The festival was established in 1990 on the initiative of blues enthusiasts from Bolesławiec. Its first editions featured Rysiek Riedel and Tadeusz Nalepa, who attracted crowds of fans with their youthful enthusiasm and extraordinary charisma.
Blues nad Bobrem symbolized liberation and showed the joy that can be drawn from playing together and attending concerts. This year, the festival’s anniversary 25th edition will take place.
The festival’s 25th anniversary edition
During Blues nad Bobrem, several, or perhaps even a dozen, different events take place, together making up the festival. Workshops are its main feature. Anyone who feels the need can improve their skills in playing electric, acoustic and bass guitar, harmonica, drums, keyboards or percussion. Participants can also sing and learn photography.
The workshops are led by the most distinguished artists on the Polish music scene. This year’s teaching staff consists of: Jacek Królik, Artur Lesicki, Marek Napiórkowski, Magda Piskorczyk, Tomasz Grabowy, Paweł Serafiński, Aleksandra Sozańska-Kut, Aleksandra Królik, Leszek Cichoński, Jacek Jaguś, Bartosz Łęczycki, Zbigniew Lewandowski and Paweł Ostrowski.
The best workshop participants have the opportunity to receive a prestigious award for the most promising guitarist and bassist. Other young instrumentalists are also recognized. The workshops also include consultations with foreign musicians and captivating lectures for listeners, for example on working together on stage, the history of popular music and deriving complete joy from making music.
In the evenings, everyone can showcase their skills and demonstrate what they have learned during the daily classes by taking part in a jam session. On stage, under the watchful eye of their mentors, participants can take on musical standards and test themselves through improvisation.
In addition to the workshops, the festival hosts Poland’s first Mass with a blues setting every year, attended by workshop participants together with the instructors. The Mass is very popular among participants and residents of Bolesławiec. This year it will take place on 13 August (Thursday) at 7:00 p.m., traditionally in the church in the Kwiatowe housing estate in Bolesławiec.
An important part of the festival is the T. Nalepa Blues Band Review, accompanied by a concert featuring stars. This year, on 15 August, eight competing bands, last year’s Review winner Po Godzinach Blues Band, as well as Kraków Street Band and Nocna Zmiana Bluesa, will perform on the sports field next to the Primary School in Kruszyn. The Review begins at 5:00 p.m.
This year, the general schedule of events is as follows:
- Duration of the event: 6–16 August
- 6 August, 7:00 p.m. – official opening of the festival – GOKiS Kruszyn
- 7–14 August: Wojtek Seweryn Music Workshops – Kruszyn near Bolesławiec
- 7 August, 7:30 p.m. – opening of the exhibition “See the blues, hear the music” by Leszek “Fazi” Opioła – GOKiS Kruszyn
- 10 August, 7:30 p.m. – lecture “Who played rock first in Poland?” – Dr Mariusz Gradowski from the University of Warsaw
- 13 August, 7:00 p.m. – Mass with a blues setting – church in the Kwiatowe housing estate in Bolesławiec
- 14 August, 7:30 p.m. – Workshop Class Concert – Community Hall in Kruszyn
- 15 August, 5:00 p.m. – Tadeusz Nalepa Blues Band Review, concert featuring stars: Po Godzinach Blues Band (winner of the 2014 Review), Sławek Wierzcholski i Nocna Zmiana Bluesa, Kraków Street Band – free admission – sports field next to the Primary School in Kruszyn
- 16 August, 6:00 p.m. – concert by Magda Piskorczyk Masterclass and Joe Colombo (feat. Kasia Skoczek), Teatr Stary in Bolesławiec – free admission
- In addition, jam sessions involving workshop participants and instructors will be held daily at Gospoda “Kruszyna” at 9:00 p.m..
The festival is not only about learning and hard work on developing musical skills, but above all about having fun, relaxing and making new connections among musicians, making it possible for each of them to fulfill their dreams of performing concerts and recording albums. It also involves the commitment and work of the many people who create this festival, have loved it for years and feel connected to it, including a large group of volunteers who are still young.
The event is held under the honorary patronage of the Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Cezary Przybylski. The Tadeusz Nalepa Blues Band Review and the concerts featuring stars taking place on 15 August are held under the patronage of the Bolesławiec Municipality mayor, Andrzej Dutkowski. The concert by Magda Piskorczyk Masterclass and Joe Colombo (feat. Kasia Skoczek) is held under the patronage of the Bolesławiec County starost, Dariusz Kwaśniewski.
Krzysztof Rojewski