More than 45 000 people gathered at the Rowing Canal in Plovdiv last weekend to celebrate the eighth wonder of the world – music. Over the course of four days, this year’s Be4 Hills and Hills Of Rock took over Plovdiv, one of the most ancient cities in the world, and brought together dozens of bands and thousands of fans from around the world.
The long weekend began with Be4 Hills, the additional preliminary day to this year’s festival madness, welcoming artists such as the Bulgarian band SEVI, the dutch symphonic-metal band Epica, Savatage and Sabaton. Long regarded as one of the Bulgarian audience’s most anticipated acts, Sabaton headlined the opening night with their trademark high-energy performance. One of the evening’s most emotional moments came with “The Valley of Death,” inspired by Bulgarian history, as the screen behind the band displayed a lion draped in the Bulgarian tricolour.
Rock and metal have always belonged to the outsiders, to those who never quite fit in, who are still searching for themselves and for a way to express who they are. Yet above all, the genre represents something few others can: freedom. On Friday night, Marilyn Manson opened Hills of Rock 2026 before the largest crowd ever gathered at the festival’s home at Plovdiv’s Rowing Canal. For nearly 90 minutes, he transformed the stage into a dark, theatrical spectacle where everyone was welcome exactly as they were. On the first day of the festival at the Main Stage we also saw Vended, Malevolence. P.O.D and Sex Pistols ft. Frank Carter. On the other two stages at the festival area, Na Tamno and Power Stage, we saw amazing bulgarian bands, the french Last Train and the Еnglish punk-rock band, The Toy Dolls.
The second that was just as filled with energy, when the Main Stage was conquered by Karen Dio, the mindblowing performance of House Of Protection, the Welsh reggae metalheads from Skindred, Black Label Society, with legendary guitarist Zakk Wylde and Godsmack, who stormed the stage as Sully Erna took over and the crowd exploded.
At the same time, on the other two stages, the crowd erupted when Northlane took the stage for their first-ever performance in Bulgaria. Hundreds of fans ensured that the energy in front of Power Stage matched that of the Main Stage in every way. From early afternoon onwards, dozens of other bands kept the crowd fired up with uncompromising performances and a few hours before that, the Bulgarian bands Hellion Stone and Lek City Case met their dedicated fans at the meet & greet held in the Press Fest Area – a dedicated space created for media representatives and photographers, offering a space to recharge and take a breath.
The last day of Hills Of Rock 2026 in Plovdiv was stormed by the genre-bending guys from Electric Callboy. The spectacle, marking Electric Callboy’s first-ever performance in Bulgaria, proved that the taste of the Bulgarian audience has evolved significantly over the past years and is now far broader than when Hills of Rock first began as the country’s biggest rock and metal festival. Before that on the Main Stage we saw Deafheaven, Paradise Lost, Nevermore and the almighty Lamb Of God – another band that made its debut on Bulgarian territory. That same evening, the Bulgarian band Tsar Pluh took the Power Stage with a performance worthy of a headline slot. As part of the independent collective Projector Plus, the young act proved they could stand shoulder to shoulder with the artists on the Main Stage, delivering a powerful set packed with pyrotechnics, crushing sound, relentless energy, circle pits and a crowd that sang along to every word. Earlier that day the band also met their fans at the Fest Press Area.
Hills Of Rock 2026 once again brought together people from different backgrounds, cultures, generations and musical worlds, a festival you come to for the music, but stay for the people.
Through the festival’s sign language interpretation programme, which provided people with hearing impairments full access to everything happening on stage, Plovdiv’s Rowing Canal once again became a place of freedom, equality and connection. Because music belongs to everyone.
Hills Of Rock returns in 2027, and the first wave of promotional tickets for the most eager fans was sold out in under an hour. The first names for the new festival edition will be announced very soon. For the latest news and additional information, visit festteam.bg, hillsofrock.bg and ticketstation.bg, as well as the festival’s official social media channels.
Hills Of Rock 2026 was organised by Fest Team Ltd., as part of the “Heritage 2023” programme of Plovdiv 2029 Foundation, with the support of Plovdiv Municipality.
