KŽ 2025 in short:
The event was a success. Thank you for coming. We’ll meet again.
For the rest of you craving a longer read, here’s a deeper look at KŽ 2025:
It’s been only a week since the KILKIM ŽAIBU anniversary. You’d think that it’s enough time to rest and recover. But it’s not. For us organisers, the festival isn’t over yet. And with the ever-growing pile of reports and invoices, it’s not likely to be over anytime soon. It feels like fighting a dragon – you cut off a dozen heads, only to see a hundred more grow in their place. The Thunderous festival still isn’t satisfied — it senses we’ve still got some life left and keeps squeezing us in its steel grip.
Although hardened by years, we still feel both exhilarated and exhausted by the powerful festival. It was as if we had willingly entered a self-imposed slavery, where no one forced us, yet we bent our necks to make everyone – from the first musician to the last member of the crowd – happy. So that our dedication to the cause of metal left no doubt. So that everyone left satisfied, satiated, and carrying a few treats home for their loved ones.
Of course, it’s something us mortals can’t hope to accomplish. There will always be someone unhappy and disappointed. But this time their voices seem to have softened. We gauge how happy the audience was from fewer angry comments. If everything’s fine, there’s just silence. And now, it’s quiet enough. This means that, at least for the most part, we’ve made it. It’s peaceful at last.
Are we satisfied with the festival ourselves? Hell yeah! Of course, more understanding of what happened will come as the event’s crazy pace slows down. But even now, we can appreciate certain parts of the event, and they’re definitely better than at any time before.
THE MUSIC. We’re pleased that everything went well. All the bands invited made it to the festival. The live shows were powerful, putting any doubts about the lineup to rest. BENEDICTION lost their instrument baggage, and FINNTROLL’s luggage – along with their sound and lighting engineers – went missing too. That didn’t stop them from delivering great shows, and our tech team proved they can handle all kinds of challenges. Thanks to them.
THE PROGRAMME went exactly as planned. The three-day, three-night programme went smoothly and on time. We’re grateful to the artists of the historic programme and to everyone who organised the educational activities and entertainment. This year, our visitors had the opportunity to visit the museum of the Manor of President Antanas Smetona. We had to cancel a few meetings with the bands because the journalist scheduled to conduct the interviews had to leave the event due to a family emergency. We're truly sorry for the loss.
THE AUDIENCE. We are really proud of you. The bad weather, especially on the first day, didn’t spoil the mood – the crowd stayed positive throughout the whole event. Thank you for your smiles and good vibes! Meanwhile, the festival’s cleanliness deserves a whole separate post. There was no clean-up, because there was nothing to clean. The lightning-fast trash picking after the EXCREMENTORY GRINDFUCKERS was impressive even to those who’ve seen it all. Thank you! You’re awesome!
THE STAGES. There were some comments about the sound drifting away from the Perkūnas stage, as this time it was positioned sideways to the lake. However, this is our ambition, realised in Ukmergė for the first time. Visually, it looks better there. Since the weather conditions allowed it, for the anniversary, we put in the effort to haul that 40-tonne transformer onto softer ground. Will we risk this in the future? It’s hard to tell. But we were pleased that the attempt worked out. Pikuolis stage, as always, ran without a hitch. And the newly-introduced Folk stage proved a real success, quickly winning over a loyal crowd. A big thanks to all stage crews for making it all so good!
THE GATE. We’ve managed to evade excessive queues. And if there were any, they were small and unavoidable. Big thanks to the volunteers and security – great job all around!
THE PARKING. All of them were full with a few spots here and there. We already have a few ideas how to make it better in the future.
THE SECURITY. Changing the security worked out well. The services were of very high quality. Thank you.
THE TOILETS. Thank you TOI TOI. It was great!
THE VENDOR ALLEY. A big thanks to all vendors – you really help make the festival shine.
UKMERGĖ CITY AUTHORITIES. A sincere thank you for your understanding and support!
THE TEAM. For the first time, our festival had such a big and dedicated team of organisers and volunteers. We really value and need everyone of you. You faced the elements, you toiled, but you pulled off something incredible. I am incredibly proud of you all and truly happy to be among you. And thank you to all the kind-hearted people, thank you to those who bought the super fan tickets, who supported us, helped out, and simply came to the festival. Your smiles is the best reward.
We’re already looking forward to the thunderous 26th edition!
On behalf of the team
Sincerely,
Daividas.
