Love, peace and rock n’ roll! This is the slogan of the people who have been organizing the Lovely Days Festival for twenty years now. These are the core values of the Lovely Days Festival, which brings together all fans of rock n’ roll and, more generally, the music of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. Taking place every year in the park of Esterházy Castle in Eisenstadt, Austria, Lovely Days is the ultimate summer rock destination, the great rendezvous for everyone who loves rock music. Being among them, Myth of Rock attended this year’s Lovely Days Festival, where we enjoyed, in order, the Hans Theessink Band, The Troggs, Clearwater Creedence Revival, Colosseum, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Foreigner and Alice Cooper! Rock n’ roll fans and beyond, read on to find out everything that happened at the Lovely Days Festival 2026 on July 4th!
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
photos by Iro Kalligeri (@irokalligeriphotography)
Lovely Days is a single-day festival, so, with such a packed billing, the gates were set to open early, at 1 p.m. As we had no means of transport of our own and absolutely no idea how to get to Esterházy Park, we took the shuttle bus and, in less than three quarters of an hour, arrived at the festival site: a huge, lush green area, properly arranged to welcome and serve thousands of people, a beautiful park that would host the massive crowd that had made the event sold out! After getting in quickly, we headed towards the stage, where we found a good spot, settled down and waited. The weather was hot, with the sun beating down on our heads, but fortunately there was a designated spot where you could fill your bottles with cold water – constant hydration was absolutely necessary. So, we eagerly awaited the start of the festival, which was not long in coming!
The first band to appear in the middle of the afternoon was the Hans Theessink Band. This is the band led by Hans Theessink, the relatively well-known Dutch blues/roots guitarist and singer, who has released twenty albums! Personally, I knew little about Theessink, but I really enjoyed the roots-oriented set of his band, which also featured a keyboard player and three backing vocalists from Zimbabwe! They played with passion and enthusiasm, and soon swept us along with the vibrant rhythm of their music! The sound was good; however, what really struck me was the strong, joyful feeling radiating from Theessink and his musicians, which, within seconds, spread to us as well! Don’t ask me which songs they played, as I don’t know any of them, apart from their cover of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” from the soundtrack of the movie “The Lion King”! At that point, the choreography of the three backing vocalists fitted perfectly. The Hans Theessink Band’s performance did not last long, but it was more than enough for us to settle into the festival atmosphere, warm up and prepare ourselves for what was to follow.
After the Hans Theessink Band, it was time for a tribute band, Clearwater Creedence Revival, who, as you can easily understand, pay tribute to Creedence Clearwater Revival. By the time they took the stage, I was already excited, as Creedence Clearwater Revival are one of my favourite bands! And there was absolutely nothing about Clearwater Creedence Revival’s performance that disappointed me, since, as they proved that day, they are a fantastic tribute band. They captured the songs and sound of Creedence Clearwater Revival very well, their renditions were spot-on, and they played with passion and the enthusiasm of true fans, making us dance to huge, world-famous hits (“Proud Mary”, “Bad Moon Rising”, “Fortunate Son”, etc.). Of course, their vocals could not be compared to the voice of the great John Fogerty, but we knew that before the concert had even started! It should also be noted that Clearwater Creedence Revival’s show ended with a cover of “Rockin’ All Over the World”, a song written by John Fogerty and made famous by Status Quo. We CCR fans absolutely loved it and wanted more!
I had been looking forward to what came next like crazy, as “Wild Thing” is one of my favourite songs from the ’60s. I am talking, of course, about The Troggs, who not only still exist, but continue to deliver explosive live shows. And that was exactly the case with their concert at the Lovely Days Festival, where The Troggs truly excelled. None of the group’s original members are still in the band today (the last one to retire, in 2017, was guitarist Chris Britton); however, today’s Troggs, fronted by the iconic Chris Allen, proudly and deservedly carry the band’s name, and that afternoon they made sure we had an amazing time! Allen is quite a character and effortlessly led the band through a fantastic performance, spreading joy among the crowd, which by then had filled the park! They had a rock n’ roll swagger, a classy rock style and entertained us with their rock anthems! It was quite an experience to watch Allen, dressed in black leather, perform and stand at the forefront of The Troggs’ rock n’ roll thunder. Naturally, all hell broke loose during “Wild Thing”, but I also realised that The Troggs have many other great songs and that their guitarist absolutely rocks! We thoroughly enjoyed The Troggs, but now it was time for…
…Colosseum! Fans of both classic rock and the progressive, jazz rock sounds of the ’70s hold Colosseum in the highest regard. The band created history by releasing masterpiece albums such as “Valentyne Suite” and “Daughter of Time”. Therefore, the crowd warmly welcomed Colosseum, who still featured three members from the classic era: Chris Farlowe on vocals, Dave “Clem” Clempson on guitar and Mark Clarke on bass. Of course, Farlowe looked very aged, but that did not stop him from delivering a great vocal performance. On the contrary, he sounded excellent! The same goes for all the other members, who created a solid, warm and deep sound, worthy of the band’s legendary name. Colosseum proved that even in 2026 they have not forgotten their craft and that they can still surprise even the most demanding listeners. Everything led up to the 17-minute “Valentyne Suite”, the unforgettable epic that left us speechless and deeply moved. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, one of those moments that will remain etched in memory forever! We are talking about true jazz rock gods, who shone at Lovely Days with an incredible, fulfilling set that rewarded us more than we could have hoped for. I wish them to always be healthy and continue giving us the ’70s rock that we crave! This was a true jazz rock masterclass!
