The Next Day #49: Berlin Weekend Guide
Must-Go Events in Berlin: May 8th to May 12th
Hi! ◡̈
Another holiday with promising weather, and a bustling lineup of parties, concerts, and special events. Our highlight for this weekend is our debut event at Estelle on Sunday with the Pondji's irresistible "pão de queijo" (cheese bread/cheese ball), caipirinhas, and a selection of natural wines from Sips.
But, while our big day hasn't arrived yet, we'll dance with Moderna at her Album Release Party on Thursday and with Honey Dijon at Panorama Bar on Friday. We're curious about Creamcake's new project "Is it Cold in the Water" at Liquidrom.
For concert fans, choosing between XJazz’s incredible lineup can be a bit tricky, but we’ve made a special selection of where to go. Alongside the festival, we recommend The Staves concert and the Bakefest.
This month presents a rare opportunity for opera lovers to experience the complete cycle of Richard Wagner's "The Ring of the Nibelung" at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. This week, you can catch "The Rhinegold" and "The Valkyries."
The exhibition "Radical Playgrounds" offers a unique perspective on play. It has transformed the Gropius Bau parking lot into a temporary, itinerant funfair, and immersive experience.
Stay in the loop with Berlin's latest news in English through 20 Percent Berlin. Get a sneak peek of our weekend guide every Tuesday.
Hope to see you at Estelle for a nice afternoon.
Lalai & Mateus
The Next Day Berlin Spring Celebration
Sunday, 12.05, 4 - 10 pm. Estelle Dining, Kopenhagener Str. 12A, Prenzlauer Berg. Free entrance.
Join us for our first event with Estelle Dining to celebrate Spring and Mother's Day. Enjoy delicious Pondji cheese balls/cheese bread, caipirinhas, and natural wine from Sips on Prenzlauer Berg's sunniest sidewalk, and meet the people behind The Next Day. Music curation by 🎧 Barbara Boeing. Expect plenty of groove and tunes from the tropics.
You can book a table here or just come by to say hello and try these delicacies.
XJazz Festival
Until Sunday, various locations. Ticket: 35€ / 55€ Day Pass / 101€ 3 Day Pass
The 10th edition presents 80 live acts and DJs at nine venues, expanding beyond jazz to feature a fusion of dance, hip-hop, rock, classical, and global rhythms. Some highlights: Wednesday: Shabaka. Thursday: Bill Frisell. Friday: Muriel Grossmann, Nightmares On Wax presents Carboot Soul Live, Stella & The Longos, Wayne Snow, Gang of Wolves (Ricardo Villalobos & Wolfgang Haffner), and Sasha Berliner. Saturday: Bendik Giske + Sannie Est, Lonnie Holley, Nubiyan Twist, Manou Gallo, Dora Morelenbaum, and Orchestra Baobab, among others. Sunday: Omer Klein & Studnitzky, Dina Ögon, and Nduduzo Makhathini.
The Staves
Wednesday, 08.05, 8 pm. Heimathafen Neukölln, Karl-Marx-Strasse 141. Ticket: 34,58€.
The British duo The Staves' new album 🎧 "All Now" brings a fresh indie-rock vibe to their folk roots. Expect a show that navigates between familiar folk roots and thrilling new textures, reflecting the duo's journey of reinvention and resilience.
Rondo Projects, Edition Berlin No. 2
Thursday, 09.05, 7:30 - 10 pm. Galiläakirche, Rigaer Str. 9-10, Friedrichshain. Ticket: 15€.
🎧 Rondo Projects, led by Ehsan Sadigh and Mazyar Younesi, brings musicians together to create music, always changing and growing. They love to improvise, giving them lots of room to be creative. #experimental #jazz
Bakefest
Thursday, 09.05, 3 pm. Baketown, Kolonnenstrasse 27, 10829 Schönenberg. Ticket: 34,58€.
Berlin Meets NYC underground music, showcasing R&B, pop, and hip-hop at this festival. The line-up features 🎧 duendita, 🎧 Salomon Faye, 🎧 Selassie, Jaxx TMS + 🎧 Slimgirl fat.
Danny Brown
Saturday, 11.05, 8 pm. Heimathafen Neukölln, Karl-Marx-Strasse 141. Ticket: 35€.
In his sixth album 🎧 'Quaranta', the Detroit rapper gets more introspective and reflective than ever before.
