EtnoKrakow/Crossroads 2025 / r e t u r n s

This year’s celebration of ethnic music brings together nearly 100 artists from 10 countries. Kraków will see some stars returning: the world-famous Romanian brass band Fanfare Ciocărlia, the Sámi singer Torgeir Vassvik, the musicians of Stanisław Słowiński’s Symphony of the Four Corners of the World, the group Wędrowiec, and Maciej Filipczuk – this time with the Radical Polish Ansambl. Wassim Ibrahim will make a comeback, this time to grace the stage with his new trio. Returning like a chorus we can’t ignore, the cry for freedom and human dignity will echo once more. This time, it will come from Kin’Gongolo Kiniata: young artists from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where war has raged on for thirty years.

The musical tapestry of EtnoKraków/Rozstaje//Crossroads 2025 will be spun by artists from Poland, Norway, Finland, Lithuania, Syria, Romania, Ukraine, Congo, and The Gambia. Expect intimate concerts and outdoor shows, a Night of Dance, a Night of Song, and a Dawn Concert on the Vistula as part of Kraków’s Wianki – Cating of the Wreaths – celebrations. There’ll be the EtnoVillage for Young and Old on the Wesoła Meadow, and Stanisław Słowiński’s Symphony of the Four Corners of the World performed to celebrate 10 years of Kraków Nowa Huta Przyszłości SA (NCK stage, free entry!), the Buen Camino! Charity Concert in support of music education for children and young people (ICE Kraków Congress Centre), and craft and music workshops.

WESOŁA: OUTDOORS AND INTIMATE

One of the world’s most renowned brass bands today, Fanfare Ciocărlia (21 June, Wesoła Meadow, free entry) return to the stage of EtnoKraków/Rozstaje//Crossroads. They’ve redefined the musical idioms of the Carpathians and the Balkans, and taken the global world music scene by storm, opening up new territory for world and ethnic music. Their concert in Wesoła will also promote their brand-new 2025 album The Devil Rides Again.

Torgeir Vassvik (22 June, Strefa Nowa) is back at the Crossroads too, this time with his new project Vassvik–Silvola–Styrpe and the 2024 album White transporting animistic Sámi songs and yoik (joik) traditions into the 21st century. Another return is the minimalist group Wędrowiec (20 June, Strefa Nowa), whose sound breathes new life into old rituals and ceremonies of peoples living by the Vistula River.

The series of festival concerts–manifestos that brought a Russian-Ukrainian artist collaboration Virtualnaja Derevnia and Aziza Brahim from Western Sahara in 2019, and Dakh Daughters / Ukrainian Fire in 2022 continues this year with Kin’Gongolo Kiniata (21 June, Wesoła Meadow, free entry). Though it’s their Rozstaje and Polish début, their concert can also be considered a kind of return. Returning like the tide, and echoing Congolese legends such as Konono Nº1, Kasai Allstars and Staff Benda Bilili, they are the voice of a new generation: a cry for human dignity from the heart of Kinshasa against the never-ending relentless war in Congo, sung in Lingala and Bantu. Their concert also promotes Kin’Gongolo Kiniata’s first album, Kiniata, released this April.

Returning like a refrain – attuned to the cycle of nature and rituals –are the artists whose work draws from and revives ancient traditions, as well as those who continue to explore, discover, and experiment. Among them: Torgeir Vassvik’s trio with Vassvik–Silvola–Styrpe project and the Radical Polish Ansambl (22 June) under Maciej Filipczuk, a musician who unravels the DNA of traditional music and boldly uses the resulting sounds in his avant-garde expression. Their latest album Nierozpoznana wise, the Radical’s latest album, received the highest marks from music critics, and was awarded Folk Album of the Year in the Polish Radio Nowa Tradycja 2025 competition. Filipczuk returns to the Rozstaje//Crossroads not for the first time, as he has earlier appeared here with his Lautari project and, as a guest performer, with Tęgie Chłopy.

This year’s other homecomings include the aforementioned Wędrowiec and also Gary Gwadera, presenting solo percussion project Trzeciak’s Head. Here, the imagination of the Łódź drummer ventures beyond the bravado. “Trzeciak”, the archetypal yet virtual percussion guru he created is a suave media hoax that’s had the folk “police” gasping for breath. 😉 Luckily, what matters far more than the made-up master is “the student” – Gwadera himself – and his real, powerful music: modern to the last note, releasing imagination, harkening back to the bygone masters of the oberek, reimagined through Gwadera’s unique lens of sensitivity. Another true return to the Rozstaje//Crossroads, as Piotr Gwadera – winner of Nowa Tradycja 2024 – has previously appeared at EtnoKraków with the band Odpoczno.

