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There’s a joke out there that runs something like, what does a musician do if he wins the lottery? Go on tour until the money runs out, of course. Because performers perform, musicians make music, and singers sing – whether we’re allowed out or not. It’s an instinct that doesn’t stop just because we have to stay at home!

And of course we’ve all been enjoying the wide range of live-streamed concerts that have been keeping us sane over the last weeks; but the secret and the beauty of Berlin is that, just like you can always turn a corner down some street you haven’t seen before and stumble upon some unusual and unusually beautiful shop, artwork, view, perspective, you name it…the Berlin music scene is just the same: there are more hidden and not-so-well-hidden wonders than you can shake a proverbial stick at.

They’ve dedicated Berta Berlin to showcasing the best performances with top video and audio quality – and of course the performances themselves are superb

Which is why what Berta Berlin is doing is invaluable – a platform showcasing some of the talent that comes out of this city that you may or may not stumble across otherwise. They’ve dedicated Berta Berlin to showcasing the best performances with top video and audio quality – and of course the performances themselves are superb. The thing that makes Berta Berlin be especially good at doing this is the way it’s been so carefully and lovingly curated: and in who’s behind this platform: none other than Beat (ex-Ask Helmut and bassist of Marteria/Marsimoto), and Jean-Paul Mendelssohn (ex XJazz and manager of Ätna).

LYCHEE LASSI "20th Anniversary" | XJAZZ Festival at Prince Charles | live in Berlin from berta.berlin on Vimeo.

They say: “(As well as being hit by this Coronavirus lockdown) we’re also on the tail end of an analogue-only era and beginning of a great exploration of the digital cultural space, and as such the live shows must go on. We stream with an authentic view of outstanding performances…showcasing and supporting Berlin’s diverse cultural landscape.

We started this project a couple of months ago to sharpen the perception of newcomer artists and non-commercial projects in the digital space and open a new revenue channel for them. Now, more than ever it’s important to build sustainable structures and recognize new opportunities.”

Artists featured include an absolutely riveting performance from Alina Pash (see below), plus Bobby Rausch, Natalie Greffel, Kalle Kalima and more…

Berta Berlin Website | Berta Berlin Facebook | Berta Berlin Instagram | Berta Berlin Youtube | Berta Berlin Patreon

Alina Pash | Panda Woman Festival at Panda Theater | live in Berlin from berta.berlin on Vimeo.

I’m not going to begin to say, in any way at all, that the corona virus that we’re dealing with has anything good about it. But it’s also true that every crisis that happens brings something positive with it. Whether it’s triumphing through adversity or tough conditions bringing out the best in people – even while institutions, shops, and countries shut down, we see again and again the best in people coming out.

Everyone has by now seen and heard the Italian response to being shut up at home: whole neighbourhoods coming out on the balcony to sing together; or how in Spain at a particular time on a particular day, the entire country simultaneously applauded the emergency services; or about the tweets and the handwritten notices stuck on lampposts and pushed through letterboxes, asking if anyone infirm, old, alone, vulnerable, needs help.

And among the music community it’s been happening too: with any number of groups of musicians, labels, studios and engineers getting together to come up with ideas of how to put on online events, like Going Viral, United We Stream and Dringeblieben. Plus things like the “Lockdown Skill-swap” Facebook group, where people offer free training in whatever their expertise is…and much, much more.

We’ll be setting up a page on the Fete de la Musique website listing as many upcoming online music events that we find – so please send us your online events, and we’ll add them to the list!

The FETEBerlin team has found itself truly inspired by the creativity, positive spirit and general pluck shown by our independent creative community, both here in Berlin and further afield, in the face of the corona virus. And it didn’t take long to realise that of course we have our role to play: which is why we’re setting up a list of all such online streamed events that you can enjoy in the comfort of your home, here on the Berlin Fete de la Musique site.

The first events we’ve heard about and which we’d like to shine a light on are:

UNITED WE STREAM

The Berlin club scene has jumped into action: Every evening from 7pm and live-streamed on Facebook from a variety of (otherwise empty) Berlin clubs, DJ acts will be playing: a whole bunch of clubs and acts are getting on this; kicking off with performances from Watergate, Sage, Tresor and Griessmühle under the title United We Stream – check out the website for upcoming dates, locations and acts.

