Green Zoo Festival is an annual not-for-profit independent alternative urban music festival held in Kraków, Poland since 2011. The festival typically takes place on weekends between the middle of May and June at at several venues. It has hosted concerts by over 100 musicians from around the world, with the main mission of integrating local musicians and those from abroad, DJs, journalists, photographers, graphic designers, promoters, and other artists, as well as regular concert-goers, at the festival’s various events. As a result, there is no clear distinction between concert performers, the general audience, and the independent media, arts, and music industry crowd.
The organizers of this festival are concert promoters from Front Row Heroes based in Poland. The Green Zoo Festival has direct ties with the POP Montreal Festival and has hosted many musicians initially showcased at this annual Canadian festival. In addition to the music, the festival provides a means of promotion for upcoming local musicians, includes workshops dedicated to independent music, and is associated with the development of volunteer programs.
Green Zoo Festival 2025
The legendary Klub RE venue will host this year’s edition of the Green Zoo Festival over the course of almost three weeks in May. For more information, see Green Zoo Festival official site.
History
The first edition of the Green Zoo Festival was a one-day event held on June 25, 2011 in Kraków, at the Betel Klub and Klub Piękny Pies venues in Kraków. The idea for the festival was created spontaneously to accommodate a concert by Canadian songwriter Basia Bulat, organized by the music promoters from Front Row Heroes. The day before her performance in Kraków at the Betel Klub venue, Basia Bulat supported Arcade Fire’s first concert in Poland at the Arena COS Torwar music venue in Warsaw.
It turned out that several local Kraków-based bands wanted to open for Basia Bulat’s concert. This gave the festival organizers a chance to initiate a low-profile urban music festival, loosely modeled on showcase festivals in Canada, the USA, and elsewhere, where many bands play simultaneously in several different clubs and venues. The festival name, “Green ZOO,” originates from the title of the hit song “In the Green Zoo” performed by Polish singer Ludmiła Jakubczak in the 1960s. The song has been permanently included in Basia Bulat’s setlist during her concerts.
Artists
The following table lists the bands and musicians who performed at each edition of the Green Zoo Festival (the country of origin of each artist is shown in brackets):
Festival Highlights
The table below provides a brief overview of each edition of the Green Zoo Festival. While not exhaustive, it serves as a concise introduction to the annual events, highlighting the unique atmosphere and memorable performances by both visiting and local musicians and bands.
| Edition | Recap |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Kicking things off with a bang, the inaugural Green Zoo Festival brought Canada’s humble folk sensation Basia Bulat fresh off supporting Arcade Fire’s Warsaw show to headline this underground indie extravaganza. The cozy Betel Klub’s beer garden transformed into a musical melting pot, where Krakow’s buzzing local acts and their fans intermingled seamlessly - no barriers, just vibes. From the first strum, it was clear this grassroots gathering would blossom into a can’t-miss annual affair for alternative aficionados. |
| 2012 | The sophomore Green Zoo hit new psychedelic heights with synth savant Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade fame bringing his Moonface project featuring the Finnish band Siinai to showcase the Helsinki-recorded “Heartbreaking Bravery.” Canada’s exports kept coming with folk singer Katie Moore, fun hip-hop act Socalled, and bearded troubadour Ben Caplan making his wild and energetic Polish debut. Not to be outdone, the DIY alternative queen Molly Nilsson reigned over the synths from Berlin while Baltimore’s mesmerizing Lower Dens captivated under Jana Hunter’s spell. Local faves like Kaseciarz and Die Flöte from Krakow’s talented Stajnia Sobieski art collective kept the underground vibes flowing. |
| 2013 | Cosmic chaos reigned when Berlin’s alternative noise mavens SchnAAK brought their unclassifiable act to Betel Klub’s beer garden, treating crowds to an A/V spectacle that blurred the lines between concert and performance art. Meanwhile, the enchantingly talented Polish folk duo Enchanted Hunters cast a spell with songs from their debut “Peoria,” while Birmingham’s noise-punk terrors Johnny Foreigner whipped the crowd into a frenzy with their raw, adrenaline-soaked set. From the ethereal to the ear-splitting, Green Zoo’s third year took adventurous listeners on a genre-bending joyride. |
