Massive Attack among legendary performers coming to Prague

Prague as well as other cities and towns in the Czech Republic such as Brno and Ostrava remain a major draw for music fans, each year seeing performances not just by local singers and bands but of course major international artists. This is year is shaping up quite well when it comes to the latter.

Massive Attack, photo: archive of Metronome Festival

Prague and other parts of the Czech Republic have seen many shows to remember, even after more than 20 years ago fans recall particular performances by groups like Pearl Jam which played in the capital (albeit minus singer Eddie Vedder but on the other hand with rock great Neil Young). More recently, AC/DC played with Axl Rose stepping in as frontman for Brian Johnson who has stopped performing due to hearing loss, German metal band Rammstein in back-to-back shows last spring, and ‘80s and ‘90s legends Depeche Mode in January.

The coming months are not shaping up badly, either.

Just this week it was announced that Prague would see the return of rock legends The Rolling Stones and the city already has posters promoting heavy metal giant Ozzy Osbourne on his farewell tour.

And, it was announced on Thursday, Trip hop legends Massive Attack will also come. Massive Attack will be playing at this summer’s Metronome Festival. In its maiden year in Prague in 2016, Metronome, offered several stages at Prague’s Výstavište fair grounds, was headlined by punk rock icon Iggy Pop. Ahead of the first inception, this is how the festival was summed up by founder David Gaydečka, when he spoke to Radio Prague:

“When you are starting a new festival it is never easy to get a lot of the big bands or performers you’d like, simply because the festival is new and nobody knows about it yet... You’re dealing with agents or management in London or in the US or elsewhere and you need to convince them that your festival is a good option.”

Fast forward almost three years, and the festival has cemented itself as a major event in the Czech music calendar. Last year Metronome saw Sting, who of course still has a huge following for his individual career as well as with The Police, perform and this year the festival will see Massive Attack.

The Rolling Stones, photo: CTK

If anyone was less familiar with the Bristol band in the early ‘90s, the group’s seminal album Mezzanine in 1998 changed all that. The trio aren’t the only big name this year: there will also be David Byrne, John Cale and the Chemical Brothers. Massive Attack, however, should be special: in Prague they will celebrate 30 years since they were founded.

Meanwhile, speculation has already begun whether Prague around that time might see its first street art by anonymous artistic legend Banksy, in line with the theory that the group’s 3D and Banksy are one and the same person. The festival’s artistic director Barbora Šubrtová:

“We’ll just have to wait and see whether a work by Banksy appears in Prague around the time of the Metronome festival.”

The festival is still months away but the time to start thinking about tickets is now.