The Sziget Festival is one of the largest music and cultural festivals in Europe. It is held every August in northern Budapest, Hungary, on Óbudai-sziget, a leafy 108-hectare (266-acre) island on the Danube. More than 1,000 performances take place each year.
Hungarian rock has been a part of the popular music of Hungary since the early 1960s. The first major bands were Illés, Metró and Omega. At the time, rock was not approved of by the Hungarian Communist authorities. In the 1970s, the Communists cracked down on rock, and Illés was banned from recording. Some members of the other bands formed a supergroup called Locomotiv GT, while the band Omega became very popular in Germany.
Blind Myself is a Hungarian metalcore band formed in 1995.
Quimby is an alternative rock band popular on the Hungarian music scene. Enjoying large crowds across the nation, they have had successes at music festivals such as the Sziget Festival. Together for over 25 years, the band has a large collection of studio albums and one live CD/DVD combo to their credit.
The Idoru is a post-hardcore band from Budapest, Hungary. It was formed in 2003 by ex-members of the Hungarian hard-core and metalcore band Newborn. The original line-up consisted of Tibor Szalkai (guitars), Gábor Nagy (guitars), Mátyás Mohácsi (bass), Denis Valach (drums) and András Bödecs (vocals). However, three of the original members left the band in 2009.
Superbutt is a Hungarian rock and heavy metal band. The Budapest-based act started up in 2000, and has released five full-length albums in English, as well as a 4 track EP and a bonus disc for their latest album with 4 new songs in Hungarian. Superbutt has toured all across Europe since 2001 and played over 600 concerts in 15 countries.
Compact Disco is a Hungarian electronic music band and musical producer trio based in Budapest, founded in 2008 by three musicians of varying musical backgrounds. The band represented Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
EZ Basic is a guitar-pop, indie-rock project based in Budapest, Hungary formed in 2004. It started out as an experimental bedroom project in the early 00s and is noted for being one of the most eclectic bands of the Budapest indie music scene.
Warpigs is a Hungarian rock band formed in 1993 .
An Imaginary Report on an American Rock Festival is a Hungarian musical by composer Gábor Presser, lyricist Anna Adamis and book writer Sándor Pós based on the short novel of the same name by Tibor Déry. The musical premiered in 1973, and being the first successful Hungarian rock musical opened the way for popular music to Hungarian theatres and literature. It is set in a U.S. rock festival and tells a story of a married Hungarian immigrant couple.
The Poster Boy is a Hungarian indie rock band from Budapest, Hungary. The band's line-up consists of Imre Poniklo from the Budapest-based indie-rock band Amber Smith, Noel R. Mayer from the alternative rock band, The Walrus, and Michael Zwecker from the Pécs-based alternative rock band Kispál és a borz plus Zoltán Fehér "Szegecs". The band members decided to form a band while chatting about the Hungarian indie scene in a bar in Budapest. In a couple of months they wrote several songs which were recorded in late 2011.
Takács Zoltán is Hungarian musician and record producer, best known internationally as the keyboardist of the Hungarian alternative rock band Heaven Street Seven and the producer of Ivan & The Parazol's Mama Don't You Recognize Ivan & The Parazol.
Sexepil is a Hungarian indie-alternative rock band based in Budapest, Hungary. The band was formed by Zoltán Hegyi, Viktor László, Tamás Kocsis, and Tibor Vangel in 1984.
György Ligeti is a Hungarian indie musician, record producer, best known as the lead singer, songwriter, lyricist and guitarist of the indie rock band We Are Rockstars, and the disbanded The Puzzle. He is also the singer and guitarist of the Hungarian electro band, Žagar. He is not related to the avant-garde classical composer of the same name, György Ligeti (1923–2006).
Máté Balla is a Hungarian rock musician, best known as the guitarist of the garage rock band Ivan & The Parazol.
Carbovaris were a short-lived Hungarian indie rock band based in Budapest, Hungary, formed in 2009. The band consisted of members Ármin Jamak (vocals), Dániel Nyitray (bass), Soma Balázs (guitars), Zsombor Lehoczky (drums).
Fran Palermo is a Hungarian indie rock band. It was formed by the singer-songwriter Henri Gonzo in late 2011 in Budapest, Hungary. The band's music and style are characterized by different genres, mostly by indie, rock and roll, afro pop and even by Mediterranean vibes. The unique and original soundscape requires a bigger band on the stage. The specialty of the band comes not just from mixing different instruments, but from the diverse origin of the members. They have a vivid inherited cultural background such as Cuban, Spanish, Greek and Hungarian. By now Fran Palermo has become one of Budapest's main concert bands, owning numerous loyal fans.
Soulwave is a Hungarian indie and folk alternative rock band from Körmend.
Blahalouisiana are a Hungarian indie-pop/beat-rock/pop-rock band from Székesfehérvár, Hungary. It consists of vocalist Barbara Schoblocher, lead guitarist András Szajkó, bassist Gábor Jancsó, guitarist László Mózner, drummer Ádám Juhász and keyboardist Máté Pénzes. They released their first self-titled studio album in 2016 after gaining audience in the summer festival season in 2015.
Carson Coma is a Hungarian alternative rock band formed in 2018, which won the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Hungarian Act in 2022. They released their first album Corduroy Club in April 2019, which included the singles "What A Time To Be Alive" and "Song About My Grandma". Since their first album, on which the majority of songs were in English, they have switched to producing Hungarian-language music. They have subsequently released three further albums, as well as seven non-album singles, and an EP.
