Nazareth and IRA at Thanks Jimi Festival: rock hits at Wrocław’s Centennial Hall

International rock legends NAZARETH and Polish audience favourites IRA will perform in Wrocław on 1 May at Thanks Jimi Festival, which will host the 13th attempt to set a new GUINNESS GUITAR RECORD! Timeless hits including “Love Hurts”, “Hair Of The Dog” and “Dream On”, alongside “Nadzieja”, “Mój dom” and “Wiara”, will ring out during the CONCERT OF STARS at Wrocław’s Centennial Hall.

NAZARETH is a legendary band. Its albums have sold millions of copies.

In 1968, the members began performing together as The Shadettes, mainly in pubs in their home town of Dunfermline, Scotland. Around the turn of 1970/71, they decided to rename the band Nazareth. Refreshing the band's image was connected with recording their first album for a prestigious London label.

From that point, Nazareth entered their greatest period, with the 1973 albums “Razamanaz” and “Loud 'n' Proudz” taking them to the top of the charts in Western Europe. Released in 1975, “Hair of the Dog” earned the band worldwide recognition and sold more than a million copies in the United States alone.

When Nazareth's leader and hypnotic singer Dan McCafferty announced in August 2013 that he was forced to retire, questions arose about the band's future. Since then, the musicians had been seeking a worthy replacement.

This year, Nazareth fans welcomed news that the band were returning to tour with new singer Carl Sentance. As bassist and founder Pete Agnew said: “Sentance simply blew us away at the very first audition.”

Nazareth will perform in Wrocław with Carl Sentance (vocals), Pete Agnew (bass guitar), Jimmy Murrison (guitar) and Lee Agnew (drums).

This will be Poland’s first opportunity to see Carl Sentance in action, as the singer will only begin working with the band in April 2015. Audiences at the Concert of Stars in Centennial Hall will be able to discover the band’s new incarnation. Alongside NAZARETH, the event will feature the world’s most famous violinist, NIGEL KENNEDY, with his special “Hendrix Project” programme, and Polish rock legends IRA.

The Star Concert will begin at 17.00, immediately after the attempt to set a new Guinness Guitar Record, taking place this year at a new venue: the Pergola in the Centennial Hall complex.

As record-attempt creator Leszek Cichoński says: “Two stages, one outdoors at the Pergola and one inside Centennial Hall, will allow us to organise the event to the highest standard and avoid gaps between individual artists' concerts. The Pergola stage is only 100 metres from Centennial Hall.”

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