The Next Day #38: Berlin Weekend Guide
Must-Go Events in Berlin: February 22nd - 26th
Hallo! Hallo! Wochenende bereit?
Live music stages are buzzing this weekend! For jazz lovers, two highlights this weekend: a tribute to Charlie Parker at Philharmonie, and Sun Ark unveiling their self-titled album at Donau115. Looking for experimental vibes? Check out Maya Shenfeld & Pedro Maia's audiovisual show at silent green. For stunning visuals, Max Cooper's always a hit. And to end the weekend on a high note, Sophia Kennedy at HAU1 promises a cool performance.
On the dance floor, two parties catch our eye: the bass and garage vibes of the UK party Keep Rush Live, and the vibrant queer Arabic-pop party ADIRA at Gretchen.
As Berlinale winds down, here's what's on our weekend watchlist: "Sleep with Your Eyes Open," "Sasquatch Sunset," "Matt and Mara", and "Crossing." For more film picks, don't miss our Berlinale guide.
For Gob Squad's fans, don't miss "Room Service (Help Me Make It Through The Night)," premiered 20 years ago and will be performed for the last time in Berlin. If you are more into dance, Staatsballett Berlin will be presenting “William Forsythe” this weekend.
Loads of exhibitions popping up this weekend! The top pick is the group show "I opened the curtain to see what lays behind," but we're also loving the sauna exhibition by the Finnish Embassy. It's a chance to try out a real Finnish sauna! If you've only got Sunday left for an exhibition, check out "Wolf Biermann. A Poet and Songwriter in Germany", at the Deutsches Historisches Museum.
If the sky's clear, don't miss the weekend's standout: the full moon on Saturday. 🌕
Stay updated on Berlin's top news in English with 20 Percent Berlin, offering a Tuesday preview of three-weekend events for your planning.
Lalai & Mateus
Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic: “Bird Lives” – Tribute to Charlie Parker
Thursday, 22.02, 8 pm. Philharmonie Berlin, Herbert-von-Karajan-Str. 1. Ticket: 22/69€.
Saxophonist Charlie Parker, a jazz legend, revolutionized music with his improvisation and innovative techniques. Though he died at 34, his music lives on through SWR Bigband's Grammy-winning project "Bird Lives," offering fresh interpretations of his genius.
The Courettes
Thursday, 22.02, 7 pm. Lido, Cuvrystrasse 7, 10997 Berlin. Ticket: 21,50€.
Looking for a rock 'n roll concert? Get pumped for a '70s vibe garage rock night with The Courettes. They'll kick things off by playing their entire album "Back in Mono," followed by sneak peeks of new songs from their upcoming album.
Maya Shenfeld & Pedro Maia present: Under the Sun – Release Show
Friday, 23.02, 8 pm. silent green, Gerichtstrasse 35, Wedding. Ticket: 15€.
This beautiful concert is for you if you want to be inspired this weekend. Composer Maya blends experimental, classical, and popular music methods. Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Maia adds immersive videos to enhance the experience. 🎧 In Free Fall
Max Cooper: Unspoken Words
Friday, 23.02, 8 pm. Kesselhaus in der Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstrasse 97, Prenzlauer Berg. Ticket: 38,25€.
Max Cooper's concert is a must-see for fans of immersive audiovisual experiences. Returning to Berlin to present the album 🎧 "Unspoken Words", a Dolby Atmos + Dolby Vision film, showcasing musical and visual brilliance. Crafted with meticulous spatial structures, his concert is a dizzying experience.
Sun Ark
Friday, 23.02, 7:30 pm. Donau115, Donaustrasse 115, Neukölln. Donation based.
Sun Ark's blend of genres combines electronic, hip-hop, Brazilian, and jazz influences into a lush, colorful sound. Founder Johannes Mann describes their new album 🎧 Sun Ark as a sonic landscape, shifting from sunny to experimental.
