The Festival in Jarocin in 2017 was unique: for the first time the event was organised by Jarocin Regional Museum in close collaboration with its branch, the Polish Rock Granary. The concept and the programme of the festival were closely linked to the activities of the Granary and the history of rock music in Jarocin.
The leitmotif of the event, which took place from the 14th to 16th of July, was the figure of Czesław Niemen. The programme featured hip-hop intertwined with alt-rock, choir performances blended with jazz-rock projects. Line-up included such bands as Voo Voo, Pere Ubu, Kaliber 44, Dezerter, Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet, Hey, Variete, and the band Illusion which celebrated their 25th anniversary. Music acts were accompanied by a series of events and attractions ranging from painting murals dedicated to Czesław Niemen and the 28 Faces of Czesław Niemen photographs exhibition at the Polish Rock Granary, curated by Monika Ney of Ney Gallery&Prints, through workshops for children and adults in the courtyard of the Granary, to lectures on poetry in Niemen’s lyrics given by Paweł Tański and debates on the problems of music industry, as a part of the Polish Rock Granary Academy.
The new concept of the festival and the change of organisers were met with positive reception both by journalists and the participants of the event. Although such ample engagement to the organisation of the festival proved to be a challenge for the Granary, a young and rather small body, it yielded desired results, and the institution is commited to keeping up the direction of its actions also in 2018.
