moers festival 2026

Every year at Pentecost, the city of Moers becomes a hub of musical diversity, artistic encounters, and lively discourse. Founded in 1972 as the Newjazz Festival, the moers festival has continuously evolved over the decades. While it was primarily dedicated to free jazz and fusion in its early years, from the 1980s onward it consistently opened itself up to new musical languages: avant-garde, world music, electronic experiments, industrial, post-punk, and noise expanded the spectrum. Today, the festival stands for crossing boundaries between genres, styles, and cultures.

In 2026, the moers festival will once again present over 100 concerts, discussions, and projects that open up new musical spaces beyond the mainstream. This year’s focus is on two outstanding composers, both of whom are celebrating their 100th birthdays: Morton Feldman and György Kurtág. Their unique approach to sound, silence, time, and structure transforms their music into poetic narratives—musical fairy tales in the truest sense.

Under the theme Like in a Fairy Tale!, the 2026 festival invites artists to musically explore the tension between fiction, escape, and reality. Fairytale motifs such as transformation, loss, hope, courage, and magic will not be told solely from a Western perspective.

The moers festival 2026 is made possible by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Further information:
moers-festival.de

Dates

May 21–25, 2026
Various locations, Moers