| 2014 | Hearts were set aflutter when Canada’s celestial Circuit Des Yeux brought her sincere and heavenly dark harmonies to Betel Klub. But the cosmos wasn’t the only place getting rocked, as Warsaw’s DIY psych-punks Wild Books and Wroclaw’s noise mavens The Kurws kept things delightfully down-to-earth with their gritty, lo-fi sets. Rounding out the sonic odyssey was the heartfelt bluegrass/folk of Silver Owls, led by a member of local faves Vladimirska, proving Green Zoo could make fans swoon in any genre. Photos: Silver Owls |
| 2015 | The fifth Green Zoo blew minds when New Brunswick, NJ indie firebrands Screaming Females hit the stage, with frontwoman Marissa Paternoster’s unhinged vocals and nimble fretwork leaving jaws on the floor. Brooklyn’s Buke and Gase were a marvel to witness live, the innovative duo playing homemade hybrid instruments to sound like a six-piece avant-garde orchestra. Locals like Krakow’s Kubaterra and Poland’s post-punk destroyers Ukryte Zalety Systemu more than held their own, while Denmark’s synth maven Dinner served up an ear-catching set of DIY electro-pop delights. Photos: Screaming Females / Kaseciarz, Buke and Gase / Kubaterra |
| 2016 | Green Zoo went bicoastal in ‘16, kicking off in May before a winter reprise brought the boundary-pushing sounds of Montreal’s Jerusalem In My Heart to frosty Krakow. The project’s headman Radwan Ghazi Moumneh and filmmaker Erin Weisgerber blew minds and warmed souls with their heady avant-garde compositions. The icy temps were no match for the wild energy of returning hero Ben Caplan, while Danish post-punks Yung kept the new wave revival raging. When summer came around, the mesmerizing Xara Dion and one-of-a-kind psychedelic space queen The Space Lady launched festivalgoers into orbit. |
| 2017 | Talk about a glow up! Green Zoo’s seventh year was an underground triumph, with the Queen of Outsiders Molly Nilsson returning to tangle audiences in her inimitable synth sorcery and engaging lyrics and Canada’s chameleonic Sean Nicholas Savage more than holding his own. Montreal’s indie pop darlings TOPS were a ray of sunshine, exuding effortless cool as singer Jane Penny captivated the crowd. But the true heroes may have been the talented Dan Boeckner and Devojka with the new project Operators, whose set had the festival crowd abuzz. Throw in dazzling turns by White Wine, Mozart’s Sister, and local faves Rycerzyki from Stajnia Sobieski, and you had Green Zoo’s most legendary edition yet. Photos: Molly Nilsson, TOPS, Operators, Sean Nicholas Savage, White Wine, Mozart’s Sister, Pierre Kwenders, Rycerzyki |
| 2018 | The 8th edition was a beautiful cacophony, with Canadian creative force Chad VanGaalen pouring his heartfelt indie rock into Betel Klub and Americans Omni reminding everyone why they’re post-punk’s hottest new property. Poland’s underground elite showed up in full force too - Warsaw’s female mesmerizing firebrands Rosa Vertov, Krakow’s talented post-punk act Bad Light District, and DIY forceful darlings Katie Caufield all bringing their A-games. But the wildest night went down at Dolnych Mlynów’s ZetPeTe venue, where Montreal’s avant-gardists Yamantaka // Sonic Titan and psychedelic Polish support act Kirszenbaum took celebrants on a unreal genre-defying thrill ride. Photos: Chad VanGaalen, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, Omni, Big Ups, Moon King, Fenster, Ayunne Sule, Dubais and Gadabit, Rosa Vertov, Bad Light District, Adam Repucha, Katie Caulfield |
| 2019 | The ninth Green Zoo was a gloriously unhinged affair for sure. Georgia wildmen Black Lips brought their trademark antics (and a raucous support set from Belgium’s Cocaine Piss) while Montreal’s Spencer Krug provided a cozy yet brilliant counterpoint with his captivating solo piano performance. The dark wave flowed freely with DAIS Records’ Cold Showers chilling Betel Klub alongside the goth-leaning shoegaze synth queen Tamaryn. But the electronic-worshipping masses also had plenty to rejoice over, with Brooklyn’s Xeno & Oaklander minimal synth sounds and Canada’s Crying High hypnotizing with their vintage analog wizardry. Photos: Black Lips, Spencer Krug, Tamaryn, Cold Showers, Xeno & Oaklander, Cocaine Piss, Crying High, Rycerzyki |
| 2020 | While Covid tried its darnedest, the 10th Green Zoo refused to be muzzled - taking the underground virtual with a series of blistering streamed performances. Indie rock royalty like Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner brought their A-games beamed straight into living rooms, but the real showstoppers may have been Poland’s own art-rock titans Trupa Trupa, who proved yet again why they’re one of the country’s hottest exports. Local heroes like Krakow’s shoegazy starlets Melty and indie-pop MVPs Rycerzyki kept the hometown pride flowing during this unprecedented digital edition. Photos: Trupa Trupa, Rycerzyki, Melty, Akpatok |
