Celebrating Berlin Music Week

The international music industry is celebrating music with five days of concerts and parties as well as networking and conferences. The organizers are aiming for this year’s Berlin Music Week to open up opportunities and perspectives to everyone who has devoted his or her talents to the music business. The famous Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough of Berlin is at the very heart of this year’s five-day affair. It’s no coincidence that the city’s very best bars and clubs are nestled within the area.

Five days and five nights

Berlin’s cool and laid back culture will level up a few notches higher as festival goers troop to the city that never sleeps. Here’s what’s in store for Berliners and tourists as well: five days and five nights of popular music, rock and jazz music from around the world. There will definitely be serious business and talks about technology and music and social media and music, amongst many other interesting and relevant topics. But from September 4 to 8, Berlin will also party and celebrate.

See you at the airport

On September 6 and 7 Music Week will showcase around 80 local and international artists who will perform at the Berlin-Tempelhof Airport in Germany’s capital. No, they will not close the airport for the festival-goers. The facility is unused and for the 5th time will be used as world-class concert venue. Aside from the main stage on the main hangar, a number of other performance areas are also set up within the airport.

The festival is all over Berlin and this year, there are many other venues being readied for performances throughout the city. What that means is that more than 30 clubs are offering free entry on festival days for people who will come in this celebration of many musical genres.

Onstage

The open air main stage at Tempelhof Airport can accommodate as many as 20,000 people. The impressive line-up of performers this year include Bastille, Bosnian Rainbows, Blur, Björk, Casper, Die Orsons, Ellie Goulding, Fritz Kalkbrenner, Mars Volta, My Blood Valentine, Savages, The Sounds, White Lies, and 1980s pop icon, The Pet Shop Boys.

What to expect

Aside from performances, Berlin offers workshops and forums for festival goers who are also amateur musicians or music industry enthusiasts. The Art Village is also presenting works of art such as murals and sculpture and a number of performances as well. And since this is a music festival, after parties are definitely to be expected. Expect the best DJs of Germany to keep the fun going. The Mobile Disko starts at five in the afternoon and the beat goes on and on until midnight.

Sign up for these events

Since 2009, the days of the Berlin Music Week have been filled with not just with concerts but other activities that attract musicians and everyone active in the music business from around the world. During the week, it has been customary to host the Word on Sound conference for mainstays in the music industry. The New Music Award is another highlight of the week leading. Berlin Music Week also provides opportunities for musicians, producers, sound engineers, and other key players in the music business to network with each other.

Photo Credit: Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport in music festival garb