I received a reminder today from the organisers of the Reeperbahn Festival, which takes place in Hamburg at the beginning of September, that submissions to play there this year (or to take an active part in one or more of the many conference sessions, say as a panelist or speaker) must be made by 30th April.
I haven’t been to Reeperbahn for a few years now but I always found it to be probably the premier showcase festival in Europe and definitely worth applying for. It’s probably the most ‘fun’ festival there is.
It’s a big festival, second only in size to SXSW I believe, with around 50,000 visitors each year, many of them industry professionals, with as many as 475 gigs by 400 bands and artists from 40 countries.
And if you’re good enough to get yourself selected for the Anchor Awards evening you get the chance to meet judges like Tony Visconti (producer to Bowie, T. Rex, The Moody Blues, Sparks, Morrissey etc) and top artists and radio DJs from across the world including the US.
Artists like Ed Sheeran, Bon Iver, Lewis Capaldi, and, more pertinently, Sigrid and Aurora, all played Reeperbahn along the way to making their breakthrough.
I don’t see too many confirmed artists yet but the pace will quicken rapidly in the next few days so if you are interested, get a move on!
This is where you apply: https://www.reeperbahnfestival.com/en/artist-submission.
If you want to read my honest opinion of the festival, warts and all, (and perhaps have a laugh) you can read my review of the 2018 event in the ‘From the Archives’ section of NMC, the link is here:
And here is the ‘aftermovie’ from the 2024 festival:
