Halfway Festival is a music festival which takes place in Northeastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, in Białystok in the last week of June every year. The festival's main organizer is the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic – European Art Centre. Its first edition happened in 2012.

Idea

Halfway Festival is a gathering involving songwriters, folk, and alternative musicians. "''It's not the biggest, or the most important, or the best festival in the world, but it provides an indescribable and unique atmosphere for its enthusiastic audience. The festival is one of a kind, as it is created by both performers and the audience – according to its motto: “Close to people, close to music”. It is a festival with no headliners – all artists, along with the audience, share the utmost importance.''" – say the organizers. There are no complicated, restrictive regulations. It's all based on trust and a big culture of participants. There's time to talk to artists, to see them walking around, resting or listening to other performers amongst the audience. It's the festival where nobody should hurry; the artists can play for as long as they and their fans want, as there's no time limit for the performances. It's the festival which connects the music tradition of Western and Eastern Europe, and the US in one place.

Place

Halfway is a cameral festival which takes place in an amphitheatre with great, unique acoustics. The scenery sits really close, within the audience's reach. The amphitheatre is located at Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic – European Art Centre in Białystok – the largest institute of arts in Northeastern Poland, and the most modern cultural center in this region of Europe. In between concerts it is possible to spend time in a green milieu around the amphitheatre. There is a DJ area to dance or listen to good electronic music. There are stalls with many kinds of tea, regional beer, grilled food, festival gadgets.

Artists

2019

Friday 28 June

* Wędrowiec * Gyða *

These New Puritans These New Puritans are an English music group/band from Southend-on-Sea, England. It consists mainly of Jack Barnett (principal songwriter, vocalist, producer, multi-instrumentalist) and his twin brother George Barnett (drums, electronics, prod ...

Saturday 29 June * Kotori * Oxford Drama * KÁRYYN *

My Brightest Diamond My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Nova. The band has released five studio albums and a remix album, five studio EPs and four remix EPs, and made several tours across the United States. Histo ...

Julia Holter Julia Shammas Holter (born December 18, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, composer, artist and academic, based in Los Angeles. Following three independent album productions, Holter released ''Tragedy'' as her first official ...

Sunday 30 June * Palina * Tęskno * Alice Phoebe Lou *

Foxing Foxing is an age-related process of deterioration that causes spots and browning on old paper documents such as books, postage stamps, old paper money and certificates. The name may derive from the fox-like reddish-brown color of the stains, or ...

Strand of Oaks Strand of Oaks is the rock project by songwriter and producer Timothy Showalter. Originally from Indiana, he currently resides in Austin, Texas. His music has been classified as rock and folk, as well as folk rock. Showalter has released seven ...

2018

Friday 29 June

* Seasonal *

amiina Amiina (formerly Amína, stylized in lowercase) is an Icelandic band composed of members Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir, Magnús Trygvason Eliassen and Guðmundur Vignir Karlsson. In the past they have frequent ...

* Low

Saturday 30 June

* ugla * Annie Hart * Pia Fraus * Jane Weaver * Villagers

Sunday 01 July

* Francis Tuan * TonqiXod *

Anna Ternheim Anna Ternheim (born 31 May 1978) is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Early life Ternheim was born 31 May 1978 in Stockholm, Sweden. When she was 10 years old she began playing the guitar, writing songs and performing. During a year abroad in Atlan ...

* Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp XXL *

The Besnard Lakes The Besnard Lakes ( ) are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, the band also includes Kevin Laing (drums), Richard White (guitar), Sheenah Ko (keyboa ...

2017

Friday 23 June

* Starsabout (

) * Christine Owman ( Sweden) * Shuma (

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

)

Saturday 24 June

* Agata Karczewska (

) *

Cate Le Bon Cate Le Bon (born Cate Timothy on 4 March 1983) is a Welsh musician and record producer. She sings in both English and Welsh. She has released six solo studio albums, three EPs and a number of singles. Le Bon has toured with artists such as St. ...

(

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) *

Juana Molina Juana Rosario Molina (; born 1 October 1961) is an Argentine singer, songwriter and actress, based in Buenos Aires. She is known for her distinctive sound, considered an exponent of folktronica, although it has also been described as ambient, exp ...

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Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

) *

TORRES Torres may refer to: People *Torres (surname), a Spanish and Portuguese surname *Torres (musician), singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott **Torres (album), ''Torres'' (album), 2013 self-titled album by Torres Places Americas *Torres, Colorado, an un ...

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United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

) *

The Veils The Veils are an English/New Zealand indie rock band fronted by singer and songwriter Finn Andrews. History Early years, ''The Runaway Found'' (2001–2004) Finn Andrews was born in London but spent his teenage years at high school in A ...

