Following our recent announcement of the first big batch of names in the OFF Festival Katowice 2026 lineup, we’re back with the cherry on top – five strong, new acts. Black Country, New Road, Sunny Day Real Estate, HTRK, Rusowsky, and Surf Gang: don’t miss these shows August 7–9, 2026, at Three Pond Valley! We’re also pleased to welcome mBank bank as the sponsor of this edition of the festival!
“There’s so much fascinating stuff happening outside the mainstream – whether it’s the rock scene or in rap – and we’ve been consistently showcasing it at the OFF Festival. For next year’s edition, we’ve invited another powerful lineup of acts and artists that are behind some of the most notable records and musical phenomena to emerge in recent years. Get ready for some stunning discoveries and great comebacks, and not just musical ones!
I’m enormously excited to welcome back as our sponsor mBank, which was the festival’s long-time partner and sponsor from 2007 to 2014. That was the era that witnessed such incredible performers as The Flaming Lips, The National, Iggy Pop & The Stooges, and My Bloody Valentine, to name just a few. And that was when our event won the European Festival Award and made it onto TIME magazine’s list of the world’s best music festivals. Together with mBank, we’ve managed to put together many amazing and unforgettable editions, and the next one’s shaping up to be just as good,” says the festival’s artistic director, Artur Rojek.
Black Country, New Road
In past editions, we’ve featured Shame and Squid, and we’ve had shows by Black Midi and Fat Dog. Now it’s finally time for Black Country, New Road, the latest band to hail from Brixton’s Windmill scene, which music journalists have called “the most important movement in British rock music in the past decade.” Black Country, New Roads started out as a seven-piece outfit that combined post rock, punk, art pop, and jazz. Their initial lineup was soon proclaimed “the best band in the world” by The Quietus. Now performing as a sextet, the band calls their career “a series of unfortunate events,” but one that has luckily only made them stronger – as a musical group, and as friends. They recorded their debut For the First Time just weeks before COVID put a stop to live music. They lay down tracks for Ants from Up There only to see the unexpected departure of their singer, Isaac Wood. On their latest effort, Forever Howlong, Black Country, New Road are reintroducing themselves to audiences. Critics welcomed their new incarnation, calling it a “multi-headed beast,” and praised the group for expanding their new sound while making a noticeable departure from their earlier style. We can’t wait to get a taste at the OFF Festival!
Sunny Day Real Estate
“A riveting experience”: that’s how Jonathan Poneman described his first Sunny Day Real Estate show. He signed them to Sub Pop soon after. The year was 1993, the era of the Seattle sound: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains. But Sunny Day Real Estate were pursuing a different sound. “I dream to heal your wounds / But I bleed myself / Well, I bleed myself,” sings Jeremy Enigk on their debut album, Diary. It’s since become one of the best-selling albums in Sub Pop history. Back before the band’s first breakup, and before Dave Grohl poached part of its lineup for Foo Fighters, Sunny Day Real Estate’s music planted the seeds of emo – seeds that would later germinate into the many bands that followed in their footsteps. Stereogum writes: “Sunny Day only made four studio albums, but they never wasted a single track.” And fans lucky enough to have seen them after their 2023 return agree: “Please, just see them! If they’re playing in your town, go see them!” You heard them: OFF Festival 2026, attendance is mandatory.
HTRK
They sound like “Sade in prison.” Or like an “alternative version of Everything But the Girl.” They’re HTRK, short for Hate Rock. This music has the unnerving surrealism of a David Lynch film and the atmosphere of Suicide, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Godflesh, and Mazzy Star. And perhaps more importantly, it bears traces of the dead friends and – this is a quote – the “fucked-up, dangerous people” that had longed wielded influence over the Australian band. They caught the attention of The Birthday Party, who produced their debut album; they’ve toured with Fuck Buttons, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The Horrors; they spent part of their career “down and out in Berlin and London.” They rehearsed in a practice space next door to Einstürzende Neubauten, danced all night at Tresor and Berghain, but ultimately moved back to Melbourne after the death of their bass player, Sean Steward. Now Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang say they don’t feel pressured to be cool at any cost. And their songs have become lighter and even more inviting, Pitchfork notes in a review of the album Rhinestones. We’ll have a listen at the OFF Festival!
Rusowsky
A pianist by training and a multi-instrumentalist and producer by avocation, Rusowsky has taken the Spanish (and international) music scene by storm. As an introvert, he once considered obscuring his face at live shows, but eventually gave up the idea, saying, “I’m a guy from Fuenlabrada, not Daft Punk.” Alongside Ralphie Choo, who joined him in almost destroying the Experimental State at the 2025 OFF Festival, he makes up one half of Rusia-IDK, which has been called Madrid’s answer to Odd Future. They blend genres, experiment with their sound, and are earning a growing international following. Having produced numerous tracks for Spanish artists, Rusowsky’s debut album DAISY invites us into the bedroom where he produces his music, to entertain, move, and captivate us. Heart-grabbing love songs share the record with invitations to the mosh pit, and it all comes delivered in a manic, amusing style. When someone once asked him what advice he’d give his younger self, he said: “Work out.” Our advice to you? Don’t miss this show at the OFF Festival!
Surf Gang
If the claim that “there hasn’t been such an exciting new act in [New York] since Brooklyn drill pioneer Pop Smoke” is true, then you know you just have to see them at the OFF Festival. When the post-rap collective led by EvilGiane – one of the most respected figures in American alternative music – released their 2021 debut SGV1, it didn’t just spark excitement in the offices of Pitchfork. Surf Gang’s lineup has gone through several changes since then, and the crew made up of a couple friends who used to skateboard together has morphed into a prolific art/production collective and music label that’s released records by acts like John Glacier and Snow Strippers. Asked to describe themselves, they say: “We might make music, we might make clothes, and we might make interesting art that artists can interact with to break out of their comfort zone.” One thing they don’t want is for anyone to pigeonhole them. That we won’t do. But we’d love to give them a high-five at the OFF Festival.
The OFF Festival 2026 lineup includes: Amyl and the Sniffers, Oklou, Earl Sweatshirt, Black Country, New Road, Sunny Day Real Estate, The Drums, Current Joys, Clams Casino, Chat Pile, Rusowsky, HTRK, and Surf Gang.
About the Festival
The festival is hosted by the City of Katowice. The OFF Festival Katowice takes place August 7–9, 2026, at its usual venue, Three Pond Valley. Visit www.off-festival.pl for three-day passes, now available for 669 PLN plus service charges. For more information, visit facebook.com/offfestival and instagram.com/offfestival. Check out our official playlist: open.spotify.com/user/off_festival.
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