Returning for its 4th edition across 24–26 July and 31 July–2 August, Gaswerk Music Days 2026 opens the doors of Gaswerksiedlung Berlin, one of the city’s largest artist-led ecosystems. Housed within a former industrial residential complex, the site is home to 105 studios and more than 500 artists, musicians and creative practitioners who live, work and collaborate there throughout the year.
At a time when many of Berlin’s independent cultural spaces face increasing pressure, Gaswerk offers a rare opportunity to experience a community where artistic production remains embedded in everyday life. For six days, studios, rehearsal rooms and shared spaces open to the public, revealing the processes, encounters and collaborations that shape the site year-round.
Built around the theme Radical Live Music, this year’s programme unfolds through six curatorial chapters exploring live modular synthesis, rhythm and percussion cultures, soundsystem practices, improvisation, experimental ensembles and deep listening.
Latest additions including Kampire, Ecko Bazz, Pili Pili Girls, Tissilawen and Jokwiz join a programme featuring MC Yallah & Scotch Rolex, Holy Tongue, Burnt Friedman & João Pais Filipe, Maurice Louca presents Barĩy (Fera), Azu Tiwaline, Rabih Beaini, Embryo and Jay Mitta. Across the festival, East African futurism, radical Singeli, nomadic psychedelia, posthuman dancehall, desert blues, avant-pop, exploratory electronics and expanded rhythmic traditions meet through performances that rarely inhabit the same programme.
The festival grows from an ongoing residency developed with Nyege Nyege and independent partners, bringing together Berlin-based artists and practitioners from across the African continent for research, rehearsal and new production. Many of these collaborations receive their first public presentation during Gaswerk Music Days.
Beyond the festival, initiatives including Modula, Radical Music Lab and Crazy Mega Jam sustain this collaborative environment throughout the year, providing spaces where ideas are tested, refined and developed before reaching the wider Gaswerk Music Days audience. Together, they position Gaswerk not simply as a festival, but as a living artistic infrastructure where experimentation, exchange and long-term collaboration remain central to its identity.
