Ars Fontana – Street Music Festival Unkel

Street Music as a City Format

The street music festival „Ars Fontana“ is based on a simple idea: music comes to the people, not the other way around. Instead of a central stage with advance ticket sales, there are several performance locations in the historic old town — in front of the castle gate, on the market square, at the fountain, in courtyards, on the Rhine promenade, in front of galleries or cafés. Visitors stroll through the city and discover music en passant.

Stylistic Breadth and Atmosphere

The selection of musicians and ensembles is deliberately broad in style: singer-songwriters with acoustic guitars, folk combos with violins and accordions, string quartets, jazz trios, brass bands, classical soloists, Klezmer ensembles, Bossa combos, occasionally electronic acoustic hybrids. The concerts are short (15–45 minutes), alternate at different venues, and allow you to experience several performances in one afternoon.

Connection to the Cultural City

„Ars Fontana“ is part of the profile of the „Kulturstadt Unkel“. The initiative sees itself as a platform that connects Unkel's rich cultural heritage with contemporary cultural formats — and street music is one of the most immediate formats for this. Galleries, cafés, and restaurants along the performance venues benefit, as do the musicians, who are often compensated through an open hat system (or a fee from the organizer).

Tip for Visitors

Anyone visiting the festival should come to the old town with a city map or program flyer — the venues are spread out. The atmosphere rewards strolling, unplanned lingering, and listening together with strangers. A glass of wine, an ice cream, a coffee — the combination of music and a Mediterranean summer feeling on the Rhine makes „Ars Fontana“ unique.