Why bother with a foreign holiday – spend the summer in the city! Here is our guide to concerts in Kraków.
By Kasia Gawęska
As temperatures rise, so does our appetite for summertime emotions. And Kraków never disappoints. Swap your foreign holiday for gigs at home – best times guaranteed!
Summer officially starts with the Wianki – Fête de la Musique (25 June). This year’s event blends folk and traditional music with the latest alternative, electronic and pop sounds. Kraków welcomes Margaret and Warsaw Village Band, as well as many artists from Ukraine, since music from Eastern Europe, femininity and folk are key elements of this year’s festival (more on p. 14).
If you’re after major events, you can’t go wrong at Tauron Arena Kraków, hosting global stars after the venue was forced to change plans last year due to the pandemic. Alicia Keys appears on 26 June, Harry Styles – headliner of this year’s Coachella – performs in Poland for the first time on 18 July, and Andrea Bocelli serenades us on 27 August. For fans of harder sounds, there’s Pearl Jam (14 July) and Sabaton from Sweden (23 August).
While we’re on the subject of festivals, there’s plenty of pop music to go round! Nothing beats hot summer nights surrounded by friends, dancing until dawn and discovering new artists. The Kraków Live Festival (19 and 20 August) at the Polish Aviation Museum resounds with Halsey and Lewis Capaldi bringing the hottest pop from the US and Scotland respectively, with support on the smaller stages from the up-and-coming Parcels and Mimi Webb. The Cracovian Jan-Rapowanie looks after fans of hip-hop.
And it’s fair to say that Polish music is doing better than ever, mainly thanks to hip-hop. The Męskie Granie festival (29 and 30 July) has never had such a huge line-up of rappers before – and boy are they good! Kraków hosts Bedoes and Zdechły Osa whose tracks have millions of views, while Szczyl’s album Polska Floryda earned him the title of one of the best debut acts of recent years. But worry not – the festival also features Brodka, Natalia Przybysz, Ralph Kaminski, Mrozu and Igo. And, before you ask: YES, DAWID PODSIADŁO WILL BE THERE!
The crème de la crème of our homegrown scene also comes to the Summertime Sounds cycle (8 July – 25 August). The Parkowa Sports Centre resounds with artists, including Nosowska, Zalewski, Mery Spolsky and the Karaś/Rogucki duo.
Let’s move to some smaller stages – smaller but just as entertaining! Clubs can truly make the atmosphere of a city – is there anyone in Kraków who hasn’t heard of Studio or Forty Kleparz? Studio has an offer its regulars can’t possibly refuse: concerts by Aurora (27 June), Passenger (12 September) and Michael Patrick Kelly (2 September). That’s right – one of the Kelly Family who have been captivating listeners for generations. Those of us who swooned at Paddy during our teenage years are experiencing a second youth at his live concerts – a bit like back when we were singing into our hairbrushes… Michael Patrick is also experiencing a second – musical – youth. He is a fairly recent visitor to Poland, but his hits are finally gaining track here. Passenger is bound to bring the audience to tears, especially with the hit Let Her Go, while the Norwegian Aurora will enchant fans of alternative sounds – just as she has enchanted her greatest fan, Katy Perry.
Forty Kleparz is still getting ready for the summer (the first confirmed act is Myslovitz in July), and the programme at Kraków’s Hype Park is shaping up nicely. In the coming months, the venue will host plenty of rappers, including Borixon (15 July) and Dwa Sławy (3 August) as well as the alternative group Kacperczyk (30 June). We will also hear some rather louder acts, including WaluśKraksaKryzys (24 August), nominated for this year’s Fryderyk award, and the supergroup The Dead Daisies (9 July) whose former and current members have included musicians from the Rolling Stones, Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe and Ozzy Osbourne’s band. Hype Park has set the bar high – last year it complemented its usual line-up of dance events with concerts by stars such as sanah, now performing more frequently at stadiums.
Make sure you pop into Kwadrat on 1 July to hear our Ukrainian neighbours Kalush. You probably recognise the name: the band won this year’s Eurovision as Kalush Orchestra (which also included Tymofii Muzychuk, Vitalii Duzhyk and Sasha Tab). If you watched the competition, you know their music is best described as a mish-mash. Folk music? Check. Hip-hop? Absolutely. Dance? Of course! Poland awarded Ukraine the maximum of 12 points, so we know we’re in for a good time.
History likes to repeat itself, so let’s get back to folk music. Between 3 and 10 July, Kraków welcomes guests from Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and even further corners of the globe. The 24th EtnoKraków/Crossroads festival brings music to an outdoor stage at Forty Kleparz, to Strefa and Alchemia and to the courtyard of Radio Kraków. Keep a close eye on the festival’s social media to see this year’s guests.
We’re sad to admit it, but the fact is that summer holidays must come to an end, so we might as well finish with a bang at the gig by Rage Against the Machine at Tauron Arena Kraków on 15 September. Let’s be honest – the last couple of years have been tough, and we’ve had plenty to get mad about. As John Lydon AKA Johnny Rotten screamed “anger is an energy”, so let’s channel our fury and shout about everything which has been making us angry (even small things, such as the end of summer) and step into autumn with fresh vigour and energy for the next concert season in Kraków.
Kasia Gawęska
Professionally involved with culture and entertainment since her teenage years, she started out as a translator before moving on to music journalism. She has worked with Onet, Interia and Red Bull Music and has conducted interviews with hundreds of musicians from all over the globe. She is also a cultural and PR manager for several companies. She honed her marketing skills at Sony Music Poland.
Photo: Harry Styles, press release
The article published in the 2/2022 issue of “Kraków Culture” quarterly.
