ROCKTAGONS '26

ROCKTAGONS '26 is the first edition of Jelgava's rock music festival, held on 26 September 2026 at Pasta sala, an island park in the centre of the city. It is a competition and concert for new rock talent, staged together with the closing of the Latvian motorcycle season.

The day begins at 10:00, when motorcycle clubs from across Latvia gather in the courtyard of Jelgava Palace. At 13:00 the parade sets off through the streets of the city and finishes at Pasta sala.

From 14:00 to 20:00 the main stage belongs to the competition for new Latvian rock bands. Every band performs one mandatory song from the double album Jelgavas Alternatīvā mūzika 1991-2017, and the entries are assessed by two juries: a professional music jury and a jury formed by the motorcycle clubs.

The competition runs alongside the festival's side programme, which turns the park into a working showground: a MAG welding contest judged by leading Latvian motorcycle builders, a chilli-eating championship, a craft market, working tattoo artists, street food and a festival beer brewed by the local Jelgava brewery Viedi.

From 20:00 until the early hours the stage is taken by the headliners, Miks Galvanovskis, Laime Pilnīga and Huskvarn.

ROCKTAGONS is produced by the Latvian Rock Music Association under the slogan Roks dzīvo Jelgavā " Rock lives in Jelgava". The festival's ambition is to grow into an annual international meeting point for emerging rock bands in the Baltic region.