Queens Of The Stone Age, Band Of Horses, Sheryl Crow, Jane’s Addiction, L7, Mavis Staples… will perform live at Mendizabala on June 20, 21, and 22

Azkena Rock Festival is all set to open its doors tomorrow. The quintessential rock & roll festival will take place on June 20, 21, and 22 in Mendizabala, Vitoria-Gasteiz. In its 22nd edition, the festival will feature live performances from renowned bands such as Queens Of The Stone Age, Band Of Horses, Sheryl Crow, Jane’s Addiction, L7, Mavis Staples, Warren Haynes Band, Tarque & La Asociación del Riff, Redd Kross, Arde Bogotá, Ty Segall, PiL.T, The Real McKenzies, Lendakaris Muertos, among others.

Virgen Blanca

Once again, the iconic Plaza de la Virgen Blanca serves as the meeting point between the festival and the city, kicking off the day with free, live music sessions accompanied by the gastronomy that the Green Capital boasts. On Friday, it will feature Lisa & The Lips, and on Saturday, The Pickin’ Boppers.

Artistic Program:

Azkena Rock Festival will inaugurate this new edition tomorrow with one of the most influential cult bands, Jane’s Addiction. They will be followed by the eclectic Ty Segall and Carlos Tarque, the most renowned Spanish rock vocalist, with Tarque & La Asociación del Riff. At Trashville, the covered stage designed to recreate a concert hall within the festival, it will be the turn of Los Sírex, a revered band and author of the anthem ‘Si yo tuviera una escoba’.

Queens of The Stone Age, one of the most acclaimed rock bands of the moment, will be the undeniable leaders of Friday’s lineup. Their California desert riffs will intersect with the raw sound of their wild neighbors L7, a milestone in feminism and grunge, performing their most successful album, Bricks Are Heavy. Arde Bogotá, a phenomenal band from Murcia with their alternative Spanish rock, the punk gem Demolition 23, formed by Michael Monroe and other members of Hanoi Rocks in an exclusive concert at Azkena Rock Festival. Also noteworthy are the essential cult band Redd Kross, Ezpalak, a current reference in Basque alternative rock, and Les Greene, undoubtedly one of the most prodigious voices in contemporary soul, funk, and R&B.

The ARF lineup also includes Moltisanti and the Gasteiz duo The Freetangas, composed of some members of the Azkena Forum, celebrating its anniversary this year and presenting the digital version of the book about the forum’s 20 years at the festival

Saturday’s lineup includes Band Of Horses, who will offer their only European concert of the year at the festival, headlining alongside the great Sheryl Crow, a legend whose roots run deep in American music. The soul legend Mavis Staples, the leader of Gov’t Mule, Warren Haynes, with his solo project Warren Haynes Band, the historic punk band The Pleasure Fuckers reunited for a unique performance at Azkena Rock Festival, Lendakaris Muertos, Pi L.T, The Mummies, or the Madrid-based Tiburona, will make the closing day unmissable.

Txiki ARF: Azkena Families

More and more families are attending Azkena, and for them comes the Txiki ARF proposal, a space within the festival with concerts, workshops, and children’s activities that create a meeting, leisure, and coexistence point around rock. There will be three concerts per day, recreating some of the best songs by legends who have performed on ARF stages. Between performances, the stage will host air guitar contests and rock bingo, both with prizes for the audience. Additionally, there will be workshops for making personalized badges and guitar picks and rock face painting. All this will take place on Friday and Saturday in the second Trashville tent for family audiences from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Admission for children under 14 will be free once again, and there will be a special access lane for families.

Leisure Program

For audience entertainment, bumper cars and Las Vegas-style weddings are back. Moreover, the Association of Designers of Álava has created 10 different postcard designs that can be sent from mailboxes installed in Mendizabala and Plaza de la Virgen Blanca during the concerts.

Accessibility Improvements

This year, the Azkena organization has made several improvements in Mendizabala to eliminate architectural barriers and improve accessibility, gaining both space and accessibility. Visibility conditions have also been improved for the second stage, Respect, as was done in 2023 with the main stage, by splitting the sound and light tower into two, thus minimizing visual barriers.

Balore

Azkena Rock Festival will feature a space, a point, a seed place that is sustainable, safe, social, and full of purpose, where attendees can learn about the festival’s commitment to environmental and social causes. The BALORE space combines different information points:

– PURPLE Point, dedicated to the prevention and reporting of harassment and sexist violence.

– RAINBOW Point, regarding Azkena Rock Festival’s commitment to the LGTBIQ+ movement.

– GREEN Point, about the festival’s environmental measures.

– SOCIAL Point, about Last Tour’s BCorp certification and the festival’s work to obtain the Erronka Garbia certification, implemented by the Basque Government through Ihobe.

Azkena Rock Festival is the mecca of rock and roll, confirmed by its 22-year history. It is a reference framework for experiencing live music, enjoying it in community in a comfortable venue, and completing the experience in the Green Capital Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Once again, the festival would like to thank all its sponsors for their support, with special mention to the City Council of Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Provincial Council of Álava, Petronor as a multi-energy partner, and La Salve as the festival beer partner. Without their involvement, achieving the development and growth goals of this edition of the Azkena Rock Festival would not have been possible.