Live, in Photos: Open’er Festival 2026 with The Cure, The xx, Addison Rae, and More

Live, in Photos: Open’er Festival 2026 with The Cure, The xx, Addison Rae, and More

Shots of PinkPantheress, JENNIE, Matt Berninger, Kneecap, and more at the annual event set at an airport outside of Warsaw.

Words: FLOOD Staff

Photos: Joshua Mellin

July 06, 2026

Open’er Festival takes place at the Gdynia-Kosakowo airport in Gdynia, a beach town about three hours outside of Warsaw. The airfield remains unfinished despite being built prior to WWII, and apparently the festival is required to construct stages that can be easily broken down should an emergency dictate its use. This felt relevant over the festival weekend as news broke that Putin was considering attacking Poland amid the ongoing war with Ukraine to test UN resolve.

The fest itself seemed a little unfinished this season. I last attended in 2024, and I noted then that it’s essentially Poland’s Coachella. Back then it was overrun with sponsor programming, and there was even a Beverly Hills Cop house on site. This year was pretty pared down in comparison—hell, they didn’t even completely mow the lawn. On the first day, the grass and weeds across the site were well overgrown, though they were almost instantly trampled by fans and rain. There was a Mattel house with Barbie and Hot Wheels on site this year, as well as a recreation of PKO Bank Polski. They specifically recreated its iconic circular rotunda for those who go to music festivals to manage their banking. The installation remained empty for most of the event.

As we all know by now, The xx are back, and they sounded pristine after an eight-year hiatus. Following their set, David Byrne took the stage and shared that he’d visited Gdansk’s Solidarity Museum with his band. While few of the performers this weekend seemed to venture beyond their call times and hotel rooms, it’s endearing that Byrne felt a responsibility to more fully experience the area he’s visiting, exhibiting a sense of curiosity that comes through in his songwriting across his illustrious career. It pained me to walk away during “And She Was,” but I’d been looking forward to Florence + the Machine’s Everybody Scream tour, which turned out to be possibly her most engaging production—largely defined by an even witchier aura than usual—in 15 years.

After skipping the festival’s second day, day three started with technical difficulties for Slowdive and a sparse crowd for Panda Bear and Sonic Boom that even included several nappers. That night, The Cure took the stage as headliners to a much healthier looking audience size. In a light rain, they delivered a several-hour parade of hits and lesser-known songs swinging between their light and darker modes.

It didn’t seem like the festival really got going until the final day, Saturday, when the grounds were suddenly flooded with fans for the allotted pop-girlie day. Addison Rae kicked things off with the final show of her “The Fame & Glory Show Tour,” getting emotional at the end of the set as she spoke about the journey she’s been on over the past few years. With Teddy Swims sandwiched between the pop girlies, JADE was a great surprise later in the day. With an amazing energy, a well-performed set, and amazing fan engagement, she’s someone you hope to see in a festival lineup.

I wish the festival had worked Polish acts into the schedule more organically. They seemed mostly relegated to smaller side stages against larger artists. It was kind of a stretch to expect anyone would give up seeing major artists just to give them a listen. I did, however, go to a morning show with Misia Furtak at the Culture Consulate in Gdynia as part of a morning program with the festival. Her music mixes a raw, bass-driven vulnerability with a really polished alt-rock sound, and she brings a deep emotional gravity to her live sets that feels incredibly delicate yet commanding. It was a completely captivating performance and exactly the kind of local showcase the main festival grounds were sorely missing. — Joshua Mellin