The cosy stage of Strefa Nowa will welcome the festival’s ethno-electro stage. Among the acts: Non-adaptive Dance Music (20 June), where Maria Stępień and Andrzej Józefczyk use traditional melodies once played to dance in the Polish country as a starting point. The duo débuted nowhere else but at Strefa Nowa in autumn 2024, and by 2025 they’d joined the ranks of winners of Polish Radio’s Nowa Tradycja competition, winning the “Radio Four” Prize. The Non-adaptives combine traditional Polish dance tunes with live electronics, extensively employing AI generators.

The ethno-electro stage has also invited Kraków’s Chvost (20 June) in its new visage, and the Podlasie Bounce from the club-slaying duo Sw@da x Niczos (21 June), winners of the 2nd Prize in Polish Radio’s Folk Album of the Year 2025 Competition with their #INDAWOODS, and runner-up in Eurovision Poland 2025 finals. There will also be a highly true-to-tradition sound at the Night of Dance (20 June) as The EtnoKraków/Rozstaje//Crossroads Festival Orchestra will be led by Marysia Stępień, and playing for the dancers will be bands participating in the Krakowski Dom Tańca / Kraków House of Dance initiative.

NIGHT OF SONG × DAWN CONCERT // EtnoKraków x Wianki in Kraków (Bulwar Poleski, 22 June)

The Night of Song will crown this year’s Wianki – Casting of the Wreaths – celebrations in Kraków, organised by KBF at the same time rounding off the Night of Son marathon of outdoor concerts at the Wesoła Meadow on 21 June. Admission to all the three concerts – by Fanfare Ciocărlia, Kin’Gongolo Kiniata, and the Festival Orchestra – is free! The evening of 21 June will open with the Sw@da x Niczos duo performing at Strefa Nowa, and just a few hours later, on the night of the summer solstice, we’ll gather (again, for free) on the Bulwar Poleski section the Vistula banks for a special open-air concert. Here, we will hear songs of the Sámi (Saami) people inspired by shamanic rituals, as well as traditional Slavic songs (notably Polish and Serbian), invoking the symbolism of fire, water, and midsummer rituals. We will start this unique acoustic, fully unplugged event, free from any wiring, electricity, and loudspeakers, before sunrise at around 3:30 am on 22 June, with a torchlit procession and lighting bonfires on the western bank of the river. Sámi singer Torgeir Vassvik from Lapland will perform songs of feminine power and ancestral Sámi memory, blending throat singing with yoik tradition, drawing inspiration from shamanic vocal and percussion techniques. At sunrise, the stage will belong to Joanna Słowińska – the charismatic artist delving deeply into the ancient Polish and Slavic ritual songs – and a circle of her friends. Traditional Serbian chants will be sung by the group Łada and members of the workshop devoted to exploring the archaic musical heritage of the Southern Slavs.

Nowa Huta Cultural Centre: Symfonia czterech stron świata / Symphony of the Four Corners of the World and 10 years of Kraków Nowa Huta Przyszłości SA

To mark 10 years of operation of the company Kraków Nowa Huta Przyszłości SA, Stanisław Słowiński returns to the festival stage (NCK Nowa Huta Cultural Centre, 27 June, free ticket required) with his Symfonia czterech stron świata / Symphony of the Four Corners of the World. Following the spectacular success of the premiere at ICE Kraków and sold-out performances at NOSPR Katowice (full house twice in one evening!), Wrocław’s NFM National Music Forum, the Polish National Philharmonic in Warsaw, the Kraków Philharmonic, Cavatina Hall, the Baltic Philharmonic, and the Centre for the Meeting of Cultures in Lublin – this time the Symphony No. 2 “Symphony of the Four Corners of the World” will be performed on the stage of the NCK Nowa Huta Cultural Centre’s theatre. Retaining the romantic symphonic form, the piece expands it with elements of improvisation, introduction of ethnic instruments, and rhythmic sections – blending classical tradition with jazz and world music. Alongside the InfraArt orchestra and the Stanisław Słowiński Quintet performing under the baton of the composer, the stage will be graced by soloists from Poland, Syria, Norway, and Gambia: Buba Badije Kuyateh, Wassim Ibrahim, Kacper Malisz, Piotr Nowak, Joanna Słowińska, Stanisław Słowiński, and Torgeir Vassvik. Here are a handful of reviews of the premiere of Symphony of the Four Corners of the World at ICE Kraków: Grzegorz Słącz: “As soon as an album is released, I’ll be first in line: brilliant music, fantastic execution. A magnificent project with great potential for both national and international success.”Mateusz Leon Rychlak: “Gripping and powerful, the finale brings together tales from all four corners of the world to reveal the true harmony that lies between the four petals of the compass rose.”Andrzej Czapliński: “Two hours of superb musical delight! Stanisław Słowiński’s composition derives from and has the panache of a full symphonic work, and is musically inlaid with elements of jazz, improvisation, and appearances by invited guests from all around the globe. They enrich the symphony with their ethnic identities and instruments from their respective regions. A beautiful, multi-layered composition.”

