On October 3rd of this year, the Rawa Blues Festival will be held for the 44th time! I have decided to relocate the festival entirely to the NOSPR headquarters in Katowice, where, alongside classical music, a place has been found for other musical genres.

In the past, Rawa Blues artists have successfully performed on this stage, and a program specially prepared for the festival—Keb’ Mo’ with the NOSPR orchestra conducted by Krzesimir Dębski—went down in history as an exceptional artistic event. Does this mean we will never be hosted in Spodek again? Absolutely not! We hold a special affection for this venue—we shall see what the future brings.

I expect that this new chapter in the history of Rawa Blues, in a new architectural and acoustic space for celebrating music that the blues deserves, will contribute to highlighting its value. However, the idea to which I have remained faithful throughout all these years does not change: presenting blues creators and performers at their best and most interesting.

The two parts of this year's festival will take place in the Great Concert Hall and the Chamber Hall. To the latter, I invite professional performers who wish to present an interesting program to the festival audience. I won't hide that I care deeply about the quality and maturity of these proposals. From among the submissions, by the final deadline of May 6th, 2026, the festival's Artistic Council will select five performers.

Irek Dudek