Vienna Popfest 2019 in and around Vienna’s Karlsplatz Square
From July 25th to July 28th 2019, Karlsplatz Square will be staging the Vienna Popfest.
If you happen to be anywhere near Karlsplatz between July 25th and 28th, the 10th Vienna Popfest will be unmissable. In line with the motto Wien, du Vielvölkerstadt, zeig her Deine Schätze! (Vienna, multiethnic city, show me your treasures!), 70 specially selected local music projects will be showing off the city’s ethnic and cultural diversity over four days and nights, live and with free admission.
Mira Lu Kovacs & Yasmin Hafedh © Yavuz Odabas
This year’s Popfest curators are long-established musicians Yasmin Hafedh, aka Yasmo, and Mira Lu Kovacs. They have scouted around the Austrian music scene seeking new artists and putting together a varied program, also featuring well-known bands and musicians: a musical journey of discovery that diverges from the norm, focusing on the multitalented artists of our time. Quote: “We want glitter and dirt, sandpaper smoothness. We want it loud and quiet; we want to reshuffle the pack.”
The festival opens on July 25th on a stage set in the large pool in front of the splendid baroque Karlskirche church. Kicking off with rap and soul, it’s followed by the long-awaited concert premiere of all the latest songs by pop chameleon Tom Neuwirth – formerly known as Conchita – and his new electropop project, WURST.
Also taking to the stage this weekend will be Amadeus prize-winning singer-songwriter AVEC; Pænda, this year’s Austrian representative at the European Song Contest; the jazzy hip-hop band Sketches on Duality; and singer-songwriter Eva Billisich with the Derrische Kapelln.
Popfest: from museum to town square
copyright Simon Brugner, theyshootmusic.com
Around 70 live acts will be performing in and around Karlsplatz. In addition to the stage in the square’s water feature, the Wien Museum, currently vacant for renovation works, will offer another focal point for events. Right in the middle of the Take Over street art exhibition, this extraordinary festival center offers plenty of space for innovative pop projects, unusual and daring formats, and the usual discussion panels on homegrown pop music. Numerous bands, as well as alternative showbiz formats and poetry slams, will take to the stage at the Wien Museum. This year, interested visitors can again enjoy browsing the label and vinyl market that was launched two years ago.
TU Wien, Vienna’s university of technology, will also open its doors as it turns into a pop campus. Its Kuppelsaal and Prechtlsaal halls have become top pop venues over the years. Club Roxy will be staging two hip-hop nights, and you can listen to DJ sets on Cafe Heuer’s terrace. For the finale late on Sunday afternoon, the garden next to the Kunsthalle Wien art space is being transformed into a summer outdoor reading stage, followed by experimental pop sounds in the hallowed halls of the baroque Karlskirche church.
Full Vienna Popfest 2019 lineup
Thursday, July 25th (from 6.30 pm) to Sunday, July 28th 2019
Karlsplatz, Vienna 1
Admission to all events is free.
It’s just a stone’s throw from the Hotel Erzherzog Rainer to Karlsplatz. The U1 and U2 metros provide easy public transport links to the Vienna Popfest.
Copyright main image: Simon Brugner, theyshootmusic.com
