Pol'and'Rock Festival

Background

The festival's motto is "Love, Friendship, Music". The event is held by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity as a way of thanking its volunteers. Generally a weekend-long event, its two stages are in continuous use from early afternoon to dawn, featuring performances by around 30 bands every year. Many Polish bands have made several appearances, including IRA, Myslovitz, Dżem, Acid Drinkers, Lessdress and 2TM2,3. International bands are also invited every year - Sabaton (band), The Stranglers, Papa Roach, The Prodigy, Guano Apes, Kontrust, Clawfinger, Nigel Kennedy, Gentleman, Korpiklaani among many others. Festival promoters also aim to promote emerging talent - and a competition is held prior to the festival, and the winners are given a chance to perform at the festival. The main musical theme is generally rock, but genres range from folk through experimental to metal. Recent years has also seen reggae, electronic music and even classical music represented.

The name Przystanek Woodstock - "Woodstock Station" refers to peace and friendship symbolized by the Woodstock Festival and the TV series Northern Exposure, aired as Przystanek Alaska (Alaska Station), immensely popular in Poland at that time. The name of the festival has been changed to PolAndRock Festival on March 8th, 2018. The change has been motivated by licensing dispute with the agency representing Michael Lang. New name reflects the both the rock'n'roll roots of the event and the strong ties to the heritage of Polish democratic and freedom fighting movement. The organizers of the festival claim that even though the name of the festival has changed, the ethos behind the event remains unchanged.

Along with the concerts on two stages there are many other events organized during the festival. The Academy Of The Finest Arts is a place where young people meet with well-known politicians like Lech Wałęsa, a former Polish president, artists, journalists, musicians, actors and religious leaders including Kesang Takla - the Dalai Lama's Northern European representative. The festival also showcases dozens of NGO organizations such as Greenpeace, Polish Humanitarian Action, animal rights activists and many other third sector organizations and initiatives.

History

First Woodstock Festival Poland took place on 15–16 July 1995, in the town of Czymanowo (near Gnewin), located near the Żarnowieckie Lake. The performers included Carrantouhill, Skankan, Żuki, Myslovitz, Ira, and Urszula. During the festival no alcohol was sold, which was similar to the Jarocin festivals.

The second festival was held in Szczecin-Dąbie, Szczecin in 1996. This time the first Woodstock's "prohibition law" was partially lifted and beer was sold.

The third festival took place the next year, on 16–17 August in the town of Żary, which became the setting of the Przystanek Woodstock festivals till 2003. Initially the festival was planned to be held in July, but because of the 1997 flood, which affected much of Poland, the festival was postponed until August.

The 1998 Woodstock Festival Poland featured the performances of nearly 50 bands. The band list included Closterkeller, Akurat, Oddział Zamknięty, Kobranocka, and Acid Drinkers. Almost 150,000 people attended the festival.

The 1999 Woodstock was held on 6–8 August. This time the attendance record was broken. The audience reached almost 200,000 people.

The 2000 festival was planned to be held in Lębork, but due to permission uncertainties, and protest of local committees (Komitet obrony Moralności - The Committee for the Defense of Morality) it had to be cancelled. Nevertheless, over 1000 people showed up and organized an unauthorized "rock'n'roll picnic" without any professional music bands. This happening was later referred to as the "Dziki Przystanek" ("The Wild Station").

In 2001 Żary was again the setting for the festival. The 2002 Woodstock was significant, because it was filmed, and the footage was used to produce "Przystanek Woodstock. Najgłośniejszy Film Polski" ("The Woodstock Station. The Loudest Film In Poland"), a concert film, which was screened in movie theatres across the country the following year, and also took part in a number of international film festivals.

The 2003 Woodstock was the last one held in the town of Żary. Because of controversy surrounding some incidents during the festival, that Jerzy Owsiak was part of, it was decided that Żary would no longer be a setting for the concerts.

Since 2004, the festival has taken place in the town of Kostrzyn nad Odrą.

In 2011 was a bigger festival with bands like The Prodigy and Helloween. Police had concerns of crowd numbers for The Prodigy performance, with fans swelling over a million in the area to see them play.

In 2012, the Swedish power metal band Sabaton performed at the festival, recording the set as a live album, Swedish Empire Live. That same year, they won an award for their music.