Sweden Rock Festival

infobox music festival
music_festival_name = Sweden Rock Festival


caption = Final evening of Sweden Rock 2008.
location = Norje (Sölvesborg), Sweden
years_active= 1992 – present
dates = June
genre = Heavy metal/Hard rock
website = [http://www.swedenrock.com www.swedenrock.com]

Sweden Rock Festival is an annual rock/metal festival held in Sweden since June 6, 1992. While having a clear rock/metal focus, the festival is noted for its diversity across these genres, having featured southern rock bands such as Molly Hatchet to death metal legends like Obituary.

The first version of the festival was held in Olofström, with nine bands performing. The next five years, the festival was held in Karlshamn, but this was changed in 1998. Since then the festival has been held in Norje, outside Sölvesborg.

When the festival first began in 1992, it featured nine relatively unknown bands and it only lasted one day. The next year the festival was expanded to two days and more bands were added to the line-up. From 1993 to 2002 the festival would last two days; over those years it would also begin to feature bigger name acts. In 2000 the festival was expanded to three days but it returned to two days the following year.

From 2003 to 2006 the festival lasted three days and had by then featured some of the biggest acts in metal and rock. From 2007 the festival has been expanded to four days and will feature approximately 70 different bands/artists.

Some notable appearances in the past have been Aerosmith, Judas Priest, Mötley Crüe, Dio, Bruce Dickinson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Twisted Sister, Whitesnake, Europe, Deep Purple, Accept, Motörhead, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Scorpions, Porcupine Tree, Def Leppard, Alice Cooper, Testament, W.A.S.P. and Thin Lizzy

The 2008 edition was held June 4-7 in Sölvesborg.

2008 line-up

2005 line-up

2002 line-up

1999 line-up

1996 line-up

1993 line-up

1992 line-up

External links

* [http://www.swedenrock.com Sweden Rock Festival - official website]
* [http://www.festivalpix.de/index-50.html Pictures from Sweden Rock Festival since 2001]