through crowd favourites like ‘Dziewczyna z kebabem’, ‘Zdrajca metalu’ and ‘Minerał fiutta’. To close things out, they invited up ADHD, a young band of fifteen-year-olds representing the new wave of Polish rock who’d played the small stage the day before, for an acoustic performance of ‘Koń na białym rycerzu’, the two bands gathered together around a campfire prop. Nocny Kochanek also walked away with the festival’s Golden Spinning Top award for best set of the night, which comes with the right to headline the main stage next year.
The night’s grand finale belonged to nu-metal legends P.O.D. The American band had the crowd in the palm of their hand from the first note, tearing through hits like ‘Alive’ and ‘Youth of the Nation’. Crushing riffs, powerful vocals and a genuinely electric energy throughout. They even squeezed in a cover of The Beatles‘ ‘Don’t Let Me Down’.
Day 3 (Saturday)
The weather turned hard on the final day: dust and heat gave way to rain and mud. Didn’t dampen the fun one bit, though.
The afternoon opened with Orkiestra Dorosłych Dzieci, a Polish supergroup pulling members from a handful of legendary bands, including Kuba Płucisz (Ira) and Maciej Starosta (Acid Drinkers), alongside musicians from Turbo, Oddział Zamknięty and Proletaryat. They ran through some of the biggest anthems in Polish rock history: ‘Bierz mnie’ (Ira), ‘Dorosłe Dzieci’ (Turbo) and ‘Do kołyski’ (Dżem).
The crowd then went wild in a muddy pit for Sheffield’s Malevolence, a metalcore act built around punishing riffs, aggressive vocals and heavy breakdowns. Fans lost themselves in tracks like ‘On Broken Glass’ and ‘Self Supremacy’.
Slovakia’s Heľenine Oči followed, blending ska with local folk sounds for a genuinely fun set. At one point the singer actually climbed down off the stage with a ladder, planted it in the crowd and started conducting the audience like a choir.
The evening also brought sets from Wargasm (a British electronic rock duo out of London), Kosheen (a British electronic act) and Sweden’s Eagle Eye Cherry, whose performance of ‘Save Tonight’ got everyone singing along. Every single one of them delivered, keeping the crowd’s energy sky-high heading into the festival’s final stretch.
But before the closing moment arrived, Polish rock outfit Happysad took the stage, serving up melodic alt-rock with hints of punk and reggae, including favourites like ‘Mów mi dobrze’ and ‘Zanim pójdę’.
And then came the moment nobody in the crowd wanted: the end of the festival. As always, it fell to Piotr Bukartyk to close things out with the festival’s unofficial anthem, ‘Z tyłu chmur’, performed alongside roughly fifty audience members who’d spent the past few days at dedicated workshops rehearsing for the chance to take the main stage on closing night. Anyone could sign up. For every one of them, it must have been a moment they’ll carry with them for the rest of their lives. Around 2am that Sunday morning, Poland Rock 2026 officially came to a close.
Beyond the two main stages, which hosted dozens of bands and musicians over three days, it’s worth mentioning the “small” stage (small in name only), which featured acts like Lej mi pół, Voo Voo, Łzy, Varius Manx and the new generation of Polish rock, ADHD.
There was also the Academy of Beautiful Arts, a space where festival-goers could meet actors like Marian Dziędziel and Agata Kulesza, or even Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, fresh from becoming the first Pole to visit the International Space Station. They shared stories, took questions from the crowd, and there was no shortage of things to hear.
The festival grounds are so massive that seeing every act and every attraction simply isn’t possible in three days. But no matter what music you’re into, you’ll find something here for you. One thing’s for sure: boredom isn’t an option. There are hundreds of workshops, activities and meet-ups to stumble into, from face painting and calligraphy with a quill to sword fighting, a relaxation zone, yoga, fitness classes, aerobics and a whole pile of other games, including “flanki”, the festival’s own cult classic.
All told, this place, this festival, has an atmosphere that feels almost too good to be real, packed with open, smiling people who build something genuinely special together. Put it this way: a three-minute wait in the toilet queue is enough time to make five new friends and pick up four invitations to a party.
So it doesn’t matter if you’re a metalhead or a punk, young or old, you owe it to yourself to experience this at least once. Some things just can’t be put into words, and that freedom is one of them.
