Grammy Award-winning rock star Yungblud headlined for a crowd of 20,000 at Bludfest Year 3 in Hradec Králové, Czechia yesterday.
Created by the 28-year-old Brit, the one-day festival featured performances across three stages from Primal Scream, Biffy Clyro, Palaye Royale, Pale Waves, Jesse Jo Stark, Nieve Ella, Destroy Lonely, Leap, Pam Rabbit, and more.
Taking to the stage to deafening screams, Yungblud opened his headline set with the brooding introduction to his nine-minute epic Hello Heaven, Hello, before a confetti blast ignited the crowd. Clearly exhilarated, he launched into the raucous Lovesick Lullaby amid bursts of pyrotechnics, first greeting the crowd in Czech and shouting the instruction, “ruce nahoru” (“hands up“).
Across a career-spanning set, he ripped through material from all four studio albums and his collaborative EP with Aerosmith, including fan favourite The Funeral, My Only Angel, and the Grammy-nominated Zombie.
As is tradition, the Doncaster musician scanned the audience for handmade signs when it came time to play the anthemic Fleabag before declaring, “There are a lot of signs out there tonight. There’s a very young kid, in a Nirvana t-shirt back there… bring him up!” The youngster was escorted onstage to take on rhythm guitar duties for the song, with Yungblud exclaiming, “This is what Rock n’ Roll is about.”
Lowlife had the crowd bouncing in unison, while a staple tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne; a stunning rendition of Changes, drew a hush over the audience.
Toward the close of the set’s main part, Yungblud brought the festival’s female-led team onstage to pay tribute, saying, “I just want to say, that this festival is built by powerful f*cking women. Thank you.“
Earlier on, mainstage proceedings began with Czech pop and R&B star Pam Rabbit, who kicked things off with an energetic hometown performance, while Yungblud watched from sidestage. Midway through the set, she raised a glass toasting, “Yungblud, Bludfest, and all its artists.”
Following on, Nieve Ella commanded the main stage with a set of epic, crunching ballads. The 23-year-old rising star debuted a brand-new song, Standing on a Pane of Glass, telling the crowd: “This is a new song that we haven’t played to anybody yet.“
On the newly introduced Stage 2, garage-punk outfit The Velvet Hands tore through a high octane set including fan favourites, Telephone Love and Holiday in My Head, while Jesse Jo Stark mesmerised the crowd with an alluring set of desert rock, psychedelia featuring tracks like Dandelion and Fire of Love.
As the clock ticked down toward the headline slot, Scottish rock heavyweights Biffy Clyro took to the main stage to give a blistering performance featuring mega hits, Mountains and Many of Horror. Frontman Simon Neil thanked the crowd, stating, “It’s an honour to be here. You’re going to have the night of your f*cking lives,” before fans made their way to Stage 2 where Primal Scream led hymn-like singalongs to Movin’ On Up and Loaded.
lsewhere on site, the Gibson Stage showcased a wave of emerging talent, with sets from Daland, Seb Torgus, Precious Pepala, Bothworlds and Ruworr!ed; the project of Šimon Zahradník, whose story began when Yungblud invited him onstage during a 2024 festival appearance. Since then, Zahradník has performed at major European festivals before earning a spot on the official Bludfest Year 3 lineup.
This year’s Bludfest introduced several new installations, including the official YBHQ Club, a shaded indoor hangout for fans, and the Beautifully Romanticised Accidentally Traumatized store. Both spaces were decorated in an ornate, gothic style, featuring genuine 18th century, wooden doors. The Make A Friend tent, a dedicated space for festivalgoers to connect, also returned. Early in the afternoon, Yungblud was spotted zipping around the festival site in his buggy, high-fiving delighted fans as he visited installations and made his way between artists’ sets.
Yungblud played:
Hello Heaven, Hello
The Funeral
Idols Pt 1
Lovesick Lullaby
My Only Angel
Fleabag
Lowlife
Changes
Time
War
The Postman
Loner
Ghosts
Zombie
Suburban Requiem
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