Concerts & tips for gig tripping to Berlin

The Cure, Tori Amos, Nick Cave, Guns N' Roses, Foo Fighters, Materia, Bushido, Helene Fischer and Giora Feidman – they're all coming to Berlin in 2026, along with many more. The line-up of megastars in the capital is so extensive that music fans will have to choose between several major concerts on some evenings. And that's not even taking into account the smaller music events, jazz, classical music, operas, musicals and other exciting events in Berlin. We have compiled some of the concert highlights in Berlin for 2026 for you. Our tips for your big gig in Berlin!

Gig Tripping Highlights 2026

• Mega concerts
• Rock & pop concerts
• Jazz: Concerts & Festivals
• Highlights for classical music fans
• Classical Open Air
• Candlelight concerts
• Festivals & street festivals
• Music & electronic festivals in Berlin and the surrounding area
• Local & underground tips
• Pop & rock: concert highlights

1. Mega concerts at the Olympic Stadium, Uber Arena & Waldbühne

With the Velodrom, Uber Arena, Waldbühne and Olympic Stadium, Berlin has four venues that can accommodate more than 10,000 fans.

In 2026, Metallica (30 May), Queens of the Stone Age (8 July) and Die Toten Hosen (11 July) will rock the Olympic Stadium, and Lollapalooza will once again be held at the Olympic site this year (18 & 19 July 2026). Pitbull, Lewis Capaldi, Lorde, Teddy Swims and Lily Allen will be there with their performance of West End Girl.

Helene Fischer fans should already mark 13 June 2026 in their calendars. Tickets for her 360° stadium tour at Berlin's Olympic Stadium are already on sale.

The Waldbühne kicks off on 9 May with Mario Barth, followed by Nick Cave on 30 June, Mumford & Sons on 9 July and Sarah Conner on 15 August. Herbert Grönemeyer and Die Fantastischen Vier have already announced their performances for 2027. You can find more tips on hip hop concerts here.

In 2026, several rock and pop greats will be on stage every month at the Uber Arena Berlin, including Bushido (12 January & 7 March), Apache 207 (29 January), Eros Ramazzotti (2 March), Wu-Tang Clan (3 March), Sarah Connor (14 March), Guns N' Roses (23rd & 25th June), Lenny Kravitz (27th July) and many more.

You can also find a daily updated overview of concerts in Berlin in our event calendar.

2. More rock and pop concerts in 2026

In addition to these mega stages, Berlin offers four other concert venues for rock, pop and large events: the Columbiahalle, the Tempodrom, the Max-Schmeling-Halle and the Zitadelle Spandau. These venues can accommodate up to 8,000 people in the audience stands. Other exciting music venues include the Parkbühne Wuhlheide, Huxley's Neue Welt, the Kesselhaus in the Kulturbrauerei, Ritter Butzke, the Festsaal Kreuzberg, the Astra Kulturhaus and the Heimathafen Neukölln.

Berlin's club scene also has some exciting venues for concerts, including SO36, Lido, Silent Green, Frannz Club, Prachtwerk, Gretchen, Privatclub, Urban Spree, Badehaus and Kantine im Berghain. A list of the most important concerts on the pop and rock scene can be found at the end of the article.

Tortoise are already sold out on 29 January in the large Sendesaal of the RBB.

You can also find an overview of rock and pop concerts in 2026 in our event calendar.

3. Jazz: Concerts & Festivals in Berlin 2026

In addition to the concert highlights, music plays every evening in Berlin's smaller clubs and bars. In established jazz clubs such as A-Trane, Quasimodo, Zig Zag and Yorkschlösschen, you can hear international stars and exciting new projects. Smaller venues as well as established clubs regularly host jam sessions, most of them once a week, and the Hat Bar even every night from 10.30 pm.

You can also enjoy the Jazz & Lyrics Festival at the Deutsche Oper (28 February), the Berlin XJazz! Festival at the Festsaal Kreuzberg (29 to 31 May 2006), at the Jazzwoche Berlin (20 to 26 June 2026), or the Jazzfest Berlin (29 October to 1 November 2026).

Fans of blues and jazz will find a comprehensive overview in our calendar of events.

4. Highlights for classical music fans in Berlin in 2026

The world's best symphony orchestras and choirs will be performing in the city during the Musikfest Berlin from 28 August to 23 September 2026. Tickets are already available for some concerts, such as those featuring the Kansas City Symphony and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Don't miss the festive season at the State Opera in Berlin's most historic opera house on Unter den Linden. From 28 March to 6 April 2026, you can look forward to unforgettable concerts and opera performances, including new productions of Wagner classics, top-class guest orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic and the Orchestre de Paris, and of course the excellent Staatskapelle Berlin.

Another highlight for classical music fans in Berlin is sure to be the Berlin Philharmonic's season finale concert on 27 June 2026. This time, the Berlin Philharmonic and Kirill Petrenko will transform the Waldbühne into a piece of Italy with Viva Italia! And the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra will perform under the baton of Daniel Barenboim and together with star cellist Yo-Yo Ma on 13 August 2026.