From decodedmagazine.com:

“As a reaction to closing all Berlin Clubs and the rest of the world being in quarantine, Berlin’s clubs, event organizers and artists declare their support for each other. On Wednesday, the 18th of march, they begin the biggest digital club on www.unitedwestream.berlin, daily from 7pm on and from changing venues. Next to streaming Live Dj-sets, Live-Music and Live- performances, it will be a platform for discussion rounds, presentations and movies addressing all themes concerning our club culture.

“UnitedWeStream is an initiative by the Berlin Club Commission and the campaign platform, Reclaim Club Culture. We are grateful to have won arte, radioeins, ALEX TV and the Berlin label SUOL and ifbbw as cooperating partners for providing and maintaining the streaming technology. betterplace.org offered themselves as a donation platform. Visitors to their page will be asked for a voluntarily donation and in return receive a „Virtual Club Ticket“. All the streaming ́s income will flow directly to a relief fund which will support Clubs, event organizers and artists in need. And for this case, a specific criteria catalog has been developed, as well as an independently assigned jury to make decisions about the distribution of these funds.”

Donation account:
https://uws.betterplace.org
Berlin Worx e.V.
IBAN DE 55 4306 0967 1179 9831 00
at GLS-Bank

Björn Lampe, CEO of betterplace.org: “As a company in the heart of Kreuzberg, we have always been closely connected to Berlin’s club culture. Not only do we appreciate the immediate neighborhood of the creative scene, we are also aware of the important role it plays for the Berlin economy and especially for Berlin itself. In times like these, we want to stand together and are very happy to be able to support the United We Stream initiative with our fundraising platform and our charity stream tools. “

Anja Caspary, Music Director of radioeins: “Radioeins supports the fundraising campaign wholeheartedly because the Berlin music culture scene is our lifeline. Reports and interviews with bands and musicians, artists and DJs are part of our DNA and we radio people can be found in the clubs and concert venues every night. In times of crisis, culture always struggles first. Therefore, it’s good that we can show everyone how they can help because it would be a great tragedy if the music scene did not survive corona. “

GOING VIRAL

The Fisher sisters – Georgie Fisher, who has been singer-songwriting around town for a good few years and has become a regular face on the scene; plus her sister Stephanie Fisher, who has now been bobbing about here for the last couple of years as well – have come up with an online streamed concert series called Going Viral; teaming up with a tech event team that contributes technical know-how plus top of the line video, recording and streaming equipment, they’ll be putting on a three concerts a week, each featuring two acts – with a more acoustic bent. The first concert is this weekend featuring their own duo, Sissos (check out those honeyed vocals!) and another Berlin acoustic scene stalwart, Lukas Laufen.

DRINGEBLIEBEN

From the people who do Rausgegangen, featuring live events (outside) in Cologne and Munich, comes Dringeblieben – featuring live events (inside). They say:

“With Rausgegangen we want to show what great experiences there are out there. But the coronavirus makes it impossible for us to go to venues or bars anymore.

We thought that if we as a society can’t go out for culture for the moment, we’ll bring culture into your living room instead. That’s why we will go online with live streams on dringeblieben.de from Tuesday at 6pm. What can you find on dringeblieben.de?

– Livestreams for artists and places to let events simply take place online. From theatre to concerts and parties.
– The possibility for viewers to communicate with the artists via chat
– The possibility for viewers to financially support the artists in the stream.”

We’ll be setting up a list of all such online streamed events right here on the website. If you’re putting on such events, please let us know and we’ll add them to the list!

I know, I get it. It’s winter outside. But summer’s coming – so don’t forget to register your stage or event location for the 21st June, Fete de la Musique Berlin 2020 – by 28th March.

I must confess that at the time of writing it is early March and today particularly winter is doing its best to give us one more chance to fully explore and embrace just how many shades of grey a sky can do. If there’s one thing a Berlin winter sky can do well, it’s shades of grey. As we all know, we residents and (mostly) lovers of Berlin, that the Berlin winter can tend to, well, drag on a little, it and its painterly explorations of the many permutations of…grey.

