Mieczysław Wróbel, founder and leader of Mietek Blues Band, has died at 72

Death announced by bandmates

• Mieczysław Wróbel, founder and leader of Mietek Blues Band, died on 21 October 2026 at age 72.
• His bandmates announced the death on social media.
• The band was formed in 1976 in Gdańsk and performed at major Polish and European festivals.
• Wróbel remained active on stage for more than fifty years.

Mieczysław Wróbel died on 21 October 2026 at the age of 72 (Nie żyje Mieczysław Wróbel. Wielka strata dla polskiego bluesa – rozrywka.radiozet.pl). The guitarist founded the Tricity band Mietek Blues Band and led it for decades (Nie żyje legenda polskiego bluesa. „Wiadomość przyszła jak grom” – RMF FM). Members of the group announced the death on social media, writing that the news had hit them hard and offering condolences to his family (Nie żyje Mieczysław Wróbel. "Informacja przyszła jak grom" – Radio Gdańsk).

Band history

Wróbel formed the group in 1976 together with Zbigniew "Oliver" Łaski. They started out playing student clubs in Gdańsk and built a reputation by mixing American blues with jazz, soul and rock elements. In 1979 the band won prizes at the Jarocin festival, and a year later it performed abroad, including in Finland.

Over the following decades the group played regularly at major Polish and European festivals, among them Rawa Blues, Jazz Jantar and Summer Jazz Days. A career high came in 2000, when the band performed at the Opera Leśna in Sopot, shortly before a concert by B.B. King there.

Recent performances

Wróbel stayed active on stage for more than fifty years. In August he appeared with his band again at the Radio Gdańsk concert studio. A few weeks before his death the band also played the Gdynia Blues Festival.