Azkena Rock Festival celebrates 20 years of history in grand fashion

Patti Smith, The Offspring, Afghan Whigs, Social Distortion, Emmylou Harris, Suzi Quatro, Fu Manchu, Drive-by Truckers, Jerry Cantrel and a total of 55 bands are part of this year’s Azkena Rock Festival lineup.  

This year’s festival will inaugurate a Walk of Fame in the centre of Vitoria-Gasteiz, taking us on a journey through the biggest names in rock and festival history over the past two decades.  

Free concerts at the Plaza de La Virgen Blanca will bring live music to the heart of the city on Friday and Saturday with Alexis Evans and Kim Lenz.   

The Azkena Rock Festival starts the countdown to open its doors this Thursday and celebrate in high style 20 years of history in Vitoria-Gasteiz for three days, June 16 to 18, with a deluxe lineup.

Azkena Rock Festival 2022 line-eup

The ARF flame will be lit on Thursday at 6 pm, when doors open. After 2 years of waiting, the stages of the legendary festival will sound again with Californian punk-rock veterans The Offspring, who turned the genre into a mass phenomenon; the heavy guitars of the legendary Fu Manchu; the foolproof band for a good party, The Toy Dolls; Spanish rock stalwarts like Morgan; the new and acclaimed voice of country music Morgan Wade; and Micky, from Los Tonys, with his new project teamed up with Los Colosos del Ritmo, and many more, will kick off the festival at Mendizabala.

On Friday we’ll hear from Social Distortion, who are celebrating more than 40 years of music; The Afghan Whigs, led by Greg Dulli; Drive-By Truckers, who are returning to Mendizabala after their memorable performance in 2005; the leader and founder of Alice In Chains, Jerry Cantrell, with his solo project; and the legendary Ilegales, who are also celebrating their anniversary and do not want to miss out on celebrating it at the ARF, among many other significant rock n’ roll names; including, possibly the most popular rock band in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Soziedad Alkoholika. 

Saturday will be led by three queens of rock, clearly demonstrating how ageless rock music and its diverse sounds are. All three women are over seventy years old and are still on the road, and this year they will coincide on the same day in a night that will go down in history: the country legend Emmylou Harris; Suzi Quatro, and the woman who paved the way for rock; our exceptional godmother and absolute punk icon, Patti Smith.

ARF is characterised not only by the headlining names, but also by all the gems that make up the carefully selected artistic lineup: Adia Victoria, undoubtedly one of this year’s treasures, Dirty Honey’s LA rock, the sophisticated folk-rock of Hiss Golden Messenger, and the unequalled Ryley Walker, a real top notch artist.

Trashville, the rogue stage of Azkena Rock Festival

Also, not to be missed is the whole lineup at the Trashville tent, the place where rock brings out its rogue side and breaks the barrier between stage and audience to enjoy the wildest acts with influences from surf, garage, psychobilly and much more.

There we will be able to see the best tribute to The Cramps in the world, with Teenage Werewolves, the wild guitar of La Perra Blanco, the psychobilly legends Klingonz, the charismatic mix of styles by the Londoners Oh!Gunquit and the brazen punk from Tiburona. 

There will also be the presentation of the book “Where the Devil Don’t Stay. Touring the South with the Drive-By Truckers”, which will be attended by members of the band, who will also sign books after the presentation.

XX. anniversary extra activities

This anniversary will bring much more than live music.

The thrilling spectacle of motorcycles, acrobatics and live music of the Wall of Death return to Mendizabala.

In addition, for the first time this year there will be some heated bumper cars for those who want to jump into action to the rhythm of rock ‘n’ roll.

Virgen Blanca, ARF takes over the city

In keeping with tradition, the city will have free concerts in the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca on Friday and Saturday mornings. 

This time, Alexis Evans, white soul sensation, and rockabilly muse, Kim Lenz, will be performing; an appetiser for what will come later at Mendizabala and a classic meeting point between the festival and the Álava capital.

Everything You Need to Know to Enjoy the XX Anniversary 

Cashless

All payments at the festival site, from food and beverages to merchandising and entertainment, must be made with the electronic cashless system integrated into the festival wristbands.

Each person will be able to link their ticket to their cashless account through this link if they wish to recharge online or they can recharge in cash or by card at the physical recharging points set up throughout the venue.

The balance can be consulted at any recharge point and payment device.

In the case of online recharges, any remaining amount will be automatically refunded. In the case of recharges made at the physical points, refunds may be requested at the venue itself or from June 22 to July 1 at 11:59 pm on the festival website, with a transfer cost of €1.50 , and for this method it is essential to keep the wristband.

