Preview – The Czech Metal Summer 2024

It should be no secret by now that I am a great enthusiast for the rock and metal festivals organized by promoter Pragokoncert every year in Czechia, as I’ve attended and written live reports for several of their festivals for Metalinsider over the past years. While Austria has its own fine selection of festivals to offer such as Barracuda Music’s flagship festival Nova Rock and the more pop, alternative and hip-hop focused Frequency festival, and lately the consistently growing Aera53 festival in Styria, the festivals in Czechia hold a special place near and dear to my heart.
The trifecta of summer festivals promoted by Pragokoncert is comprised of Metalfest Open Air in Pilsen in late May to early June, followed by the company’s mainstay festival Masters of Rock in Vizovice (which, incidentally, will be happening for the 20th time in 2024), and the relatively fresh Rock Castle in Moravsky Krumlov.
As two of those festivals, namely Masters of Rock and Rock Castle, can be reached from Vienna in or under three hours by car or train, they provide great accessibility also for travelers from abroad, as fans can fly in to Vienna International Airport and get to either festival quite easily and comfortably by (rental) car or train. Metalfest Pilsen is a tad farther to go, as the drive by car can take up to 5 hours, and even a bit more by train – so if you’re considering attending Metalfest Pilsen, my recommendation definitely is to fly in to Prague and travel the remainder of the distance from there. Alternatively, also an initial tavel to Nuremberg in Germany provides you with a pretty fast connection to Pilsen at between two to three hours travel time.
And the travel is definitely worth it, especially when looking at the 2024 lineups of each festival!