On a late September evening, the streets of St. Pauli feel like they’re humming with their own frequency. Neon bleeds into cobblestones, queues curl around corners, and the air is heavy with bass lines leaking from club doors. For four days, Hamburg’s notorious entertainment district transforms into something far bigger than itself: a crossroads of music, ideas, and chance encounters. This year marked the 20th edition of Reeperbahn Festival, and the city wore its anniversary like a badge of honor.
43,000 visitors between 70 venues
With around 43,000 visitors spilling between 70 venues, Reeperbahn’s scope is impossible to take in fully. It’s messy, restless, and sprawling by design – part discovery marathon, part industry summit, part street party. You might wander from an intimate church concert to a panel on the rise of AI in music, then stumble into a guerrilla gig that wasn’t even on the schedule. It’s this unpredictability that makes the festival feel alive, a reminder that music thrives on friction and surprise.
“Imagine Togetherness!”
This year’s theme, “Imagine Togetherness!”, was more than a slogan. It seeped into conversations about fair pay for artists, the fragility of small venues, and the cultural stakes of streaming-era homogeny. Panels weren’t just token gestures; they carried the urgency of an industry at a crossroads. The founding of the Live Music Fund Germany felt like a rare, tangible outcome – a solidarity-driven safety net to keep independent live culture alive in uncertain times.
But it was the music – always the music – that brought the ideas to life. Friday belonged to Kraftklub, who hijacked the festival with their “Kiez Tour 2025”. The band played 15 surprise shows in the cramped clubs of St. Pauli, reviving the sweaty, chaotic intimacy that first made live music feel like rebellion. At the Festival Village, Nina Chuba drew thousands with an unannounced set, Zsá Zsá and Jolle turned Thursday night into an impromptu celebration, and across the city, we discovered countless new acts while seeing live artists we already loved – a reminder of Reeperbahn’s unique balance between discovery and affirmation.
Anchor International Music Award
The Anchor International Music Award, now in its 10th year, once again pointed toward the future. Chosen by a jury of legends including Laurie Anderson, Suzi Quatro, and Tayla Parx, this year’s winner Mei Semones delivered the kind of unforced charisma that made her feel like an obvious choice. With her band’s hybrid of guitar-driven intimacy and emotional intensity, she represented what Reeperbahn does best: spotlighting artists on the cusp of something bigger, before the industry machine catches up.
Outside the venues, Reeperbahn was as much about atmosphere as programming. The district’s chaos – its street musicians, spontaneous parties, and endless conversations spilling from bars – gave the festival a texture no conference center could replicate. Between official sessions on sustainability and showcases of emerging acts from 30 countries, there was also the simple magic of strangers pressed shoulder to shoulder, hearing something new together for the first time.
Collide sessions
If past editions sometimes felt like a competition for attention, this 20th anniversary leaned into something subtler: collectivity. Whether through industry collaborations like the Collide sessions (soon to appear on YouTube and ARTE) or the festival’s commitment to gender balance in its curated line-up (56% FLINTA*), Reeperbahn reminded its community that progress in music doesn’t happen in isolation.
Another highlight came from the country and city takeovers, which turned parts of St. Pauli into windows onto different musical worlds. We especially loved the Austria, Switzerland, Estonia, Korea and Berlin showcases, each bringing a distinct energy and aesthetic.
By the time the final notes faded on Saturday night, it was clear that the festival had accomplished something rare: it managed to be both a mirror of the industry’s anxieties and a celebration of music’s connective power. As Richard Burgess of A2IM put it, perhaps a little boldly, “Reeperbahn Festival has now grown to be the most important event for our industry worldwide.”
For now, the future is already calling – early bird tickets for 2026 are on sale at €139 – but the afterglow of 2025 lingers. What remains isn’t just the memory of the concerts or events we got to attend, but the sense of togetherness that pulsed through St. Pauli: a messy, unpredictable, deeply human celebration of why music still matters.
You must be logged in to post a comment.