Away from Rock in the Park
The best tips for small festivals
Music fans can also party hard at smaller festivals.
© 2017 Matthias K/Shutterstock.com
Would you rather celebrate away from the big crowds? The festival summer of 2024 has these small festivals to offer.
Anyone who loves a relaxed and familiar atmosphere at festivals will be impressed by the big players like Rock in the park or hurricanes should be kept away. But there are enough smaller festivals in this country where music lovers get their money’s worth. You can avoid the large crowds with these tips:
Maifeld Derby
Over 60 artists from all over the world will perform at the Maifeld Derby in Mannheim. Punk, rap, techno – there is something for every music fan. Around 5,000 fans are traditionally expected at the Mannheim Maimarkt grounds. This year the festival will take place from May 31 to June 2.
Summertime Festival
The Summertime Festival invites you to tranquil Wolfenbüttel in Lower Saxony and has something for every musical taste. If you like a family and cozy atmosphere, you will really get your money’s worth under the old trees in Seeliger Park. The festival takes place on June 7th and 8th.
Pulse Open Air
A slightly larger number of visitors, but no less familiar: Puls, the young content network of Bavarian Radio, is once again hosting the Puls Open Air at Kaltenberg Castle in Geltendorf in Upper Bavaria from June 6th to 8th. In addition to music acts, there are also live podcasts and workshops, among other things.
Sea Rush Festival
Anyone who loves the sea will look forward to the Meeresrausch Festival. The beauty of art meets the diversity of music at the festival. On the island of Usedom on the Baltic Sea, the rush of the sea invites you to relax and enjoy breathtaking sunsets from June 13th to 16th. However, the organizers also had to inform in advance about “the saddest message in a bottle we have ever sent”: after twelve years, the festival will take place for the last time in 2024.
Watt en mud
This year’s Watt en Schlick Festival takes place from July 26th to 28th in Varel, Lower Saxony, on the North Sea. Three days of exciting culture on five stages, sustainable exchange and relaxed togetherness await. At the end of the festival, the German mud slide championship is traditionally held.
Sound of the Forest
The Sound of the Forest will take place from August 1st to 4th in 2024. The sustainable festival presents indie artists and newcomers at the Marbach reservoir in the Odenwald in Hesse and expects around 5,000 fans. “Anyone who knows the Shire from ‘Lord of the Rings’ will be able to imagine what it looks like here,” is how the organizers describe the venue.
Rocking at Brocken
Rocking at the Brocken takes place from August 1st to 3rd. In Elend, a district of the city of Oberharz am Brocken, visitors are expected under the motto “Nature. Music. Friendship”. They can not only listen to the music, but also go on an acoustic, ranger-led forest hike (acoustic path) as part of the supporting program or take part in the traditional football and volleyball tournament in the adjacent outdoor pool.
Spectrum Festival
If you want to dance to hip-hop and electro beats for a day, the Spektrum on the Alte Schleuse festival site in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg is the right place for you. On August 3, 2024, the event in the harbor setting will feature acts such as Juju, arrest warrant and Domiziana.
Wild Carrot Festival
The Wild Carrot Festival near Drebkau near Cottbus celebrated its tenth birthday in 2023. This year, from August 9th to 12th, visitors can look forward to workshops, walking acts, live bands and DJs. “The diverse musical journey ranges from futuristic sounds to acoustic melodies, accompanied by unique performances that cover the spectrum from theater and dance to spoken word and burlesque,” says the organizer.
Outdoor Festival
The future of the Freiland Festival was briefly in jeopardy, but in April Kulturgut Freiland eV was able to announce that the festival would continue to exist in a smaller form. And so this time too, visitors can look forward to music acts and a DJ line-up. From August 23rd to 26th, fans will celebrate in the Kieskuhle Broock in Alt Tellin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.