High Root Open Air x Summer in the City

The High Root Open Air is one of the most exciting innovations in the Mainz open-air calendar, combining two objectives: firstly, to bring electronic music, with its focus on House and Disco, out of the closed club space and into the urban landscape of Mainz; secondly, to make the genre accessible to a broader audience — families, weekend guests, classical concert-goers who don't necessarily frequent nightclubs.

The venue is the Mainz Citadel, whose extensive bastions and courtyards are perfectly suited for a festival that is both spectacular and family-friendly. The organizer is mainzplus Citymarketing GmbH, which has integrated the event as a central edition within the Summer in the City concert series.

The 2026 lineup reads like a best-of list of the German House and Disco scene. Milk & Sugar, the Munich DJ duo, has been a flagship of international House tracks of German origin for years. The Disco Boys, founded in Hamburg, have been a constant fixture in the German club scene since the early 2000s with countless chart hits. Tom Novy, the Munich veteran and one of the most influential names in German House, completes the DJ triumvirate. The headliners are complemented by regional acts and resident DJs from the Mainz and Rhine-Main area.

The family orientation is part of the program. Unlike purely nighttime events, admission starts at 3 PM, the program runs all afternoon, with food and drink offerings, seating, and an atmosphere between a garden party and a festival. Only towards the evening does the mood intensify towards classic DJ set energy. Afterwards, selected Mainz clubs invite you to official after-parties.