Rock For People, Day Three: Ben Celebrated His Birthday, Bring Me The Horizon Drew Massive Crowds, Three Days Grace Ruled the Night

It seems that the weather has settled down during the festival. The mud remains, although the organizers are doing everything they can to minimize it, covering the biggest puddles with wood chips to improve comfort for visitors and save the medical staff from dealing with broken legs. Fortunately, apart from a few showers, there has been no heavy rain tormenting us, just overcast skies.

We are now exactly halfway through this annual summer music celebration in Hradec Králové, with the third day of this year's five-day edition underway. We started our day shortly after 2 PM at the RFP Stage with a performance by Arizona death metal outfit Gatecreeper. Despite the early time slot, they managed to stir up some serious mosh pits, sending mud flying in every direction.

Later, the biggest stage, Fat Lady, welcomed Ben Cristovao. This year he was the Czech artist chosen to perform there, as every year one local act gets the opportunity. Last year it was Ewa Farna, exactly one year before her Eden concerts taking place this weekend, and the year before that it was Vypsaná Fixa. Ben handled the huge stage with absolute confidence and completely ignited the crowd. During the show, fans presented him with a birthday cake featuring his dream motorcycle, which he even wrote about in the song Ledová.

For most of the day we kept moving between the two main stages, Fat Lady (Mastercard) and RFP Stage. On the slightly smaller one, British band Dinosaur Pile-Up took over. The alternative rock trio is known for its incredible energy and heavy guitar-driven sound, and their performance at RFP was no exception.

Back at Fat Lady, the atmosphere shifted slightly as American guitarist, singer and political activist Tom Morello took the stage. Anyone familiar with him knows that a bit of activism is always part of the show, whether through a few words or messages written on his guitars. His son, who performs alongside him, follows the same path. During the concert he played Tom's most famous guitar, bearing the iconic slogan "Arm The Homeless", which Tom himself painted on it. It was on that very guitar that he wrote many of Rage Against The Machine's most famous songs.

Back on the smaller stage, we caught Bilmuri, the project created by singer, songwriter and producer Johnny Franck, former guitarist and vocalist of metalcore band Attack Attack!. The project stands out because it mixes absolutely everything—rock, metalcore, pop, electronics and country. We were genuinely surprised by how well it all worked together. Heavy rock riffs combined with a saxophone player created a fantastic vibe that spread across the entire festival grounds.

We stayed with genre-bending artists for the next performance as well. Early evening on the main stage belonged to Florida's A Day To Remember. Although they occasionally visit the Czech Republic, this marked their first-ever appearance at Rock For People, and they seemed genuinely excited. To make the performance even more memorable, they allowed a group of fans - more accurately, several dozen - to watch part of the show directly from the stage. The opportunity was offered through the RFP app, which regularly organizes signings and Meet & Greets. The selected fans got to stand on the massive stage and feel like true stars for a moment.

Next, we crossed the venue again for London's Wolf Alice. The alternative rock quartet consists of three male musicians led by vocalist Ellie Rowsell, whose distinctive voice remains one of the band's strongest assets. Her dreamy vocals perfectly match her delicate appearance, yet she can effortlessly switch into a fierce rock roar when needed.

We also made a stop at one of the smaller stages, the Reflex Tent, where Wotazník from Mladá Boleslav performed. They rightfully won the RFP Talents competition, earning the opportunity to appear here. Their rock sound was backed by an enormous amount of energy that quickly spread to the crowd and, hopefully, some future fans. The band seemed especially grateful that people—particularly the girls in attendance - gave them attention while, on the other side of the venue, the evening's headliner Bring Me The Horizon was preparing to take the stage.

Naturally, that was our next destination. The crowd in front of the stage was enormous, stretching almost across the entire festival grounds. Around 10 PM, the screens lit up and revealed a concept built around a video game narrative. Throughout the show, a demonic female character appeared on screen, guiding the audience through the "storyline." Despite the massive turnout, however, the crowd seemed somewhat tired and not quite as enthusiastic as during the band's previous appearance a couple of years ago. Somehow, that particular spark of energy felt missing.

We ended our evening back at the RFP Stage with Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. The energy there was noticeably stronger from the start, and even when the rain returned, nobody seemed to care. Following the return of Adam Gontier, the band now performs with two vocalists and came back after last year's successful concert at Forum Karlín. A huge wave of enthusiasm flowed between the crowd and the stage, with both sides clearly enjoying every moment. The band promised they would return to the Czech Republic "every fucking year" because they love our country and our fans. There could hardly have been a better way to end the night than screaming along to hits like Riot and I Hate Everything About You.

The entire day was packed with great bands and fascinating musical discoveries. Unfortunately, we are still missing a Time-Turner that would allow us to see everything this incredible festival has to offer. For now, we can only look forward impatiently to the remaining festival days and the concerts still ahead of us.

Šári