All you need is a spot in the countryside, a farm, or one of the large and small concert stages – in Munich and the outback, people will party and dance to techno, world music or even Bavarian sounds at a variety of festivals all summer long. From the mega hip-hopper event Rolling Loud to small, fine jam sessions in Westpark. Overview.
Open-Air-Festivals out in nature
Open-air concerts in the city centre
The techno and electro sound festival “Greenfields“ takes place on the grounds of the racecourse in Riem. The festival looks back on a proud 20-year history. Andhim, Ben Klock, DJ Hell, Innellea, Joseph Capriati, Karotte, Korolova, Mind Against, René Vaitl and Sven Väth will spin the turntables.
Date: July 8, 2023
Venue: Galopprennbahn München
How to get there: Take the S2 suburban train in the direction of Erding, Riem station
The Puch Open Air has its roots in a group of befriended bands who decided to organise a joint concert in 1989. While flyers were distributed back then, today the festival is advertised with posters by the Herburg Wieland agency, which also designs campaigns for the Vienna Burgtheater, among others. The name of the festival has remained, only the venue has changed to Biohof Lehmair (organic farm) in Jetzendorf. In the early 1990s, The Notwist, DJ Hell and Tocotronic performed here.
Sportfreunde Stiller joined them in 1998. The Puch festival has been presented by the Zündfunk station of the Bavarian Radio since 1994. It is deliberately kept petite and exquisite. This is how the radio producers from Zündfunk sum up the special atmosphere: “On the meadow with your picnic blanket, a bottle of red wine and something to eat from one of the small stalls on the grounds, you're guaranteed to feel comfortable right from the start. The most beautiful little festival in Bavaria.“
Date: July 15, 2023
Venue: Biolandhof Familie Lehmair (organic farm)
How to get there: By car or with the S2 suburban train to Petershausen, from there take the shuttle bus to the festival site.
In the north of Munich, at Garchinger See (lake), DJs Agy3na, BASHKKA, Carista, Fadi Mohem, Jamie Tiller, Job Jobse, Konrad Wehrmeister, Ogazón, sianza B2B, Keriner and Sophie Pschorr will spin the sound for dancing under the open sky. There will be regional vegetarian food trucks and the after-show party will kick off at Blitz Music Club Munich.
Date: July 15, 2023
Venue: Am See, 85748 Garching near Munich
How to get there: From the city centre, take the U6 subway to Garching-Hochbrück. From the subway station, it is a 15-minute walk through the fields.
For the organisers of this festival, “dancing“ means “dreaming with your feet“. The Hausler Hof in Hallbergmoos near Munich Airport offers enough space for camping and a total of four stages for international and local DJ stars to perform. The special feature is the supporting programme with yoga workshops, a traders' market and food stalls.
Date: July 28 to 30, 2023
Venue: Hausler Hof in Hallbergmoos
How to get there: Take the S1 or S8 suburban train in the direction of the airport, Hallbergmoos station, from there, take the shuttle bus to the festival grounds.
You can also have fun without techno! As the name suggests, the BrassWiesn is dedicated to Bavarian folk music in the best sense of the word. The music festival in the north of Munich combines traditional brass music with modern rhythms; international acts play alongside well-known bands. Performing in 2023 are: Jan Delay, Hans Söllner, Ringlstetter, Pam Pam Ida, D'Hundskrippln, Anja Bavaria and Ria Reiser. You can get a good impression by watching last year’s aftermovie: Haindling and the band appear briefly in the picture, while the backdrop with alpine huts and maypole reflects the special character of this open-air party. Happy people, some traditionally dressed in lederhosen and dirndls (women's traditional Bavarian dress), accompanied by the Fäatschbänkler's song “Glücklich muss man einfach sein“.
Date: August 3 to 6, 2023
Venue: Eching leisure area at Eching Lake
How to get there: Take the S1 suburban train in the direction of the airport, get off at the Eching suburban train station (Freising municipality), free shuttle from Eching surburban train station to the festival grounds.
The Isle of Summer series ends with the Isle of Summer Beach on 5 August 2023. The Isle of Summer Beach is held at the Munich Beach Resort. On the sand, next to the regatta and under the trees, you can dance and party to the music of AKA AKA, Dominik Eulberg, Klaudia Gawlas, Moonbootica and Stella Bossi.
Date: August 5, 2023
Venue: Munich Beach Resort, Dachauer Straße 35, 85764 Oberschleißheim
How to get there: Take the S1 suburban train in the direction of the airport, from the station it's a 20-minute walk to the festival site.
13 hours of open air on four stages followed by an after-show at the Blitz Club in Munich on 26 August at the Garching research centre. Performers at the festival will include: DJ Nobu, Gabrielle Kwarteng, Nene H, Sam Goku and Young Marco.
Date: August 26, 2023
Venue: Garching Forschungszentrum
How to get there: From the city centre, take the U6 subway to the Garching-Forschungszentrum (research centre) terminus. From there, it is only a few minutes’ walk.
A trip to Starnberg is worthwhile, not only because of the beautiful Starnberger See (lake), which is very close to Munich, but also for the Deep in Forest Festival. On September 2, the last of a total of three festivals in the summer of 2023 will take place on a site by the lake, in the middle of the forest. The programme includes Deep House, Downtempo and Techhouse.
Date: September 2, 2023
Venue: Starnberg, Mühlthal 124, 82319 Starnberg
How to get there: By car via the A 95 or by paid shuttle bus from the Starnberg Nord (S6) suburban station to the festival site. The shuttles run until the departure of the last suburban train, after that only taxi/Uber etc. are available.