Then came a moment we had been eagerly waiting for. It was time for Manfred Mann’s Earth Band to take the stage, the legendary group of ’70s progressive hard rock. Personally, I am a fan of the band, so my heart was beating faster and harder during their set. And what a set it was: a highly accomplished, top-level performance, full of classic songs that, for the first time, we had the chance to hear live from the very people who created them! It was a dream come true! We sang along to “Blinded By the Light” and “Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)”, we got emotional with “Father of Day, Father of Night” (I was not particularly impressed by Mick Rogers’ vocals, but I have already forgotten that small detail!), and we enjoyed “Don’t Kill It Carol”, “For You” and “Davy’s on the Road Again”. The magic of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s sound was reborn for us that afternoon, and we were overwhelmed by the greatness of this band. It was truly something special; it was a miracle to see the one and only Manfred Mann himself playing his keyboards right in front of us. I still remember that moment and get goosebumps! Of course, I would have preferred them to play their full live set, but even an hour and a little more was more than enough – we were blown away and got exactly what we wanted from Manfred Mann and his band!
After the legendary live show of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, the schedule said it was time to see Foreigner. And indeed, today’s version of Foreigner, which, as we all know, does not include any members of the original line-up, stepped onto the stage amid an atmosphere of excitement. The opening song was “Double Vision”, and what we saw was a top-class band: incredibly tight, with an amazing sound and tremendous passion, giving everything they had on stage. Because today’s Foreigner, apart from being outstanding musicians, bring positive energy, understand exactly where they are playing, and respect the name they carry. Simply put, they sweat for the shirt, delivering their rock with style, power and determination! Luis Maldonado, in particular, is truly a rock n’ roll personality, a real character, a rock star who knows exactly how to command the stage and become the centre of attention, while maintaining a fantastic connection with the audience! Of course, all the other musicians are masters of the hard rock sound as well. Watching Jeff Pilson’s stage presence and the way he moves and performs, you immediately understand that he is a leader, an imposing rock n’ roll figure who knows exactly what to do to make everyone enjoy the concert they are witnessing! Foreigner’s set was slightly shortened, as they were performing before the headliner, but it was amazingly good, more than enough to turn the evening into a unique melodic hard rock party!
And so we reached the festival’s headlining act: Alice Cooper, who, it must be said, is constantly on the road, performing live shows around the world! The Godfather of shock rock had arranged a rendezvous with all the “sick things” in Eisenstadt, and we were all there, right on time for this special meeting. Thus, at around 11 p.m., we welcomed this legendary hard rock hero, who stepped onto the stage causing a real earthquake, accompanied by his brilliant touring band: Roxie, Garric, Henriksen, Sobel, and, replacing Nita Strauss, Anna Cara! The opening songs were “Who Do You Think We Are” and “Spark in the Dark”, and the Esterházy Castle park erupted! Alice Cooper’s vocals sounded remarkably good, especially considering his age, his band was flawless, and the sound was exactly what you expect from an Alice Cooper concert – the guitars had the perfect balance of power and clarity! The great shock rocker performed many of his classic songs, honouring several of his masterpiece albums, while also presenting his spectacular horror show, delivering a performance that will remain deeply etched in our memories. Alice and his band’s performance was, as always, out of this world, truly stellar, and their positive energy was transferred to the audience, who had an incredible time! At this point, I would only like to add that Anna Cara’s expression was somewhat stern (she did not crack even a single smile), but since this does not seem to bother Alice Cooper, we will let it pass! The hard rock celebration that took place seemed endless, while Alice Cooper rewarded the audience, who were asking for more, with an excellent cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. The end of the concert was triumphant, and everyone – both the band and the crowd – left the stage area filled with pure joy!
With Alice Cooper’s one-of-a-kind performance, this year’s Lovely Days Festival brought the curtain down in truly triumphant fashion. After gathering our belongings, we took the bus and returned to beautiful Vienna. One thing was absolutely clear – “Lovely Days” is one of the greatest rock festivals in the world, and this year’s edition will go down in history as one of its most successful! We are already looking forward to the 2027 edition, where, from what I have seen, the headliners will be Lynyrd Skynyrd, while 10cc will also be part of the line-up! Oh, what a celebration awaits us!