Sophia Kennedy / Moritz Fasbender
Sunday, 25.02, 7 pm. HAU1, Stresemannstrasse 29, 10963. Ticket: 9/22€.
Sophia Kennedy's music evokes a world tethered to memories, blending retro melodies with modern club beats. Her album 🎧 "Monsters" explores beauty intertwined with paranoia. Moritz Fasbender opens the evening with atmospheric instrumental pieces, ranging from noir scores to epic expanses.
Ameli In The Woods
Sunday, 25.02, 8 pm. Kantine Berghain, Am Wriezener bhf, 10243 Berlin Ticket: 20,30€.
Ameli in the Woods takes you on a wild ride through a world of diverse sounds. Ameli's debut album, 🎧 "Throw My Fears Into The River," is a rollercoaster of emotions from dreamy vibes to explosive beats. It's funky, jazzy, and irresistible!
Keep Rush Live: Berlin
Thursday, 22.02, 7 pm - 2 am. Location via Instagram. Ticket: 14,50€.
UK party starters Keep Hush are back with a lineup pushing everything from dubstep and UKG to boisterous bassline and jungle. 🎧 Elke 🎧 Guava
Motsion with King Softy, Andriy K., AXT, PVAS
Thursday, 22.02, 8 pm - 1 am. Kwia, Maybachufer 16, 12047 Berlin. Ticket: 11€.
Motsion's back in Berlin for a sonic gem show at Kwia. Dive deep tonight with two live acts soaked in calming vibes. PVAS brings swaggering micro-rhythms and trippy psychedelia, while 🎧 Andriy K. explores tactile soundscapes.
Folamour: A Decade Together
Fri, 23.02, 10 pm. Spätkauf ALX, Mitte; Sat, 24.02, 11 pm, Prince Charles; Sun, 4 pm, Watergate. Tickets for Fri-Sat are sold out with the resale queue active. Sunday: 25,30€.
French DJ and producer Folamour brings his 🎧 groove to the dancefloor with disco and house music. Celebrating "A Decade Together," he tours with three packed gigs in Berlin.
ADIRA
Saturday, 24.02, 11 pm - 6 am. Gretchen, Obentrautstr.19-21, Kreuzberg. Ticket: 16,95€.
Join ADIRA’s first-anniversary party! Amplify the voices of queer Arabs and Arabic speakers challenging norms and fighting for their right to exist freely. ADIRA celebrates queer Arabic-pop scene. 🎧 DumTak
William Forsythe
Thursday, 19.02, 7:30 pm. Staatsballett Berlin. Deutsche Oper Berlin Bismarckstrasse 35, Berlin-Charlottenburg. Ticket: 43/102€.
Many of William Forsythe’s virtuoso compositions have long become modern classics. In this homage, the Staatsballett Belin will perform three groundbreaking pieces “Approximate Sonata 2016”, “One Flat Thing, reproduced” and “Blake Works I” by the American choreographer.
Room Service (Help Me Make It Through The Night)
Fri-Sat, 23-24.02, 9 pm. Concept: Gob Squad, 5 hours (Come at the start and leave when you want). In German and English. Centre Français de Berlin, Müllerstrasse 74, 13349 Berlin. Ticket: 16,50€.
Four performers spend a sleepless night alone in separate hotel rooms. The audience follows the action live via four projections in the City Cinema in the same building complex of the CFB - Centre Français de Berlin, thus turning the intimacy of the rooms into a stage. 20 years after its premiere, CFB Berlin is showing Room Service for the last time in Berlin.
ExpLoRE: Play Bow
Friday, 23.02, 8 pm. English Theatre Berlin, Fidicinstrasse 40, 10965. Ticket: 11€.
Play Bow merges street and contemporary dance, original music, and Jungian-inspired costumes to metaphorize canine play behavior, exploring human relationships and social roles, including courting rituals, within an electronic music club soundtrack and choreography by Sami Giron.
Rabatt
Saturday, 24.02, 7:30 pm. In German with English surtitles. Maxim Gorki Theater, Am Festungsgraben 2, 10117 Berlin. Ticket: 12€ - 33€.