(

)

Sunday 25 June

* Coals (

) * East of My Youth (

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

) * Nive & The Deer Children (

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

) *

Cass McCombs Cass McCombs (born November 13, 1977 in California) is an American musician and songwriter. Since 2002 he has released ten albums, an EP and a B-sides compilation under his own name. McCombs’ music blends elements of many styles including Ameri ...

Band (US) * Angel Olsen (US)

2016

Friday 24 June

* Byen (

) *

Ilya Ilya, Iliya, Ilia, Ilja, or Ilija (russian: Илья́, Il'ja, , or russian: Илия́, Ilija, ; uk, Ілля́, Illia, ; be, Ілья́, Iĺja ) is the East Slavic form of the male Hebrew name Eliyahu (Eliahu), meaning "My God is Yahu/Jah." ...

(United Kingdom) * Destroyer (Canada)

Saturday 25 June

* Coldair (Poland) * Odd Hugo (Estonia) *

Eivør Pálsdóttir Eivor, Eivør or Øyvor is a female given name in the Nordic countries. In Sweden, 4,922 people bear the name. The average age is 78. The name perhaps originated from either the Proto-Norse word ''auja'', which is thought to mean "good luck", o ...

(Faroe Islands) * Accolective (Israel) * Ane Brun (Norway)

Sunday 26 June

* Intelligency (

) *

Giant Sand Giant Sand is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The group started as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s post-punk and paisley underground scenes. They later s ...

(USA) *

Mammút Mammút is an Icelandic rock band based in Reykjavík. Formed in 2003 as ROK,Record Records: Mammút b ...

(

) * Julia Marcell (Poland) *

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...

(USA)

2015

Friday 26 June

* Nathalie and The Loners (Poland) * .K (Belarus) *

Moddi Pål Moddi Knutsen (born 18 February 1987 in Senja), known by the artist name Moddi, is a Norwegian musician, author and activist, whose contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest or social justice. Background Pål Knutsen grew up o ...

(Norway) *

Gabriel Ríos Gabriel Ríos (born August 25, 1978 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican singer songwriter. Biography Gabriel was born in Puerto Rico, to Puerto Rican parents, and was raised on the island until the age of 17. He then relocated to the cit ...

(

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

)

Saturday 27 June

* JÓGA (Poland) * Garbanotas Bosistas ( Lithuania) *

She Keeps Bees She Keeps Bees is a rock and roll band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2006 and consisting of Jessica Larrabee on vocals and guitar and Andy LaPlant on drums. They have been compared to Patti Smith, the White Stripes, The Kills, PJ Harvey, and ...

(USA) * Vök (Iceland) *

William Fitzsimmons (musician) William Fitzsimmons (born 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, based in Nashville. His first two full-length albums, ''Until When We Are Ghosts'' (2005) and ''Goodnight'' (2006), were completely self-produced and recorded by Fitzsimmons at h ...

(USA)

Sunday 28 June

Maggie Björklund Margrethe "Maggie" Björklund is a Danish guitarist and singer-songwriter who composes, plays, and sings music in the folk and alternative country genres. She began her career playing electric guitar in the female band The Darleens and briefly fo ...

(Denmark) * Sister Wood (Poland/England) * Oly. (Poland) *

Sharon van Etten Sharon Katharine Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released six studio albums, the latest of which is '' We've Been Going About This All Wrong'' (2022). Early life Van Etten was born in Belleville, N ...

(USA) *

The Antlers (band) The Antlers is an American indie rock band based in Brooklyn, New York. The band's songs are written and sung by Peter Silberman. Their music is performed by Silberman and Michael Lerner (drums). The lineup formerly featured Darby Cicci (trumpet ...

(USA)

2014

Friday 27 June

* Overdriven Group (Poland) * Keegan McInroe (

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

) *

Phosphorescent (band) Phosphorescent is the stage name of American singer-songwriter Matthew Houck. Originally from Huntsville, Alabama, Houck began recording and performing under this nickname in 2001 in Athens, Georgia. He is currently based in Nashville, Tenness ...

(USA)

Saturday 28 June

* Sonia Pisze Piosenki (

) * Lord & The Liar (Poland) * Fismoll (Poland) * Pascal Pinon (Island) * Theodore (Greece) *

(USA)

Sunday 29 June

* Navi (Belarus) * Daniel Spaleniak (Poland) * Hymnalaya (Island) *

Lisa Hannigan Lisa Margaret Hannigan (born 12 February 1981) is an Irish musician, singer, composer, and voice actress. She began her musical career as a member of Damien Rice's band. Since beginning her solo career in 2007 she has released three albums: '' S ...