Charity: ICE Kraków – Buen Camino! Safe Travels! A concert supporting music education for children and youth

The charity concert Buen Camino! Safe Travels! (28 June, ICE Kraków), held in support of music education for children and young people, will be a true celebration of ethno-jazz and improvised music. Wassim Ibrahim – Syrian singer, composer, instrumentalist and conductor – returns to the EtnoKraków/Rozstaje//Crossroads stage in a dual role. He will lead the multicultural, multinational w Kontakcie Choir drawing on the rich traditions of oriental music, performing pieces from Africa, the Americas, the Far East but also the works of European Renaissance and contemporary film productions. The Syrian artist will also perform with his new ethno-jazz ensemble: Ibrahim Trio (Ibrahim / Mencel / Madej), presenting their latest album East Meets West. Jazz and improvised music will also be represented by the duo Piotr Damasiewicz (trumpet) and Dominik Wania (piano) playing music from the album The Way, the Truth, and the Life – According to Artur Olender. The themes outlined in the title – the way, the truth, and the life – serve the two artists as lodestar for approaching and interpreting with remarkable sensitivity the open score of Olender: an artist profoundly attuned to the spiritual dimension of music. All proceeds from the concert will be donated by the event’s organiser – the Buen Camino! Foundation – to a charitable cause: supporting music education for children and youth.

SCHOOL at the ROZSTAJAE//CROSSROADS

EtnoKraków/Rozstaje//Crossroads also means music workshops. The School at the Crossroads programme includes EtnoVillage / Tańcograjki – music workshops for children and adults, along with traditional craft workshops by ŻyWa Pracownia (in the Wesoła Meadow). There will also be sessions of the Festival Orchestra (led by Marysia Stępień), Songs from Roztocze (Agata Harz), Lascivious Songs Workshop (Monika Dudek), Workshop of Lithuanian Sutartinės (Laurita Peleniute), workshops of songs of the Sámi people (Torgeir Vassvik, Norway), and Songs of the Orient (Wassim Ibrahim, Syria). The programme also features Balkan Polyphony: screenings of ethnomusicological films made by the group Łada.

Let’s meet at the Crossroads! In (etkno)Kraków, in Nowa Huta, and in Wesoła!

Jan Słowiński

director of the

EtnoKraków/Rozstaje//Crossroads Festival

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EtnoKraków/Rozstaje//Crossroads 2025 | Powroty / Returns

:: organiser: Rozstaje: u Zbiegu Kultur i Tradycji. // Crossroads: Where Cultures and Traditions Meet. Association

:: financial support: City of Kraków / Ministry of Culture and National Heritage / Małopolska Region

:: supporting partner: Kraków Development Agency sp. z o.o.

:: partners: BUEN CAMINO! Foundation / Kraków Nowa Huta Przyszłości SA / KBF – Kraków Festival Office / Apteka Designu / Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Kraków / Centrum Głosu / Spółdzielnia Muzyczna / Śladem Głosu i Pieśni

EtnoVillage in Wesoła

:: organiser: Rozstaje: u Zbiegu Kultur i Tradycji. // Crossroads: Where Cultures and Traditions Meet. Association

:: financial support: Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Kraków Municipal Office

School of Living Traditions – Craft Workshops with ŻyWa Pracownia

:: organiser: ŻyWa Pracownia sp. z o.o.

:: financial support: Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Kraków Municipal Office