Festival

At the start of the Bavarian summer holidays, Nuremberg once again transforms into a metropolis of world music, celebrating cultural diversity and fostering open minds. From Friday, August 1, to Sunday, August 3, the Bardentreffen world music festival will bring the city center to life with a carefully curated international concert program across eight stages, along with numerous participating street musicians.
In 2025, this beloved festival classic will spotlight the theme "Respect!"—a virtue more relevant and essential than ever. Over the course of three festival days, artists from all continents will demonstrate that respect is not only the foundation of musical collaboration but also a key element of peaceful coexistence on the streets and squares of Nuremberg during Bardentreffen. The focus is particularly on artists who stand up for emancipation and equal rights. 

The festival kicks off with the Argentine-Mexican group Kumbia Queers, blending Tropi-Punk and Cumbia sounds, as well as U.S. soul singer and bassist Nik West. Representing Brazil are award-winning singer-songwriter Badi Assad and Ana Frango Elétrico, as the central figure in contemporary Brazilian popular music. The ten musicians of the Balkan Paradise Orchestra from Catalonia are redefining the traditionally male-dominated Balkan brass tradition, while the electro-rap project Aïta Mon Amour from Casablanca brings Morocco’s ancient tradition of female poets and singers into the present.
Fans of songwriting art in German language can look forward to performances by Paula Carolina, Alin Coen, Austrian singer-songwriter Anna Mabo, and musical cabaret artist Anna Mateur & The Beuys, whose sharp-witted lyrics reflect the spirit of our times.

Whenever the summer sun shines at its warmest and the holidays are just around the corner, the people of Nuremberg prepare the stages for an almost 50-year-old tradition in the most picturesque places in their city: the Bardentreffen invites you to a superlative music festival in the heart of the historic old town over three days at the end of July. However, contrary to what the title might suggest, this is not about the music of the Middle Ages - far from it! The music programme focuses on the current trends and currents of the international world music scene, global pop and singer-songwriting. With over 200,000 guests and around 400 artists on 8 stages, it is considered the “largest free and open-air music festival in Germany” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) and one of the most important of its kind in Europe. Like good wine, a hand-picked programme matures over several months, appealing to experienced music lovers as well as spontaneous strollers from young to old. The many hundreds of street musicians at every corner of the festival also contribute to the relaxed atmosphere during the festival days. They have chosen the Bardentreffen as their Mecca.

With Thomas Gottschalk as presenter and singers such as Heinz Rudolf Kunze, Klaus Lage and Thommie Bayer as debutants, the Bardentreffen was founded in 1976 as a singer-songwriter competition to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of the Nuremberg cobbler and poet Hans Sachs, who lives on to this day as a stage character in Richard Wagner's “Meistersinger” opera. Over the years, the festival has grown, the stages have become bigger, the sound has changed and the Bardentreffen has opened up to the current international world music scene. And remains true to its beginnings almost five decades ago with carefully selected invitations to singer-songwriter legends and insider tips.  

Bards from then and now: Marina Satti, Faber, Kimmo Pohjonen, Ebo Talor, Maro, Julieta Venegas, La Delio Valdez, Moop Mama, Bukahara, Vieux Farka Toure, Shantel, Katzenjammer, Sophie Hunger, LaBrassBanda, Calexico, Meute, Leningrad Cowboys, Jarabe de Palo, Taj Mahal, Konstantin Wecker, Hannes Wader and many more.