Gezellig Sessions #30
Saturday, 11.05, 4 - 8 pm. Berlin-Mitte 10117. Ticket: 20/30€ with 10% discount using the code ‘thenextday’ - BYOB (Bring your own bottle). **We have a pair of tickets for our readers to give away to the first person who sends us an email by Friday.
Manoj opens his flat in Mitte to host three cozy concerts every month. The vibes are indie, alternative, and folk with some pop in between. If you are a Eurovision big fan, you can stay longer to watch the big final after the gigs.
Some indie rock concerts happening this holiday:
✨ Almost Twins for 🎧 good vibes: Friday, 10.05, 8:15 pm, at Monarch, Skalitzer Str. 134, Kreuzberg. Ticket: 17,70€.
🎸 Shadow Show + 🎧 The Killing Floors for some noise and guitar riff: Saturday, 11.05, at 7 pm, at Wild at Heart, Wiener Strasse 20, Kreuzberg.
⚡︎ Sarah Records Night with 🎧 Space Kelly: Saturday, 11.05, 6 pm. KulturMarktHalle, Hanns-Eisler-Strasse 93, Prenzlauer Berg. Ticket: 20,90€.
Free Day Rave
Thursday, 09.05, 4 - 10 pm. Renate Garten, Alt Stralau 70; Friedrichshain. Free entrance.
Celebrate Ascension Day with an open-air rave featuring DJs 🎧 Santa Valentina and 🎧 Katzenohr. Electronic meets pop music.
Heideglühen Feiertags-Special
Thursday, 09.05, 12 pm - 2 am. Heideglühen, Seestrasse 1, 13353 Berlin. Ticket:
Holiday party with a special line-up featuring Hunee (Rush Hour) playing before the sunset. Be ready for the long queues.
The Future Is Among Us - Moderna Album Release Party
Thursday, 09.05, 10 pm - 4 am. La Flor, Franz. Str. 15, 10117 Berlin. Ticket: 16,95€.
With DJs Jennifer Touch, Joyce Muniz, Skelesys, and 🎧 Moderna. It promises to be a perfect dancefloor for house music, electro, and EBM fans.
Herrentag lol - Queer Beach Day
Thursday, 09.05, 3 - 11:59 pm. Plötzensee, Nordufer 26, 13351 Berlin.
House, disco, electro, and techno, with a full FLINTA and/or LGBTQ+ lineup. The event aims to challenge patriarchal traditions associated with "Herrentag" by creating an alternative space in support of Tuntenhaus, a queer housing project. Attendees are invited to disrupt norms and combat gentrification. 🎧 Solaar
Mr. Scruff All Night Long
Friday, 10.05, 8 pm. Gretchen, Obentrautstrase 19-21, Kreuzberg. Ticket: 19,80€.
Mr. Scruff, the producer behind the hit 🎧 'Get A Move On!', will DJ for 6 hours non-stop this Friday. Want to know what to expect? Play 🎧 here.
Jack your Body
Friday, 10.05, 10 pm - 7 am. Berghain / Panorama Bar, 70 Am Wriezener Bahnhof; Friedrichshain.
Jack, jack, ja jack jack your body with Miss Honey Dijon and her two guest DJs: Codie Curry and DESIREE. Wait for a night filled with house and disco music.
Das Leben ein Traum (Life is a dream)
Friday 10.05 7:30 pm. Directed by Clemens Maria Schönborn. In German with English surtitles. Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, 10178 Berlin. Ticket: 12€-40€.
Based on Pedro Calderón de la Barca “Life is a dream”. Our civilization is on the brink of vital exhaustion. In 17th-century Spain, when the hunger for life was huge, official culture focused on the denial of desires and carnal lust. They kept reminding folks that Earthly presence had only imperfect pleasures to offer, and God was the sole true source of happiness. This discourse is no longer acceptable today.
Die Vaterlosen (Fatherless)
Saturday 11.05. 7:30 pm. Directed by Jette Steckel. In German with English surtitles. Ticket: 15€-56€.
Can the changes brought by the Modern Age be ignored? In Jette Steckel’s precise and witty production of Anton Chekhov’s “Die Vaterlosen (Fatherless)”, a society dances on the grave of its former glamour. It’s one of the ten selected productions of TheaterTreffen 2024.
The Ring of the Nibelung – The Rhinegold
Saturday 11.05, 7:30 pm. In German with German and English surtitles. 2 hrs 30 mins / No interval. Deutsche Oper Berlin Bismarckstrasse 35, 10627 Berlin-Charlottenburg Ticket: 60 € - 240€.