Bahnwärter Thiel in Munich's Schlachthofviertel (district) also has its open-air season. A bit of spontaneity is called for here, because as soon as the weather cooperates, the programme for the respective evening will be announced on Instagram.
Dates: on Instagram
Venue: Bahnwärter Thiel
How to get there: Take the U3 or U6 subway, Poccistrasse station, from there it's a 10-minute walk to Bahnwärter Thiel.
Strictly speaking, the concerts at Tollwood are not open air, but take place in the music arena tent. Nevertheless, this list of summer music festivals would simply not be complete without Tollwood, which is now over 30 years old. During the four festival weeks, both legends and newcomers will take to the stage. Featuring in 2023 are Adel Tawil, Province, Santiano, Placebo, Ayliva, Porcupine Tree, Tom Jones, LaBrassBanda, Die Fantastischen Vier, Jan Delay & Disko No. 1, Nico Santos, The Lumineers, Sportfreunde Stiller, Bonnie Tyler & Chris Norman, Danger Dan, Konstantin Wecker, Meute, Spider Murphy Gang & Münchener Freiheit, Silbermond, Beth Hart & Special Guest, Joe Bonamassa & Special Guest, Fury in the Slaughterhouse and Schmidbauer & Kälberer. Unfortunately, some concerts are already sold out.
There will also be live music every evening in the beer garden of the Hacker-Pschorr-Brett and in the Andechs tent - with free admission!
Fans of theatre, artistry and acrobatics are in for a great time at the Tollwood amphitheatre. Here, artists from France, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Germany juggle, dance, balance and perform magic. All performances are free of charge and, this time, really in the open air!
Dates: June 16 to July 16, 2023
Venue: Olympiapark (Olympic Park)
How to get there: Take the U3 subway, get off at the Olympiapark (Olympic Park) station.
The Rolling Loud Festival is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, hip-hop festivals and is taking place in Germany for the first time this year, alongside Miami, California, Thailand, Portugal and Holland: at the Munich exhibition grounds!
Over three festival days, stars such as US rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, who has worked with Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa, Nigerian musician Wizkid, German rapper and dance-hall musician Bonez MC & RAF Camorra, Turkish-born German rapper Ufo361, and German rapper Layla, among others, will perform there.
Dates: July 7 to 9, 2023
Venue: Special open-air area East of Messe München trade fair centre
How to get there: You can reach the exhibition grounds from Munich Central Station in 20 minutes by U2 subway. The two stops are Messestadt West or Messestadt Ost. Alternatively, you can take the suburban train (S-Bahn): Take the S4 / S6 to Gronsdorf station and from there, walk to the festival grounds.
This year, the Wannda Circus celebrates its 10th anniversary. The opening took place on 20 May in Freimann. Besides techno, house and electro, there is always a circus programme with acrobatics on stilts and fire shows. Elves take care of those who want their make-up done. The next dates are July 8 to 9, July 29 to 30 and September 2 to 3.
Dates: July 8 to 9, July 29 to 30 and September 2 to 3, 2023
Venue: Premises at Völckerstraße 5, 80939 Munich
How to get there: From the city centre, take the U6 subway to the Freiman station. From there, it’s a 10-minute walk to the festival site.
The OBEN OHNE (topless) Open Air has been an integral part of the Munich music scene since 1998 and also has established itself in the festival scene beyond the regional borders. The aim is to offer young people in particular an affordable entry fee for interesting national and international band performances ranging from rap and hip hop to techno and pop, as well as to help young and up-and-coming artists make a big appearance. In 2023, Ennio, Dilla, BLVTH, anaïs, Berq, Blushy AM x Levin and Lokey will be performing at Königsplatz (square) in the heart of Munich's Maxvorstadt district.
Date: July 22, 2023
Venue: Königsplatz
How to get there: Take the U2 subway, get off at Königsplatz (square).
The Theatron is an amphitheatre in the middle of Munich's Olympiapark (Olympic Park), built on the occasion of the 1972 Summer Olympics. It is located directly on the lake, downstream from the Olympic swimming hall. The arena can accommodate 2,000 guests and the concerts in summer are very popular – all events have free admission and usually take place in glorious summer weather. Young musicians and bands can apply to perform every year. You can listen to new folk music, world music, jazz and classical music.
Date: July 27 to August 20, 2023
Venue: Theatron at Olympiapark (Olympic Park) in Munich
How to get there: Take the U3 subway, get off at Olympiazentrum.
Last year, Artist Jam held a small open-air festival at Theatron Westpark. The basic idea is to network musicians and offer them a venue. This year, the spectacular music event will last for two days. Guests can look forward to a full music programme, live jam sessions, a big flash mob and lots of open stage for free jamming.
Date: July 29 to 30, 2023
Venue: Theatron im Westpark
How to get there: Take the U6 subway, get off at the Westpark station.
https://www.facebook.com/artistjam/
After the première last year, the Superbloom Festival will take place again this year in the Olympiapark (Olympic Park) and the Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium). The international line-up includes stars and bands such as Imagine Dragons, Martin Garrix, Offenbach, Peter Fox, Lost Frequencies, Jason Derulo, Ellie Goulding, Marteria, Years & Years, Trettmann and Zara Larsson. The supporting programme offers performances, workshops, talks and much more.
Date: September 2 to 3, 2023
Venue: Olympiapark und Olympiastadion
How to get there: Take the U3 subway, get off at the Olympiapark (Olympic Park) station.
