ROCK MASS BENEATH BOUZOV: Saturday finale dominated by flying bras during Harlej, Mirai’s visuals and Landa
The second day of the Hrady CZ festival marathon beneath the fairytale Bouzov Castle seamlessly picked up where Friday's inferno left off. Saturday's line-up delivered a packed programme, alternating catchy pop with uncompromising rock firepower. A full pantheon of the Czech scene took turns beneath the castle walls, and the sweltering grounds never gave the crowd a moment to catch their breath.
Midday Heat, Guitar Elegance and Rock Madness
The gates opened in the late morning and the programme kicked off with the young band Adaline. They were followed by Tomáš Klus, who delivered an energetic guitar-driven show even in the thirty-degree heat. The baton then passed to Xindl X with a journey through his twenty-year career, ending with the hit Anděl, before Lenny took over the stage with an international sound and guitar solos from producer Ondřej Fiedler.
The guitars got heavier with Krucipüsk, who fired their uncompromising riffs into the crowd, followed by fresh blood Brixtn. When Vypsaná Fixa stormed the stage, a thousand-strong crowd was already singing in unison beneath the castle.
But the real guitar hurricane was unleashed by Harlej. During their wild set, the atmosphere in front of the stage escalated into absolute madness – not only beer and dust were flying through the air, but women's bras were sailing both onto the stage and above the crowd. Harlej delivered a genuine rock 'n' roll dance party that left no hips standing still beneath Bouzov.
A Stadium-Sized Living Room and an Uncompromising Rock Finale
The end of the evening belonged to the biggest productions. Mirai won over the audience with a massive visual spectacle – they brought an entire living room onto the stage, complete with flashing televisions, pyrotechnics and video projections. They opened with the hit Vedle tebe usínám and in the moving song Vzpomeneš si? they were joined by the young singer Veronika Valová, who delivered an outstanding performance.
The absolute highlight of Saturday night and the entire Bouzov weekend was Daniel Landa. The nearly sixty-year-old singer delivered an uncompromising guitar onslaught backed by a large band featuring two guitars, bass, keyboards, violin and two backing vocalists. Timeless anthems such as Jó, ulice, Holky a mašiny and Valčík rang out as a giant Czech flag shone above the stage.
Landa drained the last of the fans' energy and brought the show to a decisive close with the uncompromising Protestsong. At the very end, beneath the dark silhouette of the castle, he sent a heartfelt message to the crowd calling for mutual respect and understanding: "Don't let politics divide you from your friends or neighbours. Above all, we should care about one another."
A huge thank-you and a tip of the hat go to all the organisers, sound engineers, stagehands, security staff and the entire team behind the Hrady CZ festival. Building such a well-oiled machine in a green field beneath a castle and keeping everything running smoothly for thousands of people deserves real recognition. The Bouzov stop set the bar damn high, and all that remains is to take our hats off and look forward to next year!
Matess