From June 9th to July 28th, we hosted dozens of bands from the present and future of the global music scene, including punk rock legends The Offspring, the formidable Massive Attack, Pulp, Duran Duran and Thievery Corporation, as well as some of the biggest acts in heavy metal history such as Judas Priest, Bruce Dickinson, Megadeth, Blind Guardian and Behemoth. At the same time, for the first time in Greece, we enjoyed several top new acts such as Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood’s The Smile, as well as Black Pumas and Jain.
The sixth edition of the festival was the biggest and most diverse in our history. During the 14 days of Release Athens 2023, we collaborated with SNF Nostos of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation for a three-day festival on two stages with great artists (Rosalía, Siouxsie, Interpol, Central Cee, etc.), we organised an unofficial metal festival with the top acts of the scene the last 40 years (Nightwish, Disturbed, Parkway Drive, Helloween, Amon Amarth, etc.), we hosted two sold-out days with the top rock band of the 21st century, the Arctic Monkeys, as well as outstanding acts like The Prodigy, Madrugada, Stereo Nova, Primal Scream and many more, and finally we had the pleasure of enjoying one of the biggest hip-hop nights in recent years, headlined by the living legends of the scene, Wu-Tang Clan.
After 35 months of silence, the doors of Plateia Nerou opened again. On the biggest stage we have ever set up and during the 12 days of Release Athens 2022, we listened to over 100 hours of music and watched some of the top concerts we’ve ever experienced such as Nick Cave‘s thrilling performance with the Bad Seeds, Pet Shop Boys with their unmistakable greatest hits setlist, top rock stars Iggy Pop and Liam Gallagher but also the giants of the metal scene such as Manowar, Judas Priest and of course Slipknot, the absolute highlight of this concert year.
June 2019 was full of Release Athens Festival concerts with dozens of bands taking to our stage on nine different dates. We hosted for the first time in Greece some of the biggest names of the last decades like Alice In Chains, Disturbed, Damian Marley and Johnny Marr, we gave space to the biggest bands of the heavy metal scene like Anthrax and Manowar (with their great show) and finally, we saw Iggy Pop fill Plateia Nerou like only the last, true rock star of our days, can.
A three-day celebration of music. The non-stop dancing at Jamiroquai’s live show, the parties put on by Parov Stelar and the legendary UB40, the impressive return of Thievery Corporation and of course the awe we felt with Richard Ashcroft’s voice and songs, gave us the best nights of the summer.
In 2017 we hosted some of the greatest names in contemporary music. The audiovisual extravaganza of Röyksopp, the leading dance/electronic music act Moderat and the sea of people that came to watch Thievery Corporation made the second edition of Release Athens a unique experience.
On the 1st of June 2016, Release Athens opens its doors for the first time at Plateia Nerou. The captivating performance of the black-clad P.J. Harvey, the mystical experience of Sigur Ros’ live show in the rain and of course, the presence of two of the biggest names of the 90s, Brian Jonestown Massacre and Slowdive, alongside the new blood, Daughters and DIIV, are just a few of the most unforgettable moments of the first four days of the festival.
