Attending the Rockhard Festival has become an annual tradition. Aside from the fact that there are always a number of amazing bands playing every year, it’s also a chance to catch up with old & new friends. Plus, it’s one of the most enjoyable festivals, set in an incredibly beautiful and unique location: the Amphitheater in Gelsenkirchen.
This year we only attended on Sunday, but there were also a number of bands worth seeing on Friday and Saturday, including Armored Saint, Paradise Lost, and Dark Tranquillity.
But don’t worry, WDR Rockpalast was there again this year to capture the festival. [ https://www1.wdr.de/fernsehen/rockpalast/events/rock-hard-2026-medien-100.html
If you’re curious, be sure to check out the Rockpalast website.
Gus G. & Ronnie Romero
Anyway, since it was wonderfully crowded on the way there, we burst in just as Gus G. and Ronnie Romero were starting their set. The guys brought a setlist that was a mix of their own original material, but also included covers of bands they’d been part of in the past. Like Ozzy Osbourne, Rainbow, and a few Black Sabbath classics. A feast of familiarity, and with Gus and Ronnie, you know it’s guaranteed to be a fantastic performance.
Lucifer
Next up, Lucifer, the band led by singer Johanna Platow. This band’s hard rock and doom metal cuts through like a knife through butter. With incredible precision, this German-Swedish band delivers their songs to the audience, who, despite the heat [over 32 degrees], were thoroughly enjoying the performance. I saw the band a few years ago as well, but the new lineup is undeniably a step up to an even higher level of professionalism.
Uli Jon Roth
Legend Uli Jon Roth decided to perform a classic Scorpions album with his band. The 1976 album ‘Virgin Killer’ took center stage and was played in its entirety. They also played “In Trance” and the Bob Dylan song “All Along The Watchtower”—a song perhaps better known for the Hendrix version. In any case, Roth and his band once again delivered a fine performance, just as we’ve come to expect from this grandmaster of the guitar.
Mikkey Dee
Drummer Mikkey Dee is a master of a completely different caliber, paying tribute to his former band, Motörhead. I saw him perform with this “hobby” project two years ago at the Jailbreak festival in Denmark, but this tribute has definitely made some serious musical strides, because while things were still a bit rough around the edges back in Denmark, now these three gentlemen delivered a performance that was tight as hell. AND of course, it’s a real treat when the songs of crowd favorite Motörhead blast through the speakers. On top of that, the sound is absolutely killer and can even reach the decibel levels of a show by the grandmasters themselves. It’s awesome that Dee keeps the band’s legacy alive between his gigs as a drummer for the Scorpions.
Saxon
Following the release of their amazing 2024 album ‘Hell Fire and Damnation’, Saxon embarked on a successful tour in 2025. However, in the summer, right in the middle of the festival season, the tour had to be interrupted so that singer Biff Byford could undergo emergency surgery and chemotherapy for cancer. Now, a year later, the band is back on the road, and Biff sounds as if nothing ever happened—even though this is the second time he’s been struck by this terrible disease. Saxon has always been a band worthy of closing out a festival, but somehow it seems as if the entire band is possessed and on fire. Damn, what energy, what a sound, what hunger Saxon radiates in 2026. From the opener “Hell, Fire And Damnation” through the closing number “Princes Of The Night,” the band manages to convince and once again confirm why they’ve been so beloved for over 50 years.
Saxon are true Crusaders, and the audience heads home with a sense of satisfaction. Rockhard Festival 2026 has come to an end; and this edition the weather gods were more than kind.
I’m already curious to see who we’ll get to see at this wonderful festival next year.
Report & Images by Raymond Helebrand
