The two-day International Country & Folk Picnic Festival in the northeastern Polish town of Mrągowo promises a lineup of performers to entertain crowds at the local open-air theatre overlooking scenic Lake Czos and in other venues around the area.
Headline acts include Polish country music heavyweight Lonstar and a progressive country-rock group called Colorado Band, formed by musicians based in Poland’s central city of Łódź.
Several international acts, including George Hamilton, an American musician from Nashville, Tennessee, and the Dutch band Music Road Pilots, are also scheduled to perform this year.
Image: publicity handout
The 41st Country Picnic and Folk Festival in Mrągowo, one of the oldest music festivals in Poland, will take place on July 29 and 30, public broadcaster Polish Radio reported.
"This year we have a very interesting lineup of performers for audiences to have a good time in a great atmosphere," the event’s artistic director, Jerzy Głuszyk, said ahead of the event.
Jerzy Głuszyk, artistic director of the International Country & Folk Picnic Festival in Mrągowo, northeastern Poland. Photo: Wojciech Kusiński/Polish Radio
Co-hosting this year's concerts will be Paweł Sztompke, a music journalist with Polish Radio.
Image: publicity handout
First held in the early 1980s, the International Country & Folk Picnic Festival is now in its 41st incarnation.
It opens on Friday in the heart of Poland’s picturesque lake district, with a variety of attractions to celebrate this otherwise quintessentially American genre of music as well as all things American.
American flags on sale in the town centre during the 2019 Country Picnic Festival.
Yee-haw, folks! A band performs at a previous Country Picnic in Mrągowo. Photos: Polish Radio
Over the years, the festival has hosted musicians from across Europe as well as the United States, including Rosanne Cash, the eldest daughter of the iconic singer-songwriter Johnny Cash.
Other US performers have included George Hamilton IV, Johnny Rodriguez, Mickey Newbury, Charlie McCoy, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Shawn Camp, Brady Seals, Gail Davies and Rattlesnake Annie.
International names for the event have also included Raymond Froggatt from Britain, Western Union from Germany, and Kelly's Revenge Bush Band from Australia.
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Source: Polish Radio, mck.mragowo.pl