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Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

) * Ewert and The Two Dragons (Estonia)

2013

28 June

* Wilhelm Jerusalem (

) * Anna von Hausswolff (Sweden) *

Under Byen were a Danish band founded in 1995 mainly by Katrine Stochholm and Henriette Sennenvaldt. (Danish for "Below the City") were known for producing their own unorthodox interpretation of rock. They rarely use guitars. Instead their soundscape i ...

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)

29 June

* Bobby the Unicorn (Poland) * HandmadE (Belarus) *

Sóley Sóley Stefánsdóttir (born 20 October 1987), better known simply as Sóley, is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Career Sóley studied classical and jazz style piano as a child and later went to the Icelandic Art A ...

(Island) *

SoKo Soko ( sh-Cyrl, Соко) was a Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer based in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company was responsible for the production of many military aircraft for the Yugoslav Air Force. SOKO was created in 1950 by the rel ...

(France) * Sivert Høyem (Norway)

30 June

* Markas Palubenka (Lithuania) * Gin Ga (Austria) * Domowe Melodie (

) *

Local Natives Local Natives is an American indie rock band based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California, Silver Lake, Los Angeles. The band consists of Taylor Rice (vocals, guitar), Kelcey Ayer (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Ryan Hahn (guitar, backing vocals), ...

(USA) *

Emilíana Torrini Emilíana Torrini (born 16 May 1977) is an Icelandic singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2009 single "Jungle Drum (song), Jungle Drum", her 1999 album ''Love in the Time of Science'', and her performance of "Gollum's Song" for the 2 ...

(Island)

2012

* Lifemotiv (Poland) * Palina Respublika (Belarus) * Alina Orlova (Lithuania) *

Sébastien Schuller Sébastien Schuller (born 26 August 1970) is a French singer, songwriter and film score composer living in Philadelphia. His film scores include '' Toi et Moi '', '' Notre univers impitoyable'', '' Un Jour d'Été'', '' One O One'' and ''High Soci ...

(France) * Ludzi Na Bałocie (Belarus) *

Lech Janerka Lech Andrzej Janerka (born 2 May 1953 in Wrocław, Poland) is a Polish songwriter, vocalist, and bassist. In the 1980s he was leader of a notable Polish post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that e ...

(Poland) *

Low Roar Low Roar was an Icelandic post-rock/electronica project founded by the late American immigrant Ryan Karazija. Originally a solo act, the band later added Leifur Björnsson and Logi Guðmundsson. History After leading the California-based indie ...

(Island) * The Mountain Goats (USA) * Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa (Poland) * FolkRoll (Belarus) * Re1ikt (Belarus) * The Loom (USA) * Vasya Oblomov (Russia) * Chłopcy kontra Basia (Poland) * Haydamaky (Ukraine) *

Sin Fang Sin Fang is the stage name of Sindri Már Sigfússon, an Icelandic musician and member of the band Seabear. History Sindri founded the band Seabear in 2000, signing with the label Morr Music. Seabear was initially conceived as a solo project, b ...

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Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

) *

Great Lake Swimmers Great Lake Swimmers is a Canadian folk rock band from Wainfleet, Ontario, and currently based in Toronto. The current touring line-up includes Tony Dekker on lead vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica, Erik Arnesen on banjo, electric guitar and ...

(USA) * Woven Hand (USA)

Tickets and schedule

There are two kinds of tickets available: three-day passes for the whole festival and one-day passes. There are places in Białystok where the participants can find rooms for lower prices, as well as discounts at artistic cafés, restaurants, and pubs that cooperate with Halfway and its organizers. All concerts start early in the evening. Prior to them, it is possible to enjoy the attractions prepared by the organizers, e.g. meet & greet with the bands, writers, yoga trainings and many others – depending on the edition of the festival.

Artists about the festival

: "Lovely venue and audience! It was just really lovely... (…) I’m hoping I will be invited back." *

Shara Worden Shara Nova (previously Worden) is the lead singer and songwriter for My Brightest Diamond. As a composer she is most recognized for her choral compositions and the baroque chamber opera "You Us We All". New music composers Sarah Kirkland Snide ...

(

) – asked why she came to Europe without a European tour, only for the festival – answered: "''I was invited.'' (laugh) ''I’s that simple. I heard how lovely this festival was so I thought it was a great opportunity to finally come to Poland. So I did.''" * Matthew Houck (

): "It's gorgeus here! It's way more gorgeous than I thought it could be!" * Theodore: „''One of the best gigs in my life!''"{{Cite web , url=http://radiosupel.org/News/patronat/halfway-festival-patronat/ , title=Interviews created by SCR Radiosupeł , access-date=3 February 2015 , archive-date=12 April 2017 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412171026/http://radiosupel.org/News/patronat/halfway-festival-patronat/ , url-status=dead

References

External links

The Official Website

Press conference 2014

HFB 2014 Review
Music festivals in Poland Rock festivals in Poland Summer events in Poland