PEOPLE Festival 2026

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

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

PEOPLE operates without a lineup. Without hierarchies. Without artist fees, without financial profit. Ticket proceeds are used exclusively to cover costs.

The PEOPLE Festival at a Glance

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

A new chapter for PEOPLE at the Funkhaus

In 2016, a vision emerged for a gathering dedicated entirely to making music together. Moving beyond the strategic alliances and meticulously planned performances that define much of today’s music industry, PEOPLE grew out of long-standing relationships, collaborative creation, and the desire to find an unfiltered, inspired, and deeply musical form of expression.

Here We Go Again in October

At a time when it feels like so much is being turned upside down and shaken up, the participants of the PEOPLE Festival are answering the call to reunite. 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; others arrive with no baggage at all and let themselves be carried along spontaneously.

How it all works

All musicians will travel to Berlin on October 4 and immediately begin their work at the Funkhaus, the historic broadcasting and recording center of the former GDR.

Throughout the week, the artists come together in constantly shifting constellations. New groups form, albums take shape, musicians lose themselves in the music—and emerge with something unique.

Over the weekend, the doors open to the public. Two days and nights filled with 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 center for the former GDR. It is an extensive network of studios of various 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 the fall of 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 that was 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 grows piece by piece—a grand composition; one encounter after another.

Funkhaus Berlin

October 10–11

Participants

To give you a first glimpse of the lineup, we’re sharing a list of the first 99 names here. More will be announced over the next few weeks. Some artists will also perform 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
• Cillian Murphy
• 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
• Ichigo Aoba
• 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
• Mahito Gezan
• 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