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Rockowizna has firmly established itself as one of Poland’s biggest touring rock festivals, drawing together a combination of rock, metal, and alternative acts across the country’s major cities and this year marked the festival’s landmark 5th edition, kicking off in Gdańsk before rolling through Poznań and finally landing in Kraków and closing out not just the tour, but the summer itself, with two final days of live music.
The first two stops had set the bar high, with the likes of Sex Pistols, Within Temptation, Airbourne, and Avatar among the acts gracing the Rockowizna stages. But Kraków was far from an afterthought. The festival’s final shows brought an impressive line-up of its own, with Lord of the Lost, Lacuna Coil, and Polish heavyweights Acid Drinkers and Coma entrusted with bringing the fifth edition to a fitting close.
With two days of live music and a line-up spanning the full breadth of the rock and metal world, the stage was set for one last unforgettable weekend of Rockowizna 2026. As a devoted live music fan, this kind of bill was simply impossible to resist — and so, yours truly showed up. A huge thank you to the organization for having us there!
Kicking off the first day in Kraków were The Analogs, veterans of the Polish punk scene who have been making noise since their formation in Szczecin in 1995. Over their three-decade-long career, the band has become renowned for their energetic, punk-rock-driven music and lyrics that tackle social issues and the realities of everyday life. They may not be a fixture on national radio or television, but they are well-known to punk fans across Poland and beyond, from Germany and Austria to the Czech Republic. That combination of authenticity has made The Analogs one of the most recognizable names in Poland’s street-punk scene, and a fitting choice to get the crowd moving from the very first song.
The festival crowd, which during both days was a mix of fans of all ages, including families with young children, needed no encouragement. From the very first note, they were singing along and moving to the band’s familiar punk anthems. The set was generous to long-time fans, featuring beloved tracks like “Strzelby z Brixton” (The Guns of Brixton) and “Pieśń Aniołów” (The Song of Angels). And looking at the crowd during their performance, it was clear that the band’s energy was infectious from start to finish, drawing in even those unfamiliar with their catalog. It was the perfect warm-up for everything still to come.
From Poland, the baton passed to England. Hailing from Hastings, Kid Kapichi have established a reputation for their gritty British punk and riff-heavy sound. The band formed in 2013, but it was their debut album in 2021 that truly opened the doors to wider audiences. Their lyrics zero in on social and political frustration, and the everyday struggle of British life, themes which reflected The Analogs‘ spirit closely enough to make them the natural successor act.
As someone who grew up in the UK, I found Kid Kapichi’s set hit me with a surge of nostalgia. The band ran through some of their most popular tracks, including “Party At Nr. 10”, a nod to Partygate, the infamous gatherings at No. 10 Downing Street during COVID-19 lockdowns, alongside “New England,” “Rob The Supermarket,” and the song that has been stuck in my head ever since: “Can EU Hear Me,” with its irresistibly catchy chorus. The crowd had an absolute blast, but it was clear the band were enjoying themselves just as much. Vocalist and guitarist Jack Wilson even slipped away to take advantage of the Vean Studio tattoo tent on the festival grounds, a souvenir I fully understand, having done the same myself on Day 2.
While The Analogs technically opened the festival, Pull The Wire got the pre-party started. As soon as the festival grounds opened and the first attendees began trickling in, the band set up near the official merch stands for an acoustic warm-up set, a tradition they had carried from the previous stops in Gdańsk and Poznań. The day also held a personal reason for celebration for the band, as the drummer Marek Adamek was celebrating his birthday, with the festival crowds singing “Sto Lat” (Polish birthday song) several times. The Żyrardów-based band has been a fixture on the Polish live circuit since their formation in 2005, and everything about them suggests they were built for the stage. And such an opinion was only strengthened through years of festival appearances, culminating in a Złoty Bączek (“Golden Spinning Top”) award, voted for by attendees of the Pol’and’Rock Festival, which they won in the “Small Stage” category in 2023.
Coming onto the stage during their main set with the graphics and stage decor resembling a pirate ship, Pull The Wire wasted no time getting the crowd on their feet with their rousing pirate shanty, “Klątwa Czarnej Perły Strong” (The Curse of the Black Pearl Strong). The band has long described their shows as a night out with friends over a beer, and that spirit was noticeable, coming from the stage and bouncing right back from an audience that had grown considerably and was riding a flood of energy. The atmosphere hit new heights when the band kicked off into fan favorites “Pirat Drogowy” (Road Pirate) and “Kapslami w Niebo” (Bottlecaps to the Sky). And in the middle of the party that was going on in the crowd, the band’s inflatable unicorn floatie was launched into the crowd, which was a welcome touch that made for a far more memorable sight than the usual inflatable balls that make appearances at festival crowds.
With the crowd thoroughly warmed up, it was time for Nocny Kochanek to take the stage and push things into heavier territory. Nocny Kochanek — which translates to “Nighttime Lover” — brought a distinctly different flavor of Polish metal to Rockowizna. The band, formed in 2012, has made an art form out of not taking themselves or the genre too seriously. Musically, there is nothing casual about it: soaring vocals and heavy riffs have drawn frequent comparisons to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. But that is where those comparisons end. Lyrically, Nocny Kochanek operate in a world of absurd humor, sharp wordplay, and tongue-in-cheek observations on everything from relationships and drinking to the stereotypes of metal culture itself. Opinions on the band may be divided, but this formula has earned them a sizeable following in Poland and, much like Pull The Wire, it is a formula tailor-made for a festival crowd.
