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Cracow live music venues

Live music in Krakow comes thick and fast. Wherever you find yourself in Krakow, there’s bound at least one stray melody vying for your attention, whether from a nearby bar, busker or band. Krakow hasn’t been dubbed Poland’s capital of culture for nothing: once known as the ‘Polish Athens’, this town attracted some of Europe’s finest artists and craftsmen for over 500 years. This becomes obvious as soon as you step out into Krakow’s historical Old Town, with its stunning examples of Renaissance and Romanesque architecture and interiors with opulence and majesty to match. Also attracting a wealth of musicians, live music in Krakow abounds, with music festivals, concerts and live acts appearing daily. Life in Krakow is characterized by an air of the theatrical, the burlesque, that almost demands a musical backdrop. Krakow live music bars oblige, laying on a veritable fanfare of music, from jazz to rock and pop, to classical, folk and indie – a thriving aspect of Cracow nightlife.

Live music in Krakow is a part of daily life: take a stroll around the main market square (the Rynek) and you’ll find a string of street performers of every ilk, featuring a regular performance by an electric guitar wizard, the odd virtuoso on the fiddle, and a daily accordion quartet. The musical cordiality spreads out from the main market square into the hundreds of surrounding bars, cafes and clubs, for many of which live music has become a permanent fixture. Though no one genre really dominates live music in Krakow, jazz clubs tend to register high on the nightly billings. A pillar of nonconformity during the oppressive years of the communist era, jazz has become something of an institution in Krakow – and seems perfectly in keeping with its culture of avant-garde theatre and art.
 
Krakow live music bars are characterized by variety. But for a less mainstream affair, head for the old Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, a haven of bohemian counter-culture, where amongst a raft of cult pubs and über trendy bars, you’ll find a medley of slightly off-beat jazz, traditional Jewish klezmer music (a kind of Yiddish jazz), and more of a folk and indie scene in general.  Kazimierz was a centre of Jewish culture for over five centuries, and traditional Jewish music became indispensible part of live music in Krakow. With the outbreak of World War II, most of Krakow’s Jewish population were deported, but over 15, 000 were sent to the Krakow ghetto, where music formed a mainstay of resistance and solidarity. Jewish music is now returning to Kazimierz in an annual Jewish Culture Festival: a celebration of all things Jewish, including an impressive line up of live acts to add to the Krakow live music scene.

Krakow is host to whole array of music festivals and concerts throughout the year: in the summer barely a day goes by without a stage being assembled on the main market square, in preparation for the latest in a long programme of open air concerts and festivals - all of which you can enjoy from the comfort of the terraced bars that line the square. For something a little more intimate, gigs take place nightly in the shadowy ambience of Krakow live music clubs and cellar bars, and a decent showing of live digitally inspired music can be found in a number of Krakow’s nightclubs. Live music in Cracow is well laid on and surprisingly diverse, attracting musicians from a gamut of backgrounds, and catering for a wide-ranging audience. From Poland’s own likable brand of pop meets rock, to local indie and metal bands, and the more experimental, folk and jazz inspired artists, Krakow is full of musical surprises – an essential ingredient of Krakow nightlife. See our Krakow live music listings for upcoming events and a venue by venue guide.