What would a music industry look like if gender equality were not merely an aspiration, but a reality? That question sits at the heart of "The Sound of Courage – Music and Equality in the Nordic Countries", an exhibition at Felleshus, the publicly accessible community house of the Nordic Embassies in Berlin. The exhibition brings together artists, initiatives and projects from across the Nordic region to examine gender equality in music and the people working to make the indu

Our final day at Pop-Kultur Festival Berlin takes us from hypnotic folk-inspired sounds and meditative performance art to intimate German pop and a packed Kesselhaus. Visual by Pop-Kultur Festival Our final day at Pop-Kultur started quietly. The Frannz Garten was already filled with people when Yael Dagon & Àbáse began their Co-Creation Residency performance, but the atmosphere remained remarkably calm. People stood close to the stage, while others sat on chairs and beer benc

Our third day at Pop-Kultur Festival Berlin takes us through African pride, intimate electronic performances, darkwave and explosive indie rock at the Kulturbrauerei. Visual by Pop-Kultur Berlin By Friday evening, the Kulturbrauerei feels less like a collection of separate venues and more like one large moving crowd. People of all ages drift between the spaces, meet friends, discover new artists and stop for conversations before moving on to the next performance. Music spills

Our second day at Pop-Kultur Festival brings us from dreamy pop and jazz-infused sounds to heavy bass, wild performances and new connections at Festsaal Kreuzberg. Logo by Pop-Kultur Festival After our first night at Pop-Kultur Festival in silent green, August 27 brought a completely different atmosphere at Festsaal Kreuzberg. The walk through the trees towards the venue already felt like a transition. The noise of the city seemed to disappear, replaced by a quieter, more com

Our first day at Pop-Kultur Festival takes us through experimental performances, unexpected sounds, and different worlds of music at silent green. Poster by Pop-Kultur Festival 2026 The first thing I noticed at Kino Arsenal was the silence. The room was properly filled, but nobody seemed particularly interested in talking. Instead, the audience appeared almost paralyzed by what was happening in front of them. A cello, flute, guitar and voice were surrounded by electronic soun

Did the Internet Kill Punk? “Generation Y Punk” Looks Back at a Subculture in Transition Punk has been declared dead countless times. For the generation that entered the scene around the turn of the millennium, one of its biggest changes came from somewhere unexpected: the internet. "Generation Y Punk – Update einer Subkultur" looks at German DIY punk between 2000 and 2020 and asks what happened when a scene built on personal connections, fanzines and self-organization sudden

What happens when a festival deliberately puts things together that do not seem to belong together? A folk act next to electronic pop. A Berlin newcomer alongside an international artist. Club culture meeting theater, performance and experimental music. At Pop-Kultur Festival 2026, the unexpected is not a side effect of the program - it is part of the idea. Visual by Pop Kultur Festival From August 24th to 30th, the Berlin festival returns with around 120 program events acros

A Space That Doesn’t Need to Explain Itself Located in Kreuzberg, SO36 is one of Berlin’s best-known spaces for punk, independent music and queer culture. Its history is visible in the room, but SO36 doesn't feel like a place living in the past. It feels used, active and completely at ease with what it has become. Photo by C. Fleig On the night we visit, the room is only half full. It doesn't feel empty. The audience is diverse, from casually dressed visitors to people whose

A small, unpolished venue with a strong sense of community Tucked into Kreuzberg, Wild at Heart feels like a venue that has never had much interest in becoming polished. The walls are covered in stickers and posters, while tinsel and disco balls compete for space overhead. Everything feels slightly overloaded, slightly chaotic and completely authentic. It is dark, atmospheric and unmistakably punk. Wild at Heart feels less like a conventional club than a room belonging to a s

A weekend of music, movement and cultural expression transforms the streets of Berlin once again Under the heavy heat of an almost 30-degree Berlin weekend, Karneval der Kulturen once again takes over the streets of the city. Between crowded sidewalks, drifting basslines and moving crowds, the festival’s 30th anniversary transforms Berlin into a temporary landscape of sound, movement and cultural visibility. What began in the mid-1990s as a response to racism, exclusion and s

Berlin has never been a polished city. It is layered, fractured, and permanently in transition. And that instability is precisely what fuels Berlin’s independent music scene. Beyond the commercial festival circuits and tourist nightlife lies a network of basements, collective-run venues, rehearsal rooms, and temporary cultural spaces. This is where Berlin’s underground music culture continues to evolve: raw, self-organised, and resistant to mainstream formulas. For artists an

The Soundmap of Berlin This time: Kantine am Berghain Tucked beside Berghain , Kantine am Berghain feels like a warm indie refuge rather than a typical club venue. Red lighting, candles, light haze, a fireplace, and bamboo details create a cozy atmosphere that naturally draws audiences into the performance. Despite being packed, the room fosters closeness rather than crowd pressure, allowing listeners to feel connected instead of overwhelmed. Photo by Indienoxzine Kantine am

This time: LARK I Berlin Situated by the river Spree near Jannowitzbrücke , LARK is a small venue where the environment and music blend into one emotional experience. Reflections from the river, dark red lighting, and the compact room create an atmosphere of focused intimacy. This setting naturally draws attention to voice, dynamics, and detail. A Unique Listening Experience Even when the sound becomes loud and raw, the space retains clarity. This allows powerful rock passage