The setlist was packed with fan favorites, including “Dziewczyna z Kebabem” (The Girl with a Kebab) and “Zdrajca Metalu” (Traitor of Metal). Pyrotechnics were out in full swing, Nocny Kochanek being one of only two acts on the bill to deploy them, and the crowd responded in kind, growing rowdier with each song as pits of all varieties broke out and crowd surfers became a near-constant presence. For their three-song encore, the band saved a special moment: “Koń Na Białym Rycerzu” (A Horse On A White Knight), a track during which the drummer trades his kit for a recorder. Singer Krzysztof Sokołowski called out to the audience to ask if anyone had brought their own, and, as it turned out, two young fans had come prepared. One had a horse mask, the other a knight’s helm, and both were invited onstage to join the band for the performance. And the goodwill didn’t end there: once the set was over, the band made their way along the front barrier, trading high-fives, shaking hands, taking selfies, and signing whatever fans thrust their way.
As the night’s penultimate act unfolded, the mood shifted, and for many in the crowd, it became deeply nostalgic. Few bands on the Rockowizna roster carried quite as much history as Acid Drinkers. Formed in Poznań in 1986, the Polish metal veterans have spent decades earning their place among the most recognizable and influential names in the country’s heavier music scene, built on a foundation of thrash, heavy metal, and crushing riffs that has kept them with a devoted following across generations. Their appearance at Rockowizna also came with an added sense of occasion. In 2025, Acid Drinkers reunited their original lineup: Tomasz “Titus” Pukacki, Robert “Litza” Friedrich, Dariusz “Popcorn” Popowicz, and Maciej “Ślimak” Starosta, after 27 years apart, with Rockowizna hosting that long-awaited reunion. One year on, all four were back together on the festival stage once more.
The band walked onstage to Hans Zimmer’s “This Land” from The Lion King before launching into hits including “Masterhood of Hearts Devouring,” “High Proof Cosmic Milk,” and “I Am the Mystic.” While the band tore through their set onstage, things were equally intense in the fans below. The pits that had been a feature throughout the night reached new levels of chaos, something the bruises on my back can personally attest to. But in my opinion, walking away with a few battle scars is the mark of a successful festival, given that they are not too serious. Acid Drinkers is a band I had heard of but never followed closely, yet watching them perform made it immediately clear why they hold such legendary status in the Polish heavy metal scene. Seeing them in their original lineup only added to the occasion. Alongside their biggest hits spanning four decades, the set also featured covers of Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy” and Percy Mayfield’s “Hit the Road Jack”, the latter bringing the set to a rousing close.
Once Acid Drinkers left the stage, the audience had a brief window to catch their breath — though not for long. For readers outside Poland or unfamiliar with the Polish music scene, most of the night’s acts may have been new names. The final band, however, needs no introduction. As darkness settled over Rockowizna, both in the atmospheric kind and the literal late hour, it was time for the first day’s headliner to take the stage. Hailing from Hamburg, Germany, Lord of the Lost have spent well over a decade constructing a world where gothic and industrial metal collide with dark rock, glam, and electronic music. Led by the unmistakable Chris Harms, the band is as famous for their theatrical visual aesthetic and commanding live performances as they are for their refusal to be confined to any one genre.
It had already been a relentlessly busy year on the road for Lord of the Lost. The band kicked off 2026 with their Dark Winter Tour across the United States and Canada before heading down under for a run of shows in Australia. From there, they returned to Europe for an extensive run of dates alongside the release of Opvs Noir Vol. 3, the concluding chapter of the Opvs Noir trilogy, a brief pause, and then straight into the summer festival season. After months performing for audiences around the world, Lord of the Lost arrived in Kraków for a second time that year, for the final stop of the festival run.
Many fans had been holding their spot at the barricade since the festival gates opened, decked out in Lord of the Lost merchandise, and it was finally time for the night’s most anticipated act. The 16-song setlist drew heavily from the Tour Noir run, opening with “Bazaar Bizarre” and rolling through fan favorites including “Drag Me To Hell” and “Priest.” When the band reached their hit “Loreley,” Chris Harms did what he so often does during that song: descended into the crowd. At his first stop, he flung his jacket into the audience (and no, I am absolutely not jealous of whoever caught it), before working his way along the barricade at several points, giving fans that rare and treasured close-up moment with the frontman. No Lord of the Lost show in recent memory would be complete without their Eurovision entry “Blood and Glitter,” and this was no exception; and in Eurovision spirit, the set also featured their now-beloved cover of Käärijä’s Eurovision hit “Cha Cha Cha”.
As the set came to a close, Chris took a moment to address the crowd, as he always does. He also shared some significant news which some fans might have already heard: after this year, Lord of the Lost will be stepping back from touring for the foreseeable future, a year or maybe slightly longer. For fans who managed to secure tickets in time, there is still one final opportunity to see them — their annual Lordfest, taking place in Hamburg on December 18th and 19th.
The first day of the festival served as a musical journey in every sense, from classic street-punk to gothic metal, with each act ratcheting up the intensity until Lord of the Lost brought the night to a thunderous close.
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