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<\/a><\/p>\nThis year\u2019s 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\u2019and\u2019Rock is, in a sense, a thank-you to all of them. What\u2019s 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\u2019s start from the beginning.<\/p>\n
Day 1 (Thursday)<\/p>\n At exactly 3pm, thousands gathered in front of the main stage, flags waving and sunflowers in hand (the festival\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Minutes later, Britain\u2019s The Lottery Winners (an indie-pop outfit from Greater Manchester) kicked things off on the main stage, followed by America\u2019s Vended, a heavy metal band from Iowa fronted by Griffin Taylor (son of Slipknot\u2018s Corey Taylor) with Simon Crahan (son of Slipknot\u2019s Shawn Crahan) on drums. Next up was Poland\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Then Sweden\u2019s 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\u2019s mosh pit kicked up a dust cloud you could probably see from the car park. Raw, ferocious energy, all set against a setting sun. <\/p>\n After barely twenty minutes to catch their breath, the crowd surged back to life for Boston\u2019s 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\u2019t 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\u2019s feet moving whether they meant to or not. <\/p>\n After a short break, the legendary Godsmack walked out, and I\u2019d bet this set goes down in Poland Rock history for more than one reason. First, the music itself was outstanding: hard-hitting tracks like \u2018When Legends Rise\u2019 and \u2018Awake\u2019, 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\u2019s most moving moment arrived. Sully sat down alone at a piano and delivered a gut-wrenching rendition of \u2018Like a Shooting Star\u2019, dedicated to musicians we\u2019ve lost: Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell, Amy Winehouse and Ozzy Osbourne. As if that weren\u2019t 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 \u2018I Stand Alone\u2019. Sully himself said the next day that what happened that night felt unreal, almost as though he wasn\u2019t sure it had actually happened. <\/p>\n The night wrapped up with Myslovitz, the long-running Polish rock-pop staple, and their set turned into one giant singalong. Songs like \u2018Ch\u0142opcy\u2019, \u2018Chcia\u0142bym umrze\u0107 z mi\u0142o\u015bci\u2019 and \u2018D\u0142ugo\u015b\u0107 d\u017awi\u0119ku samotno\u015bci\u2019 are practically part of the national songbook at this point. Even though the band\u2019s original, legendary frontman Artur Rojek has since been replaced by younger vocalist Mateusz Parzymi\u0119so, 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 \u2018Dla Ciebie\u2019. <\/p>\n Day 2 (Friday)<\/p>\n Day two brought more of the same brutal heat, clouds of dust and buckets of sweat.<\/p>\n Things kicked off with Bum Bum Orchestar & Friends, whose sound is an explosive mash-up of Balkan brass, klezmer and Polish folk traditions.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Norway\u2019s 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 \u201chappy heavy metal\u201d. Melodic guitars and a booming vocal were backed by drumming so ferocious it brought Dave Grohl\u2019s 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\u2019s headliners.<\/p>\n Next on the main stage was Polish blues-rock legends D\u017cem, 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\u2019ve 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\u2019s 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\u2019t poignant enough, the show fell just one day after the 32nd anniversary of Ryszard\u2019s death. The band also ran through timeless hits like \u2018Wehiku\u0142 Czasu\u2019, \u2018Whisky\u2019 and \u2018Harlej M\u00f3j\u2019. Combined with the stunning guitar work of Jerzy Styczy\u0144ski and Adam Otr\u0119ba, arguably Poland\u2019s most recognisable guitar duo, and a rock-solid rhythm section, it made for a truly moving, atmospheric set.<\/p>\n 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\u2019Ascola\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u2018Dziewczyna z kebabem\u2019, \u2018Zdrajca metalu\u2019 and \u2018Minera\u0142 fiutta\u2019. To close things out, they invited up ADHD, a young band of fifteen-year-olds representing the new wave of Polish rock who\u2019d played the small stage the day before, for an acoustic performance of \u2018Ko\u0144 na bia\u0142ym rycerzu\u2019, the two bands gathered together around a campfire prop. Nocny Kochanek also walked away with the festival\u2019s Golden Spinning Top award for best set of the night, which comes with the right to headline the main stage next year.<\/p>\n The night\u2019s 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 \u2018Alive\u2019 and \u2018Youth of the Nation\u2019. Crushing riffs, powerful vocals and a genuinely electric energy throughout. They even squeezed in a cover of The Beatles\u2018 \u2018Don\u2019t Let Me Down\u2019.<\/p>\n Day 3 (Saturday)<\/p>\n The weather turned hard on the final day: dust and heat gave way to rain and mud. Didn\u2019t dampen the fun one bit, though.<\/p>\n The afternoon opened with Orkiestra Doros\u0142ych Dzieci, a Polish supergroup pulling members from a handful of legendary bands, including Kuba P\u0142ucisz (Ira) and Maciej Starosta (Acid Drinkers), alongside musicians from Turbo, Oddzia\u0142 Zamkni\u0119ty and Proletaryat. They ran through some of the biggest anthems in Polish rock history: \u2018Bierz mnie\u2019 (Ira), \u2018Doros\u0142e Dzieci\u2019 (Turbo) and \u2018Do ko\u0142yski\u2019 (D\u017cem).<\/p>\n The crowd then went wild in a muddy pit for Sheffield\u2019s Malevolence, a metalcore act built around punishing riffs, aggressive vocals and heavy breakdowns. Fans lost themselves in tracks like \u2018On Broken Glass\u2019 and \u2018Self Supremacy\u2019.<\/p>\n Slovakia\u2019s He\u013eenine O\u010di 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.<\/p>\n The evening also brought sets from Wargasm (a British electronic rock duo out of London), Kosheen (a British electronic act) and Sweden\u2019s Eagle Eye Cherry, whose performance of \u2018Save Tonight\u2019 got everyone singing along. Every single one of them delivered, keeping the crowd\u2019s energy sky-high heading into the festival\u2019s final stretch.<\/p>\n 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 \u2018M\u00f3w mi dobrze\u2019 and \u2018Zanim p\u00f3jd\u0119\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Dropkick Murphys<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Alborosie & Shengen Clan<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n