PEOPLE Festival 2026

180 international musicians from a wide variety of backgrounds will come together in 40 studios for a week to explore the boundless possibilities of unplanned collaboration. At the end of the week, on 10 and 11 October, the studio doors will open: 200 concerts across 11 stages will unfold over 12 hours a day.

From small venues for 50 people to concert halls for 1,000 guests, live music takes to the stage here in its most immediate and raw form.

PEOPLE operates without a line-up. Without hierarchies. Without artists’ fees, without financial profit. Ticket proceeds are used exclusively to cover costs.

The PEOPLE Festival at a glance

• Residency: 4–9 October
• Festival: 10–11 October (open to the public)
• 200 premieres across 11 stages.
• 100 per cent of ticket proceeds go towards covering PEOPLE’s costs.

A new chapter for PEOPLE at the Funkhaus

In 2016, a vision emerged of a gathering dedicated entirely to making music together. Moving beyond the strategic alliances and meticulously planned performances that characterise much of the music industry today, PEOPLE arose from long-standing relationships, collaborative creativity and the desire to find an unfiltered, inspired and deeply musical form of expression.

A fresh start in October

At a time when it feels as though so much is being turned upside down and shaken up, the participants of the PEOPLE Festival are answering the call to meet once more. To reconnect the interrupted PEOPLE timeline and move forward together – through the most unifying medium of all: music.

Old and new companions, friends from near and far, will spend seven days and nights at the Funkhaus and the Michelberger Hotel, continuing their musical journeys across 40 studios.

PEOPLE is a composition of people, talents and life stories from all over the world. Some musicians bring ideas with them, whilst others turn up with nothing at all and simply go with the flow.

How it all works

All the musicians will travel to Berlin on 4 October and begin work straight away at the Funkhaus, the historic broadcasting and recording centre of the former GDR.

Throughout the week, the artists come together in constantly changing constellations. New groups emerge, albums take shape, musicians lose themselves in the music – and find something unique at the other end of the journey.

At the weekend, the doors open to the public. Two days and nights of live music.

It’s impossible to predict exactly what will happen. But it will be a magical musical moment that promises nothing and yet makes everything possible.

Venue

The Funkhaus was built in the 1950s as a broadcasting and recording centre for the former GDR. It is an extensive network of studios of varying sizes and offers exceptional acoustic conditions for concerts and recordings, as well as space for audiences of all sizes.

Origins

The idea was conceived by a small circle of friends:

Aaron and Bryce Dessner (The National), Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Ryan Olson (MDS, Poliça), Vincent Moon (Petites Planètes), André de Ridder, Brandon Reid, Mary Hickson (Sounds from a Safe Harbour), Azar Kazimir, and Nadine and Tom Michelberger (Michelberger Hotel, Restaurant & Farm).

The project first came together in autumn 2016 as Michelberger Music – made possible by over 100 artists who were willing to embrace the unknown and spend a week together. In 2018, it returned as PEOPLE – named after a gigantic artwork by Eric Timothy Carlson, created on the main stage during the first edition – and exploded into a thousand stars.

A group of people. A community. A network of musicians that is growing bit by bit – a grand composition; one encounter after another.

Funkhaus Berlin

10–11 October

Participants

To give you a first idea of the line-up, here is a list of the first 99 names. More will be announced over the coming weeks. Some artists will also be performing without any prior notice.

• Aaron Dessner
• Adam Cohen
• Adrien Utley
• Ahmed Gallab
• Ajeet Kaur
• Aki Bosse
• Albert Elmore
• Alex Somers
• Alexi Murdoch
• Alican Tezer
• Amanda Bergman
• Andre de Ridder
• Andrew Barr
• Andrew Broder
• Angel Deradoorian
• Angie McMahon
• Ariel Engle
• Asher Weisberg
• Ben Lanz
• Bendik Giske
• Blake Morgan
• Brad Barr
• Brian Devendorf
• Brian McComber
• Bryce Dessner
• Casper Clausen
• Charlotte Maclet
• Chris Egan
• Chris McCarthy
• Clara Ysé
• Colin Stetson
• Daniela Pes
• Drew Christopherson
• Dustin O’Halloran
• Dustin Zahn
• Efrim Menuck
• Eliot Sumner
• Erlend Øye
• Fionn Regan
• Fuensanta Mendéz
• Gail Ann Dorsey
• Greg Fox
• Greg Grease
• Gugulethu Duma
• Gyða Valtýsdóttir
• Heather Broderick
• Henning May
• Isaac Gale
• Jeremy Black
• Jesper Munk
• Jessica Dessner
• Joel Shearer
• Joel Wästberg
• Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
• Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir
• Kurt Wagner
• Laurel Sprengelmeyer
• Li-Chin Li
• Limpe Fuchs
• Lisa Hannigan
• Lucinda Chua
• Makaya Maccraven
• Marc Vilajuana
• Markus Sieber
• Melissa Laveaux
• Msafiri Zawose
• Napolean Maddox
• Nick Zinner
• Owen Pallett
• Patrick Watson
• Pauline De Lassus
• Peder Mannerfelt
• Peter Broderick
• Rachel Maio
• Rasmus Stolberg
• Rebecca Foon
• Richard Reed Parry
• Rozi Plain
• Ryan Olson
• Sarah Neufeld
• Scott Devendorf
• Shahzad Ismaily
• Shara Nova
• Sharon Van Etten
• Shinji Masuko
• Simrit Kaur
• Soema Montenegro
• Sophie Payten
• Tatu Rönkkö
• Thom Green
• Todd Dahlhoff
• Trever Hagen
• Victoria Canal
• Vincent Moon
• Ye Vagabonds
• Yoann Lemoine

Use the Family & Friends code ‘FRIENDSOFPEOPLE’ to get 12% off your ticket for the People Festival.