Welcome Scene is a Slunovrat speciality. You will find it outside the White Castle in a free-of-charge zone in the Castle park. This gives those visiting the Castle an opportunity to sample the festival music for free.
Those performing on the Welcome Scene need to audition for the chance to present their music to the festival audience. Welcome Scene represents a great opportunity for young and up-and-coming musicians. However, even professional and established artists register for a slot on the Welcome Scene. The performers are selected by a music journalist Milan Tesař, a Slunovrat team member Ondra Oborný, and the festival partners Frontman.cz, Radio Proglas, and Dzielnica brzmi dobrze (a project from the Polish Katowice supporting local bands).
Welcome Scene draws attention of music dramaturges and journalists. Artists performing on the Welcome Scene then have a chance to secure performances elsewhere. Another Slunovrat tradition is that one of the performers from Welcome Scene gets the opportunity to perform on one of the main festival stages the next year.
The audition for “Welcome Scene 2022” runs from October 10 to December 31, 2021, when bands can apply by filling in the application form (downloadable below) and sending it to the following email: welcome@hradeckyslunovrat.cz The selected bands will be announced no later than January 17, 2022, when the results of the audition will be announced.
Another great benefit for musicians performing on this stage is that they often get additional concert opportunities thanks to their performances at the Hradec Králové Solstice, as the festival is also visited by numerous dramaturgs and music publicists. It has become a tradition that the following year one of the Welcome Scene bands is cast on one of the main stages of the festival. Through programme cooperation with festivals such as the “Summer Film School Uherské Hradiště”, “Boskovice – Festival for the Jewish Quarter”, “KUKOKLI” or “Polish Days in Ostrava”, Welcome Scene bands are invited to participate in the programme at these and other cultural events and festivals.
In 2019, a selection CD of the work of the Welcome Stage performers was released for the first time. You can listen to a compilation of songs by each of the Welcome Stage bands from the last 3 editions of the festival at the links below:
