Pop-Kultur Festival
Berlin's Festival for Contemporary Pop Culture at Kulturbrauerei and silent green
2026
About Pop-Kultur
Pop-Kultur — edition 2026
The 2026 edition continues the multi-faceted festival format: a curated concert program with newcomers and established international acts, discourse formats, workshops, performance-cinema hybrids, plus the Pop-Kultur Nachwuchs program as a curatorial anchor for young musicians from around the world.
The venues work in parallel – Kulturbrauerei and silent green are the two main hubs, supplemented by rotating partner venues. Shuttle service between venues is common; a full festival visit means combining several locations in one evening. The complete 2026 program will be gradually released until shortly before the festival – Pop-Kultur traditionally works with staggered bookings, announced by genre or thematic blocks.
Highlights Pop-Kultur 2026
Programme Pop-Kultur 2026
Confirmed Acts 2026 (as of research)
- GRENZKONTROLLE — politically ambitious German hip-hop
- The Notwist — one of the most influential German indie projects
- Jassin
Program Structure (typical)
- Around 100 events over six days
- Over ten stages at Kulturbrauerei, silent green, and other Berlin venues
- Concerts and DJ sets — curated mix of newcomers and established acts, focus on contemporary pop music, indie, hip-hop, electronic music, and pop collisions
- Talks and panel discussions — music industry topics (streaming, AI, diversity, funding)
- Film screenings — music and performance films
- Performance and discourse formats
- Pop-Kultur Nachwuchs — residency and performances by young musicians from around the world
Venues 2026 (Selection)
- Kulturbrauerei, Schönhauser Allee 36, 10435 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg
- silent green Kulturquartier, Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin-Wedding
- Other Berlin partner venues (to be announced before the festival)
Full program and tickets at pop-kultur.berlin.
Prices Pop-Kultur 2026
Practical information — Pop-Kultur
Getting There
Kulturbrauerei: U-Bahn (subway) line U2 to Eberswalder Straße. silent green: U-Bahn line U6 to Seestraße. Both venues are about 15 minutes apart by U-Bahn – shuttle service between venues is planned during the festival week. Bus lines 142, 100 in their respective neighborhoods.
Admission
Tickets from approx. €10 per event. Festival passes (multi-day tickets) are available via pop-kultur.berlin with an early bird discount. Specific rates and pass options will be published for 2026 in spring 2026.
Accessibility
Pop-Kultur explicitly emphasizes inclusive access. Specific information on accessibility, sign language interpretation, and assistance will be communicated per venue via the festival website.
Berlin's Curated Pop Culture Festival
Pop-Kultur was founded in 2015 by Musicboard Berlin – the Berlin funding agency for the pop music industry. Unlike commercial city festivals (Lollapalooza Berlin, Tempelhof Sounds), Pop-Kultur consistently focuses on curatorial depth: the bookings often feature newcomers and internationally experimental artists, the program combines concerts with talks and performances, and admission is broadly accessible with festival passes starting at low prices. The venues are the Kulturbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg (Pankow district), the silent green in Wedding (Mitte district) – formerly a crematorium, now a cultural venue – and several other Berlin locations.
Pop-Kultur Nachwuchs as a Central Format
A characteristic feature of the festival is the Pop-Kultur Nachwuchs program: dozens of young musicians from around the world are invited annually to spend a week in Berlin, attend workshops, network, and perform at the festival. This makes Pop-Kultur an important industry hub for young pop and electronic music. Applications for Nachwuchs 2026 are currently open.
2026 Program Featuring GRENZKONTROLLE, The Notwist, and Jassin
Among the acts announced for 2026 so far are GRENZKONTROLLE (politically ambitious German hip-hop), The Notwist (one of the most influential German indie projects), and Jassin. Pop-Kultur traditionally curates the lineup step by step, with announcements spread over several months – the complete 2026 program will be released in spring and summer 2026 on the festival website.
Discourse and Performance Alongside Concerts
Pop-Kultur is explicitly more than just a concert festival. The program includes talks on music industry topics (streaming, AI, diversity, career prospects), performance formats, film screenings, and occasional readings. This makes the festival a meeting point not only for concertgoers but also for music journalists, label employees, and cultural policymakers. The festival is supported by Musicboard, the Berlin Senate Department for Culture, Initiative Musik, and Creative Europe MEDIA.
Where it takes place Pop-Kultur
Pop-Kultur at a glance
History of Pop-Kultur
Edition 2025 Aug 2025Festivals similar to Pop-Kultur
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