The 14th Vienna Pop Festival presents its program

2023-07-06 09:30:37

July 27th to 30th: The wide and colorful spectrum of local pop music shines again at Karlsplatz – opening of the lake stage with The Scottish Principle, Donna Savage, Salò and Uche Yara

Vienna (OTS) – After a successful post-pandemic return of the pop festival to Vienna’s Karlsplatz, this year’s festival should shine in its usual splendor and at the same time bring out the new and sparkling pop phenomena in this country.

“Every year at the Vienna Popfest, the people of this city come together to celebrate and experience the diversity of the great Austrian pop culture scene. Finely curated and at a high level, the festival, which is accessible with free admission, is part of Vienna’s diverse cultural offerings and fulfills the motto “Culture for everyone” in a particularly enjoyable way,” says City Councilor for Culture Veronica Kaup-Hasler on the program presented today.

This year’s program directors, director and singer-songwriter Anna Mabo and electronic virtuoso Dorian Concept, come from very different backgrounds and didn’t know each other before: “Our program is somewhere between Huh? and wow! – We were looking for music that stands for itself. Something that does not reproduce but reinvents. An important criterion for us was always “Is it somehow independent?” In joint, passionate research, the two curators succeeded in coming up with an impressive pop-phenomenological hit.

Over 50 fresh pop acts over four days and nights

There are unashamed smash hits like BIBIZA, ANKATHIE KOI, SALÒ, BUNTSPECHT or the newcomers ENDLESS WELLNESS alongside the contemporary pop sophistication of LYLIT, SOFIE ROYER, MAIIJA, WANDL, PRESSYES or OH ALIEN. The dizzyingly diverse line-up also features early-career singer-songwriters with idiosyncratic, often literary perspectives such as EDNA MILLION, THE ZEW or the powerful performer UCHE YARA, feminist rap from DONNA SAVAGE and NENDA, cerebral indie-pop from EIN GESPENST or VIENNA RIP as well as experiments on the extreme edges of the pop concept, see ROSA ANSCHÜTZ, FENNESZ or KERN/QUEHENBERGER.

SEBA KAYAN, KIMYAN LAW and FARR provide various approaches to the topic of dance music, while LUKAS KOENIG & KIT DOWNES, WETTER ETC., SYNESTHETIC4 and ECHO BOOMER cross the borders in the direction of jazz. The unexpected return of punk will also have a big, fat focus with bands like BIPOLAR FEMININ, FRANZ FUEXE, COUSINES LIKE SHIT and LEFTOVERS. And that’s not all.

A total of 9 locations, in the center the lake stage with 14 big concerts

As the centerpiece and open-air flagship, the lake stage shines in the pond in front of the baroque Karlskirche, where hip acts from the young scenes perform and from where you can easily move to the more intimate settings indoors – to experience more experimental acts and discover insider tips .

The Wien Museum, a classic location from the start, will reopen in December and will therefore not be a prominent part of the festival until next year. The Künstlerhaus will open its factory doors for this, and the Stadtkino will also be there as a concert stage for two days this time. On the campus of the Technical University of Vienna, a highly energetic Prechtl Hall presents itself somewhere between punk and art-pop, and the historic cupola hall brings selected special programs from electronics to songwriting.

On the opposite side of the Resselpark, Club U becomes a nightly pop festival club location for no-bullshit sound collectives from Thursday to Saturday. During the day there are supporting programs in cooperation with mica – Music Austria (talks & workshops).

Finally, the festival finale on Sunday will again take place in two proven locations: After a Sunday sound picnic with literature in the Karlsgarten near the Kunsthalle Wien, the pop festival stages and celebrates its conclusion in the baroque Karlskirche.

