Founded in 1980, the festival was based on the earlier Wielkopolskie Rytmy Młodych (Greater Poland’s Rhythms of the Youth), which had been organised in Jarocin since 1971.
In 1980, due to Walter Chelstowski’s initiative, its name was changed to Ogólnopolski Przegląd Muzyki Młodej Generacji w Jarocinie (All-Polish Review of Music of Young Generation in Jarocin) and subsequently, musicians and bands from the whole country were invited.
The Festival attracted thousands of fans (e.g. in 1986 there were more than 30,000 of them), who lived in tents and came to listen to music which was otherwise hardly (or never) played on Polish radio or TV.
Still, many believe that Jarocin was designed by the totalitarian government's secret services, to create a "safe outlet" for the restless Polish youth.
Jarocin Festival lost its popularity in the early 1990s, after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the resulting easier access to alternative music.