Which is why this is a perfect moment for one to close one’s eyes, put one’s head back, and dwell instead on summer. Summer in Berlin is, of course, nothing like winter in Berlin. As long as the Berlin winter is, the Berlin summer seems, especially in recent years, to stretch on and on too. Blue skies, lakes and parks, the green grass, the blue-green water; lazy strolls through back streets and stopping for a bio-ice cream or vegan doughnut; a Sunday S-Bahn ride in carriages full of chattering people, heading out to the lakes that surround the city, cycling slowly through shopping streets and lazing casually on cafe terraces, watching the world go by.

Ah, summer

And what, in the end, encapsulates Berlin summer more perfectly than that glorious, city-wide festival of music, singing, and general togetherness than the Fete de la Musique, timed each year for the 21st June, the beginning of summer?

Planning ahead is a thing

Yes, it’s true. Planning ahead is a thing. You just gotta do it. So this is a teensy little reminder, the gentlest of nudges, to not forget that registration of stages to be officially part of the Fete de la Musique, and all that comes with it, closes on the 28th March (that’s this month :)).

Here’s the link to register your stage, plus find out all the perks and benefits of being an official event location of the Fete de la Musique Berlin!

Photo (c) Jim Kroft

1995. Green Day and The Offspring have just brought punk kicking and screaming into the mainstream. In England, Oasis are going through the roof with ‘Morning Glory’ and Britpop is born. Hip hop is in its ‘golden era’ in the USA and hits Germany properly for the first time with the breakout success of German-language hip hop group Fantastischen Vier. The German single charts are overrun with bands like Take That, Rednex, Michael Jackson, Scatman John and DJ Bobo. This is the backdrop in the year that the Fête de la Musique finds its way to Berlin. Since those heady days the Fête Berlin has developed into an impossible-to-ignore city-wide summer event that pulls in more visitors and participants every year.

Fête de la Musique Berlin: get out on the streets and show what you can do!

The Fête de la Musique has its origins in France, where it first took place in Paris in 1982

In just under forty years it has made a triumphal procession around the globe and is now celebrated in more than 100 countries. Fun fact: the first German Fête took place in Munich in 1985.

At the Fete de la Musique every man, woman and child is invited to take to the streets and play music. Beginners are allowed to show their skills just the same as the professionals. On squares and in parks, in clubs, bars and concert halls there will be numerous indoor and outdoor stages, and anyone interested in performing on one can apply to the stage’s organizers. But music may and should also be played spontaneously – on every corner, whether alone, as a band or as a choir!

The multitude of street musicians in the capital city show us that spontaneous music-making can give unexpected pleasure while taking us away from everyday life for a while. And many of those who play in stadiums today have started on the streets. For example the Berlin group Seeed, who before their breakthrough played at the Fête as an unknown newcomer. Today, they would probably cause traffic jams all the way to the surrounding area if they played a free open-air gig.

This year’s focus district is Berlin Mitte

Where the subculture usually gathers to demonstrate, on June 21 every street corner will instead become a stage. The pedestrian zone of Friedrichstraße will provide space for street musicians. There will be stages in front of the Russisches Haus and the Galéries Lafayette, among others. And the Nikolai Quarter, Humboldt University, Brandenburg Gate, the main train station and many theatres and museums will also be the scene of music and choral singing.

The kickoff party for the Fête will take place on 20th June at the Centre Français

From 4pm til midnight there will be a colourful musical programme in all rooms and on two open air stages. Among others, the artist Jocelyn B. Smith will present her project “Songs of Substance”. More information about the program will follow. But you can still enter the date in your diary and take part in our Facebook Kickoff Event and stay informed.

21st June at 5pm European Singalong at the Gendarmenmarkt

After more than 3,500 singers participated in the European Singalong on the Gendarmenmarkt in 2019, this year’s event will be sung together with tens of thousands of other participants in many other European cities. By popular demand, the repertoire will this time extend beyond three songs.

Singalong at the Gendarmenmarkt FETEBerlin

To sum up: for the 25th Berlin Fête de la Musique there’s a massive amount in preparation. So start tuning your instruments and warming up your vocal chords. The beginning of summer will be musical!

Photos:  (c) Jim Kroft.

Facebook-Event FETE

Facebook-Event Kickoff

Facebook-Event Singalong