The two-day music festival Garáž, dedicated to discovering and showcasing new Slovak artists, is moving to Bunky na Looke on 3–4 July 2026. The new cultural venue, located between the underpass on Hasičská Street and the Fiesta Bridge in Trenčín, will host the festival’s sixth edition, featuring guest performances by The Wilderness, David Kollar with his solo project Guitar Stories, France’s Blue Katrice, and many others. The programme also includes five music discussions, the family-friendly Hudbohry programme, and a range of accompanying activities. Admission is free.
Garáž is a festival for those who want to discover new music before everyone else does. From more than 125 submitted projects, an international jury selected ten acts spanning genres from Bratislava shoegaze (mela) and folk/spoken word (Adam Traumer, JULIA VRANUCH) to electronic art-rock (MonoPlastic), who, thanks to Garáž, have also secured a performance slot at Pohoda Festival 2026.
More information about all performers is available here:
https://www.trencin2026.eu/en/podujatie/garage/
“Up to 125 genre-diverse projects applied to Garáž this year, once again proving that a great deal of exciting new music is being created in Slovakia and that it makes sense to provide space for it. We are delighted that this collaboration is helping some of these artists open new opportunities and reach new audiences,” says Garáž Programme Manager Pavol Čižmár.
Among this year’s guests are two names well known to music fans. The Wilderness, a hardcore/punk band from Trnava active since 2011, performs publicly only on rare occasions but remains one of the country’s most respected underground acts. They were also the very first band to open the Garáž stage at Pohoda Festival.
The second featured guest is David Kollar, Slovak guitarist and composer, two-time recipient of the Slnko v sieti award for Best Original Film Score and a member of the project KoMaRa alongside Pat Mastelotto of King Crimson. He will present his solo project Guitar Stories – a hypnotic blend of ambient music, cinematic soundscapes, and live electronics.
Discussions will play an equally important role in this year’s programme. Five conversations will explore topics shaping today’s music scene: why Slovak music exports still depend more on individuals than on systems, who shapes our musical taste in the age of algorithms, and what the music we listen to when we are sad reveals about us. Michal Kaščák, founder of Pohoda Festival, will address what happens to emerging music when spaces for experimentation disappear. David Kollar will share stories from his journey from Prešov to collaborations with artists such as Steven Wilson and Thomas Newman. All discussions will be moderated by Peter “Faun” Dolník from Rádio_FM.
For children and families, the Hudbohry programme offers an afternoon of free musical play, workshops, and a sound laboratory led by music and movement educator Magdaléna Cifrová. Visitors can also enjoy a music quiz, a second-hand record and cassette market, a DIY textile workshop, and street food.
Garáž 2026 is one of the first events to bring Bunky na Looke to life – a new cultural space in Trenčín between the underpass on Hasičská Street and the Fiesta Bridge. The festival takes place on 3 and 4 July, and admission is free on both days. The full programme is available at trencin2026.eu/en/podujatie/garage.
Garáž is organized by Trenčín 2026 – European Capital of Culture in cooperation with Pohoda Festival. The project is financially supported by the City of Trenčín, the Trenčín Self-Governing Region, and the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. The European Union is a partner of Trenčín 2026.