| 2021 | After a virtual pit stop, Green Zoo roared back to life in the fall, with Gdańsk alternative art-rock heroes Trupa Trupa raising the roof at the Klub RE venue in one of the festival’s most blistering real-life returns. The Underground Youth brought the onyx-hued vibes from Berlin, their goth-punk epics infused with swirling shoegaze and psychedelic riffage making for an utterly unhinged spectacle. But the Polish underground elite was out in full force - from influential Warsaw alt-rockers Komety’s cult-adored set to buzzworthy local acts like shoegazers Strangers In My House, lovely pop-indie rockers Oxford Drama, retro new wavers Hugayz, and Kraków faves Kaseciarz’s triumphant homecoming. Photos: Trupa Trupa, The Underground Youth, Kill Your Boyfriend, Oxford Drama, Strangers In My House |
| 2022 | Green Zoo’s twelfth year took a thrilling detour into the psych ward, with Sweden’s post-punk, shoegaze and gothic rock sorcerers Makthaverskan casting an enrapturing spell and Krakow’s (via Japan) own acid-fried upstarts Acid Sitter proving they’re Poland’s brand new energetic psychedelic export. But the mind-melters didn’t stop there - the Polish-Italian analog explorers of Nac/Hut Report served up a bracing dose of experimental analog bliss, while homegrown indie acts like Kwiaty and Wczasy kept things delightfully unhinged on the rock front. |
| 2023 | Talk about an eclectic outdoor affair to remember! Prolific provocateurs Xiu Xiu brought their unclassifiable avant-garde to Klub RE’s cozy backyard for an intimate yet utterly unhinged set, even treating fans to some unexpected addictive New Order cover. The surreal vibes continued with Dutch lute-wrangling post-punk mystic Jozef van Wissem’s mesmerizing performance - looking like it was beamed straight from a Jim Jarmusch vampire fever dream. But Poland’s underground elite weren’t to be outdone, with energetic indie rockers Cudowne Lata and reigning metal noise lords Pagan Idol reminding everyone why the local scene remains one of Europe’s most vital. |
| 2024 | Dive headfirst into Green Zoo’s 14th edition - a full-tilt, no-holds-barred celebration of underground’s finest! Kicking things off with a bang, Poznań’s kick-ass Willa Kosmos and Leeds post-punks Drahla left Klub RE floored with an opening salvo so intense and satisfying, we could barely catch our breath. The perfect tonic? Josephine Foster’s breathtakingly intimate and mesmerizing performance the following night. But the real goths came out to sway with Portuguese garage rock trio Bruce Waves, and then northern California’s brilliant Topographies unleashed their addictive coldwave/dark rock ritual, those gorgeous ethereal guitars and pulsating rhythms leaving the crowd utterly spellbound. And you know the analog synth revival is in fabulous hands when modular mavens Xeno & Oaklander returned from Brooklyn, their esquisite machine symphonies and angelic vocals driving RE into a frenzy yet again. The local Polish scene more than held its own too, with ragers from Morświn, gorgeous playfulness from Rycerzyki, Warsaw’s analog-sounding Jantar, Wrocław’s engaging Atol Atol Atol, and Krakow’s own intimate fuzzballers Sour Noir keeping that ferocious DIY spirit alive and well. Of course, no Green Zoo would be complete without a requisite maelstrom of DJ heat - this year courtesy of Szmal, Ander, and Mojobeat, who kept those vintage EBM, coldwave and synthpop gems pumping long into the witching hour. Fittingly, it was UK noisemakers Nape Neck who got to pull the ripcord on this dizzying two-week rave-up with one last blast of deliriously high-octane sonic bedlam. |
Venues
The concerts in each edition of the festival are held at various Kraków venues, including local pubs and clubs. The locations of the venues where concerts take place change from year to year. However, the festival concerts typically take place in at least two separate venues each year, as shown in the table below. In 2016, a winter edition of the festival took place at three separate locations between January 30 and February 4, before the summer edition of the Green Zoo Festival. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 edition of the festival was held only as streaming events. In 2021, a fall edition of the festival was held instead of a summer edition.
| Venue | Held concerts in | Address | More info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Klub RE | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 (winter), 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 (fall), 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 | ul. św. Krzyża 4 | |
| Betel Klub | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 (winter), 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 | pl. Szczepański 3 | |
| Klub Piękny Pies | 2011, 2013 | ul. Sławkowska 6a | No longer open at this location |
| Szpitalna 1 | 2016, 2016 (winter) | ul. Szpitalna 1 | |
| Bomba na Placu | 2012, 2014 | pl. Szczepański 2 | No longer open |
| Kotkarola | 2012, 2013 | Rynek Gł. 6 | No longer open |
| SDK Warehouse | 2019 | ul. Dekerta 47 | |
| ZetPeTe | 2018 | ul. Dolnych Młynów 10 | No longer open |
| Rozrywki Trzy | 2012 | ul. Mikołajska 3 | No longer open |