OVERVIEW: Concert, festival, and comedy line up for Prague in 2023

The concert lineup for 2023 in Prague is filled with current pop acts, some blasts from the past, musical virtuosos, and a lot of heavy metal. There will also be a few chances to laugh with top-level comedians. 

Depeche Mode has a large Czech following. They will be at Letiště Letňany in July to play material from their upcoming album “Memento Mori,” which should be released in early 2023. Another musician with a local following, former Velvet Underground member John Cale will be coming to Archa in March to support his new album “Mercy,” slated for release in January.

Roger Waters will play two concerts in May at O2 Arena in what he is calling his “first farewell tour.” People can expect to hear classic reworked versions of Pink Floyd material plus some of his solo work.

Waters caused some controversy with remarks he made about the conflict in Ukraine, which led to his shows in Poland being canceled but his Czech shows are still going to happen.

Big summer pop music shows will include Maroon 5 in June and The Weeknd in August, both at Letiště Letňany. The annual Metronome festival in Výstaviště Holešovice in June so far is headlined by Jamiroquai, though the whole lineup has been announced yet. In the fall, One Direction member Louis Tomlinson will come to O2 Arena.

Heavy metal fans are spoiled for choice, as all the usual suspects are scheduled to perform. Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest will finally play their long-delayed show, originally scheduled for the start of 2022. If you have never seen Ozzy, this might be your last chance as this outing is billed as No More Tours II. He retired previously in 1992, though, so you never know. (Update: The Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest concert has been canceled his due to health reasons.)

Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard will also appear together at the Prague Rocks concert at Letiště Letňany.

Iron Maiden will bring their Future Past tour to O2 Arena for two days at the end of May. And a name many people thought they would never get to see, Pantera is back with a new lineup featuring bassist Rex Brown and vocalist Phil Anselmo.

And if that is not enough, Rammstein lead singer Till Lindemann has a solo concert, Limp Bizkit will be at Forum Karlín, and Kiss is back for the third time on their extended farewell tour.  

Other notable acts headed our way include “Budapest” singer and guitarist George Ezra, Canadian pop-punk performer Avril Lavigne, faceless avant-garde musicians The Residents, progressive rock band Yes, Eurovision winner Måneskin, guitar virtuoso Joe Bonamassa, pianist Diana Krall, multi-instrumentalist Beth Hart, blues legend Buddy Guy, roots rockers Larkin Poe, and film score composer Hans Zimmer.

Some top stars of comedy and spoken word will also make appearances throughout the year. Henry Rollins, the former lead singer of Black Flag, will recount recent events from his life at Divadlo Na Fidlovačce as part of his Good to See Your 2023 tour.

Three top comics – Ricky Gervais, Dylan Moran, and Jim Jefferies – each return to bring us some of their insights into the modern world. There will also be another edition of the Comedy Store, this time with Laura Lexx, Lily Phillips, and Geoff Norcott.