What happens when someone dies in this country and there’s no money left for the burial? Of course, no one wants to think too much about that. But what options are there for this final journey? In short: public burials. Directed by Nora Abdel-Maksoud.
Douglas Kolk: Don’t
Opening Thursday, 22.02, 6 pm. Until 17.03. Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Kottbusser Str. 10/d, 10999 Berlin.
Douglas Kolk's Berlin exhibition revisits 1990s pop culture through his unique lens. Using recycled materials, he explores identity, subcultures, and media clichés.
I opened the curtain to see what lays behind
Opening Friday, 6 - 9 pm. carlier | gebauer, Markgrafenstraße 67, 10969 Berlin.
A group exhibition with works by Juliana Cerqueira Leite, Asta Gröting, Lexia Hachtmann, Pakui Hardware, Laura Lima, Lúcia Koch, Joanna Piotrowska, Guga Szabzon and Tiago Tebet.
Maja Rohwetter und Jeanne Susplugas – Et si c'était ça, le paradise?
Opening Friday, 23.02, 7-10 pm. Until 23.03. Axel Obiger, Brunnenstrasse 29, Mitte.
Is paradise a place outside reality or within ourselves? Artists Jeanne Susplugas & Maja Rohwetter explore this in VR, AR, drawings, and prints.
Die Sauna. Echt heiß. Echt Finnisch
Until 14.04. Nordic Embassies - Felleshus, Rauchstrasse 1, 10787 Berlin. Free admission.
Where there are Finns, there’s also a sauna. This unusual expo dives deep into sauna culture with photos, videos, and installations from both past and present. Plus, join discussions, catch film screenings, and best of all, experience a real Finnish sauna yourself!
Daylong Celebration of Georgian Wine
Saturday, 24.02, 12 - 6 pm. Großbeerenstrasse 27A, 10963 Berlin. Ticket: 5€ (Allows you to try every wine)
Meet three Georgian winemakers sharing their passion. Dive into Georgian wine and its fascinating stories. It promises to be a day of learning, exploration, and delicious Georgian street food cooked by a local chef.
Blue Planet Sci-Fi Film Festival Screening Tour in Berlin
Saturday, 24.02, 7:30 - 9:30 pm. Colosseum, Saal 7, Gleimstrasse 31 10437 Berlin. Ticket: 4/8€
Check out the Blue Planet, China's first sci-fi film festival, showcasing top sci-fi flicks from all over. Dive into six awesome shorts that snagged awards at past editions.
🎤A.S. Fanning, Louis Brennan & The Travelling Circus of Misery: 28.02, 8 pm. silent green. Ticket: 23€. 🎧 Mushroom Cloud
🪩 Disco Tehran - Nowrouz in Berlin: Fri, 22.03, 11 pm - 6 am. Gretchen. Ticket: 13,55/22,60€.
🪩 LSDXOXO: Fri, 29.03, 10 pm. Trauma Bar & Kino, Heidestrasse 50, 10557 Berlin. Ticket: 20,35€. 🎧 Delusions of Grandeur
🎸 Altin Gün: 16-17.04, Huxley’s Neue Welt. Ticket: 32€. 🎧Aşk
🌕 Air play Moon Safari: Sunday, 21.07, 7 pm, Zitadelle Spandau. Ticket: 54/82€. 🎧 Moon Safari
🎸 King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: 20.05, 8 pm. Columbiahalle. Tickets: 55€. 🎧 The Silver Cord
🎹 Kiasmos - the electronic music duo by Ólafur Arnalds: 31.05, 8 pm. Huxley’s Neue Welt. Tickets: 42,40€. This is Kiasmos
🎙️Beth Gibbons: Lives Outgrown Tour: 02.06, 8 pm. Uber Eats Music Hall. Tickets: Standing 69,75€ / Seat 110/150€. 🎧 The Complete Collection