Mighty Sounds Festival. 27-29/06/2025…In the Heart of Europe. Interview with Markéta Broumová

Mighty Sounds Festival is one of the most unique festivals in Europe, dedicated to punk, ska, reggae, and hardcore music.

Every year, thousands of music lovers from all over the world gather in the Czech Republic for a three-day event full of explosive performances, a unique atmosphere, and endless fun.

The festival was first held in 2005 in the village of Olší near Opařany, remaining in that location for its first five years before moving to an abandoned airport in Tábor in 2010.
With a lineup featuring legendary names from the scene as well as emerging bands, Mighty Sounds has established itself as a landmark event for fans of alternative sound.
For MIGHTY SOUNDS FESTIVAL 2025, we had the opportunity to speak with Markéta Bromová from the festival’s press office, who revealed the challenges, surprises, and special features of Mighty Sounds.

Interview with Markéta Broumová (Press/PR/Marketing)

Athenscalling.gr: Good morning from Athens to beautiful Czechia…
Dear Markéta Broumová, welcome to the Athenscalling.gr webzine of culture!

Markéta Broumová: Thanks a lot, it is my pleasure.
If I’m not mistaken, this is for the first time we are talking to anyone from Greece about Mighty Sounds Festival, so it’s quite exciting!

Athenscalling.gr: So, Mighty Sounds Festival— a festival in Czechia with devoted fans!
I actually learned about it from an Austrian friend of mine, Mattias Nimpfer, the bassist of the band ZSA ZSA GABOR’S. He had nothing but great things to say about your festival!

What do you say—should we start packing our bags for a trip to Czechia on June 27, heading to Mighty Sounds Festival?
Markéta Broumová: Oh there is no doubt about it.
What a great way to enjoy some truly unforgettable time, and explore Czech Republic a bit more. We are one hour away from Prague by train, and there is a lovely city of Tabor with a unique historic city center very close to the festival area and of course, the festival itself, is known for its friendly atmosphere.
If you only know few names from the line-up, don’t worry, you will love the rest and you will bring home some new favourite music for sure.

Athenscalling.gr: How did the idea for creating the festival come about?
Markéta Broumová:It was actually quite funny, a group of friends, musicians, who had their ska and punk bands back in 2005, complained about the fact that they couldn’t make it to the mainstream festival line-ups at the time.
So they decided to organise “their own” festival and invited the best ska and punk (and punkrock, reggae or folkpunk) bands from all around the world.
Only one member of the organising team had experience with organising a festival at the time, so you can imagine it was pretty punk. But it was immediate success.

Athenscalling.gr: So, from then until today, Mighty Sounds Festival has become known across Europe and has gained devoted fans for 20 years…
Do I have that right? Or is there something else you’d like to add, Markéta?

Markéta Broumová: It is 20 years now, yes, incredible, right? Also, the core team hasn’t changed since then, it’s a festival made with love. And next year, we are planning to celebrate in big style, it is going to be 20th edition of the festival.

Athenscalling.gr: Are there any key elements that make Mighty Sounds stand out from other festivals in Europe?
Markéta Broumová: The core team is made mostly by musicians, so we really want to make this a great experience for everyone. We do care about the quality of sound, hospitality, we do care about how the festival looks like.
We support NGOs in fighting injustice, intolerance, poverty and illnesses. We do care about what people tell us after they experience our festival. Also, quite diverse subcultures have been meeting at the Mighty Sounds Festival every year and it works perfectly, everyone is kind to each other and there is the same spirit every year: to have fun and to support tolerance and diversity.
So, all in all, I wouldn’t say it’s one key element, but a lot of small contributions that make our festival special.

Athenscalling.gr: Every year, many artists perform on the festival’s stage. If I may ask—what is the thought process behind choosing them? Do you follow a specific selection criterion?

Markéta Broumová:This is more to our booking team, but in general, we try to search “our” music styles and see who is touring in “our” date. Then, of course, it’s a question of money and we are still quite small festival comparing others in Europe, so we cannot afford all bands we would wish to. But then also we get recommendations, we are closely following club scene in Prague, there we found some really good bands too.

Athenscalling.gr: Can you tell us about the best moment at Mighty Sounds Festival so far? The most unforgettable live performance the festival has ever hosted?
Markéta Broumová:What a difficult question! But yes, I would say having Rancid in 2023, after several years of wishes and negotiations, on Sunday night, as the very last show of the festival, when there was no other band playing on other stages, so everyone was there, with a beautiful warm weather – that was something really special to all of us.

Athenscalling.gr: On the other side of the coin, has there ever been a worst moment? A part of the festival you would rather forget? If you feel comfortable answering, of course…
Markéta Broumová:I was not part of the team at the time, I was only playing there with my band, but for sure that must have been 2009, last year at the former venue. It was raining all week and the festival area became a big pool of mud.
Some people couldn’t leave, because their cars got stuck in the mud. Impossible to organise a festival I am not exaggerating, just google “Mighty Sounds 2009” and see the pics. No surprise that in 2010 we moved to the Tabor Airport closer to Tabor.

Athenscalling.gr: If you don’t mind, I’d love to talk a little about you as well…
Do you remember the first festival you ever attended? In which country and at what age?

Markéta Broumová:Now you made me doubt. But it must have been small Czech festival called Sazava Fest, where I was singing backing vocals in a band of my high school mate. The band was called Slot and Shade. So I think I started to go to festival with the backstage view already. No surprise I ended up in the production area of the Mighty Sounds Festival.

Athenscalling.gr: What kind of music do you listen to? What genre excites you the most?

Markéta Broumová:I like indie pop, the bands I listened to the most as a teenager were Oasis, Blur, Gorillaz and similar. Now it would be Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire, Massive Attack, Everything Everything, Editors, Foals. I like guitars, so this year, I am very much looking forward to Fidlar at the Mighty Sounds Festival. But also I like the music you can dance to, so the comeback of Irie Révoltés made me really happy, this is going to be great. I am open to all genres…

Athenscalling.gr: Since we’re talking about you, one more question—what was the first album you ever bought?
Markéta Broumová: I think it must have been Oasis – What’s the Story Morning Glory. It was a cassette and I strongly doubt it was original.

Athenscalling.gr: Back to Mighty Sounds Festival… Besides music, what else can visitors enjoy at the event?

Markéta Broumová: There is so much – great choice of food, some sport and fun activities, we will have a karaoke again this year, then various theatre performances on our smallest, but very popular Black Coffee Stage, you can get a tattoo… For kids, there is a kids corner. I believe no one is bored with us.

Athenscalling.gr: Any surprises planned for this year’s edition?
Markéta Broumová: The biggest surprise, the comeback of Irie Révoltés, is already revealed. But as mentioned before – this festival can surprise you with music you didn’t know before.

Athenscalling.gr: And before I say goodbye and thank you—sending love from Greece to all of you—
Could you send a message to those attending the festival… and also to those who haven’t decided yet?
Markéta Broumová: Don’t miss out this year. You won’t regret. See you in 27-29 June in Tábor!