Audioriver Festival 2026

In 2026, Audioriver will celebrate its twentieth anniversary. From July 10th to 12th, a truly exceptional edition of the festival will take place at the Łódź Błonia meadow: full of both magnificent musical ecstasy accompanied by the best sounds of electronic music, but also nostalgic moments for those who have been with the festival for many years. The first promotional batch of passes has just gone on sale.

The history of the Audioriver Festival is inextricably linked to the history of electronic music. Each edition reflects its time. Trends have emerged and disappeared. Genres have returned from obscurity. Great careers have begun in the blink of an eye. Often, they have ended just as quickly. Over the course of the festival's twenty years, clubs have opened and closed on the Polish scene, and various locations have vied for the crown: Poznań, Warsaw, Kraków, the Tricity… There has always been one capital of electronic music. First Płock, then Łódź.

In 2006, the festival's headliners were Goldie, Mathew Johnson, and Desyn Masiello. The latter overshadowed Paul Kalkbrenner on the poster, but that might have been the last time the German's name was written in smaller letters. Minimal reigned supreme. Catz 'n Dogz were still playing as 3 Channels, and Leon and Glasse didn't close the festival with a joint b2b, but played separately. Back then, a proper dress code was still important: no tracksuits, white gloves, or whistles, and information about the festival could be found not on social media but on the then-popular Grono.

Looking back at older lineups is fascinating from today's perspective. In 2007, the promising Jamie Jones played a near-warm-up. Even then, the festival was recognized for the first time by Resident Advisor, who included it on the list of July's best events. This pattern repeated itself many times. In 2008, Damian Lazarus arrived for the first time, and Ricardo Villalobos played a four-hour set until 7 a.m. Thus was born the legend of Circus. In 2009, Moderat came to Poland for the first time, and Chase & Status played at Hybrid, where drum & bass was only available on Friday. On Saturday, the stage belonged to experimental artists from Berlin. In 2010, the festival took second place in the RA rankings, and the first headliner was Richie Hawtin with his project Plastikman, with which he returned after many years. Laurent Garnier and Four Tet also performed live.

The beginning of the last decade was when Audioriver firmly established itself on the European festival circuit. It received nominations for the UK Festival Awards and the European Festival Awards, and began winning the Munoludy Festival annually. Subsequent years saw performances by artists such as Röyksopp, Trentemøller, Modestep, Kavinsky, Roni Size, Rudimental, Jeff Mills, Gesaffelstein, Amelie Lens, Tale of Us, Underworld, Charlotte de Witte, Crystal Castles, and Sven Väth. In 2016, the fathers of Detroit techno music, Carl Craig, Robert Hood, and The Belleville Three - Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson - along with their deep house neighbor, Moodymann, descended on Płock. With each passing year, however, it became clear that the audience was seeking new, increasingly heavier sounds. The Kosmos stage, focused on modern techno, joined the festival's regular lineup.

By the time of the pandemic, Audioriver had sold out seven times, and Płock's beach was bursting at the seams. The city's accommodation base was dwindling. In 2022, the festival celebrated its 15th anniversary alongside Solomun, Bicep, and Adriatique, but logistical problems had already begun. Artists slept in Warsaw, and it was difficult to find accommodation for staff. With the festival's scale, there were already around a thousand of them.

The solution was a move to Łódź. The festival found its home in Łódź's Błonia meadows, where each year it presents increasingly bold ideas for adapting the area. This year will be no different. The anniversary edition of Audioriver promises to be a treat for fans of the greatest artists and their audiovisual projects, intimate sounds played in natural surroundings, and high-octane performances, both in terms of 4x4 music and drum & bass.

When 10th - 12th July 2026
Where Park na Zdrowiu, Łódź, Poland