Fête de la Musique: trombone choirs & amateur popstars
This Friday 21 June, the whole of Berlin will become a stage for the annual Fête de la Musique from 4pm to 10pm. This festival is quite literally unmissable: wherever you go, you will come across the official stages and acts scattered throughout the city, not to mention the amateur and professional musicians who spontaneously decide to perform live and accoustic on street corners, parks and U-Bahn stations. You can even join in, if the mood takes you, the only rules are that you must be perform acoustically, away from places such as graveyards or schools during lessons. You will find every kind of music at Fête de la Musique, from samba to gospel, electro to reggae, and all events are completely free of charge. Read on for our pick of the best official stages and performances this year.
Fête de la Musique Berlin 2012, "Bella Musica"choir under Wilfried Scheffler in front of the the Nikolaikirche ©Kai Bienert
With so many acts spread across the city, it is impossible to see everything. We’ve selected a few highlights from the Fête de la Musique 2013 programme, but it can be equally rewarding to simply take a stroll around your local neighbourhood, as the many spontaneous and unofficial who perform every year are often the most amusing, entertaining and enthusiastic.
Fete De La Musique 2012 Berlin, Skalitzer Straße ©Alex Laljak
- The ‘Turmblasen’ event, where Berlin’s trombone choirs take to towers and church steeples to herald in the summer:
Dorfkirche Rosenthal, Hauptstr. 154 (7pm-7.30pm)
Friedenskirche Niederschönhausen, Dietzgenstr. 19 (6pm-8pm)
Charlottenburg Town Hall, Otto-Suhr-Allee 100 (7pm)
Berlin Cathedral, Am Lustgarten (7pm) - The open-air stage in Mauerpark always draws huge crowds and relatively big name acts; Modeselektor, one of Berlin’s most popular electro Projects, will be headlining this year.
- Excellent classical music from Camerata Europaea at the magnificent Konzerthaus Berlin, Gendarmenmarkt (5pm-7pm)
- French chansons and pop at Café Brel (Savignyplatz 1, Charlottenburg)
- World music at Cabuwazi in Treptow, with circus workshops for children and the chance to try our exotic instruments (Bouchestr. 74, Treptow)
Fete De La Musique Berlin 2012, Skalitzer Straße ©Alex Laljak
Click here to view the interactive map of all official Fête de la Musique Berlin 2013 stages.
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- interactive map of Fête de la Musique stages 2013
As the name suggests, the Fête de la Musique originated in France. What began as a small event in Paris, initiated by the then Minister for Culture Jack Lang in 1982, has since grown to include 520 cities across the world, and has been a highlight in Berlin’s summer music calendar since 1995. To celebrate the Fête de la Musique, the Le Faubourg Lounge’s French DJ Myriam will be playing French music all night long, as always with a selection of deliciously cooling cocktails from the bar. The perfect end to a long day at Fête de la Musique!
Fête de la Musique Berlin
21 June, 16:00-22:00
Fête de la Nuit from 22:00
various locations throughout the city
free admission
Fête de la Nuit at Le Faubourg Lounge21 June, from 20:00
French music with DJ Myriam
Hotel Concorde Berlin, Augsburger Straße 41, Charlottenburg
Facebook event
