Jarocin Festival

Jarocin Festival was one of the biggest and most important rock music festivals in 1980s Europe, by far the biggest festival of alternative music in the Warsaw Pact countries.

Founded in 1980, the festival was based on the earlier Wielkopolskie Rytmy Młodych (Greater Poland’s Rhythms of the Youth), which had been organised in Jarocin since 1971. In 1980, due to Walter Chelstowski’s initiative, its name was changed to Ogólnopolski Przegląd Muzyki Młodej Generacji w Jarocinie (All-Polish Review of Music of Young Generation in Jarocin) and subsequently, musicians and bands from the whole country were invited. Later on, its name was changed again - to Festiwal Muzyków Rockowych (Rock Musicians’ Festival).

Jarocin’s festival was based in terms of its organisation and atmosphere on the famous American

, to create a "safe outlet" for the restless Polish youth.

A variety of music was played over the course of the festival, but generally speaking, "alternative" genres - blues, rock, heavy metal, punk rock, and reggae were played. Bands performed on two stages, with the bigger one located on the local football pitch. Many fans brought cassette players with them to record the music. This was one of the only chances to record and distribute music on cassettes that didn't appear in official mass-media.

Jarocin Festival lost its popularity in the early 1990s, after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the resulting easier access to alternative music. The new generation of festival-goers was also more aggressive, and in 1994, after riots and clashes with police, the festival was suspended. It resumed again in 2005.^[1]

Among the most popular bands that played or debuted in Jarocin, there are:

• Dżem
• TSA
• KSU
• Armia
• Dezerter
• Siekiera
• Kult
• Brygada Kryzys
• Kat
• Sztywny Pal Azji
• Acid Drinkers
• Koniec Świata
• New Model Army
• Therapy
• The Misfits
• Babayaga Ojo
• Feeling B

The festival played an important part in the early days of the Polish punk scene, with Nocne Szczury, one of the earliest punk bands in Poland, being the first punk rock band to perform there in 1980.

References

External links

• Official website (in Polish)
• Photos from 1986-1988 Festivals in Jarocin
• Footage of the streets of Jarocin during the 1985 Festival, with music by Moskwa