Where the Wild Tunes Are

Spending a whole weekend with friends in the countryside, living in a tent, partying late into the night and listening to non-stop music, live or played by a DJ: Music festivals in Germany are an integral part of the cultural landscape and, for many Germans, are among the most enjoyable activities of the year. Here we’ll present a few of them acoustically and in pictures.

Here's to the nights that turned into mornings and the friends that turned into family

Anonymus

Canadian musicians at German festivals
"When the sound is right, I'm all in!"

How do Canadian artists experience German music festivals? We spoke to Montrealers Marie Davidson and Patrick Watson and asked about their experiences and impressions.

Music festivals in Germany

For many Germans, attending a music festival is one of the most important events of the year. It’s about more

than music, though. The multi-day events with dozens of groups and performers are about celebrating, dancing, new experiences, making friends, testing boundaries, and expanding horizons. The festival landscape is as diverse as the fans' preferences, and often the organizers' offerings are so wide-ranging that visitors can put together their own individual program. From the hundreds of German music festivals, we have selected a few that we found particularly noteworthy and that have a clear musical or conceptual profile. To each we have provided an acoustic background in the form of playlists that match the festival program. The result is a small musical journey through Germany with eight stops so far. Discover the sound of the festivals and maybe even your next favorite tune.

Festivalbesucher stehen auf einem alten Flugzeughangar neben einer beleuchteten Fusion-Rakete.

Lärz
Fusion

Fusion is considered the free spirit among the festivals, and what the people seek and experience here is as diverse as themselves. What unites them is the freedom to be as they want to be: unconstrained and uncontrolled.

Neustrelitz
Immergut

Thousands of indie pop fans make their annual pilgrimage to what is perhaps one of the most beautiful festival grounds in Germany – three stages amidst pine trees and small lakes hidden in the forest.

Rees-Haldern
Haldern Pop

Held on a riding ground in the 5,000-strong village of Haldern on the Lower Rhine, every year you can marvel at who will be making a name for themselves in the next few years in experimental rock, pop, electronic, folk, and punk.

Joëlle Landré auf dem Moers Festival 2021.

Moers
mœrs festival

It’s one of the oldest festivals in Germany, but it hasn’t gathered any dust – every year since 1972 all varieties of experimental music can be discovered here.

Ferropolis
Splash!

The splash! festival is Germany’s biggest hip hop event and enjoys the status of an annual family reunion in the scene. Since 1998, it has stood for a top-class lineup with the biggest names in rap as well as up-and-coming artists from Germany and the rest of the world.

Der Firmengarten von Glitterhouse Records

Beverungen
Orange Blossom Special

The OBS is a miniature parallel universe for fans of indie rock, Americana, indie pop, folk, and related genres. Although it is one of the smallest festivals in Germany, it enjoys an excellent worldwide reputation.

Ferropolis
Melt

The Melt Festival promises its visitors a whole new world, far from the barriers of everyday life. On a unique site, a clever mix of guitar pop, experimental R&B, and electronics is offered.

Leipzig
Wave-Gotik-Treffen

Things get dark in Leipzig every year at Whitsun: The Wave-Gotik-Treffen is the largest and most important event of the so-called “black scene,” covering a huge spectrum of related genres from medieval and classical sounds to gothic, EBM, and black metal.

Thank YOu!

We owe a big thank you for the help in creating the playlists, collecting information and for many of the beautiful pictures: Sylvana Brozi, Nina Nagele, Mareen Paap, Stefanie Rogoll, Frank Hissenkämper, Dennis Kastrup, Stefan Reichmann, Rembert Stiewe and Thorsten Töpp. Translations: Faith Ann Gibson (EN) and Nathalie Huet (FR). Thank you!

More about the German music scene

Dance party with a dark side: open-air music festivals emit huge amounts of CO2.

Green Touring
Culture should not destroy the climate

Artists and producers from the music scene are actively interested in environmental conservation. Some question whether preventing plastic waste at festivals and concerts is enough though when the travel involved in touring itself produces tons of CO2.

Review
2020: The Year in Music

Crisis, cancellations, economic drawbacks - the cultural sector had a tough year. Nevertheless, there was no talk of standstill - quite the opposite: the pandemic forced music makers and audiences into the virtual sphere and awakened the innovative power of the crisis.

Popcast
in August

The latest music from Germany - every month in our Popcast. This time with Anika, KMRU and others.

Top

Where the Wild Tunes Are

Canadian musicians at German festivals "When the sound is right, I'm all in!"

Music festivals in Germany

Lärz Fusion

Neustrelitz Immergut

Rees-Haldern Haldern Pop

Moers mœrs festival

Ferropolis Splash!

Beverungen Orange Blossom Special

Ferropolis Melt

Leipzig Wave-Gotik-Treffen