Admission for minors

20 years have passed, and many people have travelled the road to the festival. The audience has also matured and proudly passes on the “Azkena legacy and tradition” by bringing their offspring to the school of rock that is the ARF. For this reason, the festival welcomes the younger audience with special access and free admission for children under 14 years of age.

Camping & Glamping

The hotels in the capital and nearby towns have been sold out for months but there is still the option of sleeping just a few minutes from the venue. The festival itself offers camping and glamping options, the latter perfect for those who prefer to have a tent already set up and a bed made up.

Reusable cups

As usual, the cups are returnable and reusable as part of the festival’s commitment to sustainability.

The Azkena Rock Festival now has its own Walk of Fame in Vitoria-Gasteiz

In addition, today we are inaugurating the Walk of Fame, another nod to the city that welcomes us and is part of the festival. A place where we pay tribute to the top bands that have marked the festival’s history over the last two decades and that, without a doubt, are iconic names in both international and national rock history. These names range from indisputable legends such as Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Kiss, Iggy & The Stooges, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Sex Pistols, Joan Jett, Deep Purple, and Blondie to contemporary bands of great relevance such as Chris Isaak, Slash, Pearl Jam, Queens of the Stone Age and national icons such as Loquillo, Soziedad Alkoholika, Los Enemigos and Morgan.

A walk of 75 stars that runs along Calle de Postas, between the Plaza de Los Fueros and our beloved Plaza de la Virgen Blanca.

Those who visit will also be able to learn a previously unrevealed anecdote about each of these artists during their time at the festival, through the QR located on each star. The Promenade can be visited from Tuesday at noon until Sunday at midnight.

Once again, this year the festival would like to thank all the sponsors for their support. Without their involvement, it would not have been possible to achieve the Azkena Rock Festival’s development and growth objectives for this year’s edition.

AZKENA ROCK FESTIVAL Mendizabala, Vitoria-Gasteiz June 16, 17, and 18, 2022 Thursday, June 16 18:00 Doors open GOD 18:15 DIRTY HONEY 20:05 HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER 22:25 THE OFFSPRING 00:55 THE TOY DOLLS RESPECT 19:10 MORGAN WADE 21:10 MORGAN 23:40 FU MANCHU TRASHVILLE 21:00 LORD DIABOLIK 23:00 MICKY Y LOS COLOSOS DEL RITMO 00:30 TEENAGE WEREWOLVES 02:00 ENEIDA FEVER! Friday, June 17 Plaza Virgen Blanca 13:30 ALEXIS EVANS 17:00 Doors open GOD 17:30 THE FAITHLESS 19:15 JERRY CANTRELL 21:50 AFGHAN WHIGS 00:40 SOCIAL DISTORTION RESPECT 18:20 SURFBORT 20:30 DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS 23:15 SOZIEDAD ALKOHOLIKA 02:05 LIFE OF AGONY LOVE 18:00 NUKORE 19:15 ADIA VICTORIA 20:45 MAD SIN 22:15 DELIRIUM TREMENS 01:50 ILEGALES TRASHVILLE Trashville A Go-Go! 18:45 LOVESICK DUO 21:15 NEGRA CUCARACHA TERRORFOLK 23:15 LA PERRA BLANCO 01:00 KILINGONZ 03:10 RUNAWAY LOVERS DJS 04:55 TITO RAMONE Rat Hole 02:15 WENDY PELAYO 04:15 ALEX DBDB Saturday, June 18 Plaza Virgen Blanca 13:30 KIM LENZ 17:00 Doors open GOD 17:30 WICKED WIZZARD 19:15 ISRAEL NASH 21:35 PATTI SMITH 00:25 SUZI QUATRO RESPECT 18:20 DEWOLFF 20:20 EMMYLOU HARRIS 23:10 BLACK MOUNTAIN 01:45 MICHAEL MONROE LOVE 18:00 JOSEBA IRAZOKI ETA LAGUNAK 19:30 VULK 20:50 RYLEY WALKER 23:00 ROBYN HITHCOCK Y LOS DEL HUEVOS BAND 01:00 DANIEL ROMANO’S OUTFIT TRASHVILLE Trashville A Go-Go! 19:00 TIBURONA 21:45 MESSER CHUPS 00:00 OH! GUNQUIT 02:00 SUICIDE GENERATION 03:15 ESTRELLA ELECTRÓNICA 04:55 ZOMBIERELLA Rat Hole 02:15 ADRIÁN VS. SANTO 04:15 CHERIES DJs 3-day pass: 145€ 3-day pass + camping: 160€ Camping 4 nights: 15€ Day pass: Thursday: 45€ Friday and Saturday: 65€ Sales: www.azkenarockfestival.com y www.seetickets.com/es #azkenarockfestival Burning since 2002