Folkerdey Open Air Festival

20 Years of Folkerdey — the Folk Festival in Ratingen

The Folkerdey Open Air is one of North Rhine-Westphalia's most distinctive folk events and the most important folk and world music festival in the region between Düsseldorf and Essen. In 2026, the festival celebrates its 20th anniversary – on Saturday, May 30, 2026, the Iron Age Farmstead on Volkardeyer Straße in Ratingen transforms into a concert platform for a whole day, featuring two stages, nine acts, and a relaxed festival atmosphere.

Lineup 2026 — Nine Acts on Two Stages

The 2026 program combines well-known folk acts with newcomers from the international scene:

• Royal Street Orchestra – Folk-Pop-Brass
• Veeble – Acoustic Indie-Folk
• Symbio – Folk-Crossover
• Marie Rauschen – Singer-Songwriter
• Bube Dame König – Folk-Pop Trio
• Jaimi Faulkner – Australian Folk-Blues
• Drowsy Maggie – Irish Folk
• DBG-Big-Band – Big Band of the Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Gymnasium
• Reel Talents – Folk Newcomers

Performances from 2:00 PM to 10:50 PM – approximately one hour per act, with seamless transitions between the two stages.

Iron Age Farmstead as a Backdrop

The venue is the Iron Age Farmstead in Ratingen – a reconstructed Iron Age homestead on Volkardeyer Straße, usually an archaeological and educational site. For the Folkerdey Festival, the site is transformed into a festival ground: two stages, lounging areas, and food stalls within the buildings. An unusual mix of an archaeological site and a folk festival, setting Folkerdey apart from comparable folk festivals.

Tickets Exclusively via Neanderticket

Tickets are sold exclusively via Neanderticket (marketer in the Düsseldorf area). Price tiers:

• Until May 15, 2026: €20 regular / €15 reduced
• From May 16 to the day of the event: €30 regular / €20 reduced
• Children under 14 years old: Free

Organizers and Funding

The organizer is the association Folkerdey e.V., run by volunteer folk enthusiasts. The City of Ratingen and Stadtwerke Ratingen (Municipal Utilities) provide institutional support and enable the unusually affordable ticket prices for a one-day festival with nine acts.

Ratingen — on the Border of Düsseldorf-Niederrhein

Ratingen, with around 90,000 inhabitants, is located in the Mettmann district, directly north of Düsseldorf. The city is celebrating its 750th anniversary in 2026 – the 20th anniversary of Folkerdey thus falls within a special year of civic identity. Folkerdey is one of the city's oldest continuously running open-air festivals.