The program at a glance

17.00 – 22.00 Open air sound system: Conny Frischauf

18.30 – 23.00 Seebühne: Das Schottische Prinzip – Donna Savage – Salò – Uche Yara

20.00 – 23.00 Künstlerhaus Factory: Weather Etc. – Echo Boomer

23.00 – 03.00 TU Prechtlsaal: Diving – Oh Alien – Aaron – Hari Viderci

ab 22.00 Club U: Urbs&Cutex, DJ DSL, Pezo Fox

16.00 – 22.00 Open Air Soundsystem: Lucia Kagramanyan

17.00 – 23.00 Seebühne: Endless Wellness – Pressyes – Ankathie Koi – Bibiza – Bipolar Feminin

7.00 p.m. – 1.30 a.m. Stadtkino in the Künstlerhaus: Vienna Rest In Peace – The Zew – Lylit Vienna Calling (Midnight Movie)

21.00 – 24.00 TU dome hall: Huuum – Fennesz

23.00 – 03.00 TU Prechtlsaal: Cousines Like Shit – Szene Putzn – Leftovers – Franz Fuexe

from 22.00 Club U: Sam Irl – Polyxene – Toupaz

16.00 – 22.00 Open Air Soundsystem: Seventeen Eleven

5 p.m. – 11 p.m. Floating stage: A ghost – Wandl – Sofie Royer – Nenda & Gilewicz – Buntspecht

6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Stadtkino in the Künstlerhaus: Matteo Haitzmann – Didi Kern & Philipp Quehenberger – Rent

21.00 – 24.00 TU Kuppelsaal: Maiija – Paul Plut

23.00 – 03.00 TU Prechtlsaal: Synesthetic4 – Kimyan Law – Seba Kayan – Farr

ab 22.00 Club U: 15 Years Duzz Down San Pt.1 feat. B.Ranks, Joja, Kinetical, Mo Cess, Mosch, Pirmin, P.Tah, Skofi

17.00 – 20.00 Karlsgarten: shadow music – Krixi, Kraxi and the Kroxn

21.00 – 24.00 Karlskirche: Edna Million – Lukas Koenig & Kit Downes, Rosa Anschütz

Popfest Sessions (Talks) in cooperation with mica – Music Austria, presented by the Vienna Business Agency

Fri, July 28, Club U: 1 p.m. Self-exploitation & Precariat, 2 p.m. Live: Billy Roisz
15.00 Pop, Alter & Ageism, 16.00 Live: Sterzinger II

Sa 29.7. Karlsgarten: 13.00 No Music On a Dead Planet, 14.00 Live: Sigrid Horn

Club U: 3pm Pop, Power & Abuse, 4pm Live: KMT

18.00 Turntablista – Workshop w/Masha Dabelka

Detailed program texts and photo downloads www.popfest.at

Popfest sponsors AK Vienna, Wiener Städtische

Music for everyone, cool and varied: In 2023, AK Wien will again support the Vienna Pop Festival as the main sponsor. On July 28th and 29th, the AK will host numerous live performances and the midnight movie “Vienna Calling” at the Stadtkino in the Künstlerhaus. The festival finale will take place on Sunday, July 30th in the Karlsgarten near the Kunsthalle Wien, which is also supported by the AK. The program includes open-air concerts and readings in the countryside. “Pop for everyone, new, diverse and exciting, that’s the Vienna Pop Festival,” says AK President Renate Anderl.

“People come together at the Popfest and celebrate summer in Vienna together with good music. Free leisure activities are enormously important, especially in times of rising prices.” The Vienna Pop Festival has long since become an annual fixture and cultural highlight in Vienna’s cultural summer. The AK has the legal mandate to represent not only the social and economic but also the cultural concerns of its members. The AK therefore places cultural funding on the broadest possible basis for all of its members. The cooperation with the Popfest Wien 2023 should also inspire a young audience for innovative local pop music and give them a taste for it.

“What would summer in Vienna be without the Popfest? A beautiful setting, a relaxed atmosphere and, above all, a top program with great local artists. Wiener Städtische has been a reliable partner for many years and is happy to support the pop festival again this year.” Sabine Toifl, Head of archyde news & Sponsoring, Wiener Städtische Versicherung

The Popfest would like to thank its sponsors and partners:

City of Vienna Culture, Radio FM4, BMKÖS, AK Vienna, Wiener Städtische Versicherung, Falter, Vienna University of Technology, Künstlerhaus, Stadtkino, Karlskirche, Karlsgarten, mica – Music Austria, Vienna Business Agency, Plakativ, The Gap, Augustin, Office Ukraine, the MA48 and the Vienna City Gardens.