Rock In Rohozec 2026: Hell at the Brewery and Another 5×5 from Traktor

On Saturday, August 15, 2026, the grounds of Rohozec Brewery hosted the second edition of the Rock In Rohozec festival, one of the stops on the travelling one-day open-air festival Rock In, which visits dozens of towns across the Czech Republic every year. From early afternoon, the first visitors slowly began arriving at the scorching, newly renovated brewery grounds, heading straight for the shaded spots as they passed the beer stands - the sun had been beating down mercilessly on the courtyard since morning, with temperatures soaring well above 30 degrees Celsius.

The day's programme was opened by the Jihlava symphonic metal band Lady Kate. Fans who arrived early managed to squeeze into the small shaded area directly in front of the stage, while the rest of the venue was only gradually filling up. Between songs, the singer chatted with the audience and jokingly introduced herself as the best female vocalist of the entire day. One look at the line-up made it clear why - she was the only female singer performing at the festival that day.

The afternoon continued at 3:30 p.m. with Cocotte Minute. After the gentler symphonic-metal opening, it was time to turn up the heat, regardless of the weather - Martin Zeller stormed onto the stage with the band and uncompromisingly shifted into nu-metal gear. Thanks to the smaller stage and its close proximity to the crowd, he had even more room to interact with the fans, showering them with (self-)ironic jokes between songs. With a smile, he reminded the audience that shouting "hobluj" has not really been funny for about fifteen years. Because it was still early in the afternoon, they skipped their traditional "jump-rope" routine with the glowing microphone cable. The end of the show featured a medley with flags, while Czenda made use of his samurai sword as he played. After the set, the drummer threw several drumsticks into the crowd. The band did not disappear backstage straight away either, instead moving over to their merch stand, where they gave visitors a chance to take photos and have a chat.

At 5:00 p.m., the Klatovy tanz-metal band Trautenberk showered the audience with the first batch of confetti during their "fairy-tale" themed show. Alongside older, proven favourites, they also played several hits from their latest album. Terms such as wall of death, moshpit and circle pit may be fairly unusual for this genre, but anyone who has ever attended a Trautenberk show knows that they are a regular part of the experience. When the band called for a wall of death, the crowd looked somewhat uncertain, as if some people clearly had no idea what was expected of them. A few more experienced fans led by example, however, and showed the newcomers how it was done. Surprise was visible on many faces when a real moshpit suddenly erupted behind them - apparently the first one many of them had ever experienced. The performance also included a certain Cimrman-esque transformation: Horst turned into a rooster and Prasopes into a horse (having to literally stuff half of the microphone into the mask). Anička transformed into a frog, only to turn back into Anička after a kiss from one of the guitarists. At the end of their set, the band fired a double dose of confetti at the fans, then ran down from the stage to high-five the patiently waiting front row and grab a few quick selfies.

At 6:30 p.m., the Šumperk band Koblížci took the stage, attracting a visibly younger section of the audience. Their short hiatus clearly had not taken away any of the band's original energy, and they even managed to catch the attention of visitors who were mostly watching from the shade of the beer umbrellas and nodding along to the pop-punk rhythm. Singer Josef Vařeka enjoyed the interaction with the crowd, jokingly mentioning "Marek Ztracený Pop-Rock" at one point. During the show, he also invited a fan from the audience to join the band on a drum for one song.

The evening block from 8:00 p.m. belonged to the Slovak band Horkýže Slíže from Nitra, who returned to the Liberec Region only a short time after their recent performance at Benátská. By then the sun was losing its strength, so it was time to fire the fans up again. The band delivered a cross-section of their best-known hits, loudly accompanied by the audience in the almost completely packed brewery courtyard. Of course, Kuko's flute playing was part of the set, along with some of their best-known hits such as A ja sprostá, Horí ti Maštal and Silný Refrén.

By this point, the completely packed area in front of the stage - judging by the fans' clothing - was clearly announcing the arrival of the headliner. At exactly 9:30 p.m., Traktor's performance burst into life in spectacular fashion. The band appeared exclusively at Rock In and was the only act to have the entire large stage to itself. The set opened with a blast of pyrotechnics, a falling curtain and a salvo of confetti welcoming fans who had gathered at the stage after a full day of heat. This year, the band is celebrating twenty-five years of activity, and the entire show was designed in that spirit: the impressive stage was complemented by large-scale projections enhancing the atmosphere of individual songs, while the band's unique microphone stands shaped like spines or claws - familiar from their other concerts - added to the rawer character of the performance. If anyone had started to feel cold after sunset, they could warm up very quickly during the title track 5x5, surrounded by powerful flames shooting not only from beneath the stage but also from its sides. The song Bludička was accompanied by the lights of mobile phones and lighters. The fans enthusiastically sang along with the band, giving them the last of their energy after the hot day.

To close, thanks go to the entire Rock In festival organising team, as at the previous stops, for the excellent sound (gentle even on the ears of the youngest visitors), the successful lighting effects and the presence of misting stations, which provided welcome relief in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. The only minor criticism heard from the audience concerned the missing "timetable" of bands directly at the venue; not everyone follows social media, so visitors often had to check with one another when the individual bands were due to appear. There was, however, plenty of Rohozec beer and non-alcoholic drinks, the staff did their utmost, and the large number of taps kept service moving quickly. With a little searching, it was still possible to find places away from direct sunlight, and compared with last year's rain-soaked edition, moving the stage proved to be a good decision - as the sun dropped lower, more and more shade appeared

More photos can be found on our Zonerama!