Is a summer really a summer if you don’t get wasted at a festival at least once? We don’t think so. And that’s why our colleagues over at tip Berlin have compiled a list of the very best festivals in and around Berlin this year and asked them: what makes you special?
Nation of Gondwana
July 19th – 21st, 2019 at Grünefeld
10,000 visitors, tickets €119.79, five stages: mainly techno and house, but also downbeat, disco, and rock’n’roll
What makes you special? “We let the main stage run only on Saturday night and on Sunday. Our focus is set substantially on dancing and on the music.”
Tag am Meer
July 6th, 2019 at Prora on Rügen island
2,000 visitors, tickets start at €27.60, two stages: house, electro, also disco
What makes you special? “The festival’s charm is due to its benefit to the public. Tag am Meer is co-organised by the Landesjugendverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (land youth group Mecklenburg-West Pomerania) – thus it’s a festival for the youth of the region, but there are also guests from Spain and Norway. That’s why we’re sold out every year, but we don’t want to grow larger.”
Wilde Möhre
August 9th – 12th, 2019 at Drebkau
5,000 visitors, tickets €115.42, five stages: hip-hop, indie, pop, ska, klezmer, techno, house
What makes you special? “We are a sustainable festival with eco-toilets, renewable energy, food sharing, strict waste separation, and compostable dishes. Apart from the carefully selected music programme that covers a remarkable number of genres and styles, visitors will find a cinema, theatre, lectures and multiple workshops covering all fields from DIY to physical activities. Art is going to be exhibited, there will be a wellness area, a lake for relaxing, and countless details that make the experience perfect. You can even get tattooed here.”
Off The Radar
July 25th – 28th, 2019 at Negenharrie
2,000 visitors, tickets €80, eight stages: punk, bass, techno, rock, electro, electropunk, drum&bass, dubstep, krautrock, avantgarde, future bass, indie
What makes you special? “We’ve founded a charity that supports humanitarian aid projects. In 2015/16, the charity joined NoBorderKitchen on the Greek islands. In 2016/17, we were able to get the mobile hospital of the NGO Cadus on its way to Iraq through donations from the music and party sector. Recently, we were in Bosnia and provided medical care to stranded refugees who are prevented from continuing their journey. It’s important to us to be present on location and make a difference.”
Pop-Kultur
August 21st – 23rd, 2019 at the Kulturbrauerei, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin
10,000 visitors, tickets €43.80, 15 stages: folk, pop, hip-hop
What makes you special? “We don’t put our focus too much on the music business, but rather on the needs of the artists, DJs and producers; on interdisciplinarity, diversity — and the coaching of up-and-coming artists in our parallel format ‘Pop-Kultur Nachwuchs’.”
Alínæ Lumr
August 25th – 28th, 2019 at Storkow (Mark)
1,000 visitors, tickets €64, five to six stages: indie, folk, neo-classical, pop
What makes you special? “Our festival isn’t held on a green field in the middle of nowhere, but right in the middle of the charming old town of Storkow: at the castle, at the market, the backyards, the old town church, on hidden lawns and meadows and by the lake, a carefully curated music and cultural programme is waiting for the visitors.”
3000 Grad
August 9th – 11th, 2019 at Feldberger Seenlandschaft (Feldberg lakeland)
4,500 visitors, tickets €129, eight floors: downbeat, world music, dub, ethno, techno, house, melodic, ambient, experimental electronica, singer/songwriter, ska
What makes you special: “The atmosphere that’s deliberately kept familial and relaxed, personal. We want to bring an ‘at the bonfire with mates’mood to the festival. That’s as important to us as the moments of great emotion in front of a large speaker with great musicians and artists.”
PXP
June 1st, 2019 at Parkbühne Wuhlheide, Köpenick, Berlin
20,000 visitors, tickets €39, one stage: hip-hop, pop, rock. electro
What makes you special? “The PXP festival has become one of the largest benefit festivals in Europe. All participating artists waive their fees. With the proceeds we can start and support a number of charity projects for children.”
Antaris
July 5th – 8th, 2019 at Stölln
8,000 visitors, advance tickets €123, €140 at the boxoffice, three floors: diverse electronic club music, full-on/psychedelic trance to progressive/forest
What makes you special? “Antaris is a very peaceful and ecstatic festival. Our trademark is the Antaris-UFO on the mainstage, the freaky black light disco in the form of a space ship. When you enter, you’re directly beamed to the party universe.”
Zurück zu den Wurzeln
June 6th – 9th at Niedergörsdorf
7,000 visitors, tickets €141.71, inclusion ticket €49.84, eight stages: dark forest, techno, tech-house, ambient, disco, reggae, Liedermacher (German singer/songwriter)
What makes you special? “We describe ourselves less as a music, but rather as an arts and culture festival. There are galleries — for example from Berlin’s former art centre Tacheles — workshops, lectures, political debates, and even a small library. Together with our guests we create a little utopia for four days, an antipole to the society of daily life. At our festival, people with disabilities can be right in the middle instead of on the side. That’s why we have designed the festival grounds to be as accessible as possible. It’s a tremendous effort and very expensive. But it’s worth it to us.”
https://www.wurzelfestival.de/
Translated by Aida Baghernejad
[smbtoolbar]