OFF Festival Katowice August 2–4, 2019 Going with the flow is easy, but we’re no fans of easy solutions. We launched the OFF Festival in 2006 not to win friends but to intrigue and inspire people, to pose questions, and to provoke outrage and discussion. The history of the OFF Festival Katowice is made up of dozens, hundreds, perhaps thousands of testimonies to the fact that music changes people. People, in turn, change the world. And we all know that’s something the world really needs right now. The OFF Festival is a place you go to discover fascinating new music or to see alternative legends performing in Poland for the first time. Our invitations have been accepted by a long list of artists, including Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, The National, The Smashing Pumpkins, Primal Scream, The Flaming Lips, My Bloody Valentine, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. We’re the only festival in this part of Europe to feature such a strong lineup of artists from every corner of the globe, from both Americas to Africa and Asia. But the OFF Festival is also a showcase of the best alternative music in Poland today, from Kult and Molesta to Hańba!, Furia, and Zbigniew Wodecki (who played his first full show with Mitch & Mitch at OFF). The OFF Festival is an all-encompassing experience. Along with outstanding music performed in a friendly, welcoming setting, OFF features a number of exciting side events, including author appearances and Q&As at the Literary Café, screenings at the OFF Cinema, and playtime at PiaskOFFnica, a special area set aside for our youngest guests in the quietest corner of the festival grounds, where children can take part in games and workshops under the supervision of caretakers and counselors. OFF Festival audiences get to enjoy an excellent selection of dining options that wouldn’t be out of place at a gourmet food festival. A carefully-selected list of vendors provides a top-notch menu: Whether you’re vegan or gluten-free, a picky five-year-old or really into local cuisine, you’re guaranteed to find something to suit your taste. Our bold programming and consistent approach combined with our openness towards the challenges of an ever-changing world make the OFF Festival a favorite with fans, the media, and the music industry. The event has won numerous awards, including the prestigious European Festival Award for Best Medium-Sized Festival. We also made it onto the elite list of festivals nominated in the category of best program. In April 2014 TIME Magazine placed the OFF Festival Katowice on its global list of 14 music festival to check out in that year. In 2017 The Guardian ranked OFF among the top 10 European festivals. And the entire world learned about Katowice and Polish bands like Hańba!, Sutari, and Coals when the American radio station KEXP in 2015 ran a series of videos about the festival, shot in locations that included the Porcelana Śląska factory and the neighborhood of Nikiszowiec .