From 9 to 12 July 2026, Classic Open Air invites you to enjoy classical music in the open air against the historic backdrop of the Gendarmenmarkt . Giovanni Zarrella, Joja Wendt and David Garrett will be there. The series will be opened by Joana Mallwitz, chief conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin.

An unforgettable highlight for klezmer fans is promised by the guest appearance of world-famous clarinettist Giora Feidman on 25 March 2026 in the Chamber Music Hall. Together with Vytis Šakūras on piano and Chihiro Ishii on violin, Feidman will play "For a Better World" to mark his 90th birthday.

Our event calendar provides an overview of all classical concert dates in Berlin in 2026.

5. Classical Open Air & Candlelight Concerts 2026 in Berlin

The Classical Open Air in Britzer Garten on 22 August 2026 is perfect for music-loving families with children.

With currently seven major orchestras, plus the orchestras of the three Berlin opera houses and the Academy of Early Music, Berlin offers an exciting classical music programme all year round. In addition, there are smaller classical music events in some unusual and typically Berlin locations, such as the Piano Salon Christophori, a piano workshop.

Candlelight concerts, where you can experience music in atmospheric locations by the light of hundreds of candles, are popular worldwide and, of course, in Berlin too. You can experience an impressive backdrop for live music in the concert halls of the former GDR radio station in Nalepastraße.

You can hear more insider tips for classical music fans in our episode Klassikstadt Berlin for Berlin Unboxed, the official visitBerlin podcast.

6. Festivals & street parties

Music plays everywhere in Berlin, even on the streets and squares of the capital. Highlights every year include the Kreuzberg Festival, Berlin's largest street festival. From 26 to 28 June 2026, Kreuzbergstraße will be transformed into a musical festival mile with three stages featuring 60 artists and bands. The 48 Hours Neukölln Festival is also definitely worth a trip to Berlin. From 3 to 5 July 2026, you can spend two days and two nights discovering the musical and artistic sides of this multicultural neighbourhood.

On Christopher Street Day on 26 July, the queer community will dance and celebrate through the city to the sounds of electro and techno. And at the Carnival of Cultures, the colourful costumes and diverse multicultural music styles will create a lively atmosphere.

Don't miss the start of summer in Berlin. For the Fête de la Musique on 21 June, the whole city is transformed into a stage. Music is played in the streets, in the parks and also in bars and pubs. Most events are free of charge.

And if you're interested in pop culture, the Pop-Kultur Festival from 24 to 29 August 2026 offers not only concerts and music, but also readings, talks, films and a wide-ranging programme of discussions that place pop culture in a socio-political context.

7. Music & electronic festivals in Berlin and the surrounding area

In addition to Lollapalooza on 18 & 19 July 2026 on the grounds around the Olympic Stadium, there are a number of music festivals in the Berlin area that can be wonderfully combined with a city trip to Berlin. Among the best known are the Wurzelfest 80 kilometres south of Berlin in Jüterborg, the Hive Festival and the Whole on the Ferropolis grounds, the Fusion at the Lärz airfield and the Feel Festival at Bergheider See. Look forward to long weekends with music, art, workshops and lovingly designed open-air stages.

8. Local & underground tips

If you want to discover a little more of Berlin than just the big concert halls when gig tripping, you don't have to forego music. Most bars and clubs with live music can be found in Neukölln, Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain and Mitte. The Schokoladen on Ackerstraße in Mitte is a communal living and cultural project with a stage and bar on the ground floor. Here you can still feel the free spirit of the wild 1990s, just like in the Club der Polnischen Versager (Club of Polish Failures) right next door.

A meeting place for musicians and anyone interested in the subject is the House of Music on the RAW site, where there are several other live music venues such as Cassiopeia, Astra and Lokschuppen. Numerous clubs also regularly host live acts on stage. In Neukölln, the Klunkerkranich on the roof of a shopping centre invites you to dance and listen to music, and in Friedrichshain, the Hoppetosse rocks to electro and jazz sounds on the Spree.

In summer, the music is played outdoors, of course, at Berlin's beach bars and beer gardens or just anywhere. Let yourself drift – from the street musicians on Museum Island to the concert series on the Island of Youth to a day by the water with music at the Wendeschloss or Grünau beach in Köpenick.

Fancy going out? Then take a look at our overview of the best nightlife districts in Berlin.

9. Concert highlights 2026
 

Concert highlights in Berlin in January

• Zah1 de, 2nd & 3rd January at the Uber Eats Music Hall
• Bushido, 12 January at the Uber Arena
• Tortoise, 29 January, Großer Sendesaal of the rbb

Concert highlights in Berlin in February

• Max Raabe & Palast Orchester, 10 to 22 February at the Admiralspalast
• Amy Macdonald, 11 February at the Tempodrom
• Blonde Redhead, 13 February at the Metropol
• The Kooks, 15 February at the Columbiahalle
• Icelandic singer Laufey, 24 February at the Velodrom

Concert highlights in Berlin in March

• Alice Merton, 1 March at the Kesselhaus
• Belle & Sebastian, 5 March at the Metropol
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor, 16 March 2026 at Festsaal Kreuzberg
• Giora Feidman, 25 March 2026 at the Kammermusiksaal