Richard Wagner considered RHEINGOLD a "pre-evening" to his stage play DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN, a label that certainly deliberately refers to the prologues of the Baroque operas. At the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Norwegian director Stefan Herheim is translating the mindset of Wagner's tetralogy into the 21st century.
The Ring of the Nibelung – The Valkyrie
Sunday 12.05, 4 pm. In German with German and English surtitles. 5 hrs 30 mins / 2 intervals Deutsche Oper Berlin Bismarckstrasse 35, 10627 Berlin-Charlottenburg Ticket: 60 € - 240€.
In THE VALKYRIE Wagner makes it plain whose side he is on: in the big love scene between Siegmund and Sieglinde, in which the elemental force of love outpunches all social mores, and in the evolution of Brünnhilde’s character, whose conduct is at first motivated by intuitive sympathy but morphs into deliberate action as a protest against inhumanity and injustice.
Radical Playgrounds: From Competition to Collaboration
Until 14.07. Wed-Sun, 11 am – 8 pm. Parking lot in front of Gropius Bau, Niederkirchnerstraße 7, 10963 Berlin. Free admission. Curated by Joanna Warsza and Benjamin Foerster-Baldenius.
Public space is also a relation between strangers. A place that not only unites but also reveals what divides us. City playgrounds are particularly significant public realms because it is here that the tension between rules and freedom, the familiar and the unknown, borders and transgression, the present and the future, risk and security are constantly negotiated. Group show with Edgar Calel, Alice Chauchat, Céline Condorelli, Massimo Furlan, Florentina Holzinger, Ingela Ihrman, Tomás Saraceno, and others.
Reimagining Memory, Class Naprushkina/Husain, Udk
Opening: Wednesday, 08.05, 6-9 pm. From 09.05 -12.05, 12 pm to 7 pm. Kunstquartier Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2, 10997 Berlin. Free admission.
The exhibition curated by Maria Isserlis invites contemplation on unconventional approaches to narratives and memory, focusing on the transformative power of diverse voices and artistic expression to construct a more comprehensive account of our shared past and to create better opportunities to plan our shared future.
Street Food Thursday
Thursday, 09.05, 12 - 10 pm. Markthalle Neun, Eisenbahnstr. 42/43, Kreuzberg.
You have all day to savor the culinary highlights of street food, from lunch to afternoon snacks to dinner.
Run-N-Rave
Thursday, 09.05, 7 am. Meeting point: Gneisenaustrasse 66-67, Kreuzberg. Registration here.
If you're an early bird who enjoys running and never says no to a party, then the run-n-rave event is perfect for you with a park run, workout, and beats. This event happens every Thursday in May.
Creamcake: Is it cold in the water
Friday, 10.05, 9 am - 2:45 pm. Liquidrom, Möckernstrasse 10, 10963 Berlin. Tickets: 29,50/50,85€.
Creamcake's "Is it cold in the water?" series debuts at Liquidrom, merging live performances with immersive art. Artists adapt to Liquidrom's water environments, challenging norms. Wait for a unique sensory experience. I’m curious about it!
Bite Club
Friday, 10.05, from 5 pm. Arena Berlin, Kreuzberg. Entrance from 5 pm at Eichenstrasse 4, and 6 pm via the Badeschiff. Ticket: 4€.
Berlin’s Famous Street Food Party with food trucks, pop-up kitchens, drinks, and a big disco beach floor! If the weather permits, you can swim at Badeschiff. Don’t forget to pack your bathing suit. 👙
Launch of e-flux Index
Friday, 10.05, 7:30 pm. KW Institute, Auguststrasse, 69, Mitte. Registration required.
e-flux Index is a collection of today’s most vital writing on art, culture, and theory. The e-flux Index#1 (400 pag) gathers pieces originally published from December 2023 through January 2024. The event features e-flux’s editors for conversation, drinks, and music by 🎧 Alva Noto.
Oximarkt
Saturday, 11.05, 12 - 8 pm. Oxi, Wiesenweg 1-4, 10365 Berlin.
Market with unique art, crafts, merch, handmade clothing or accessories, second-hand items, food, drinks, and music.
Berlin E-Prix
Saturday-Sunday, 10-11.05, Tempelhof Airport. Ticket: 5 / 99€.
Formula E is back in Berlin for all-electric, carbon-neutral car racing's 10th visit to the German capital as the drivers race the Tempelhof circuit. 2024 sees an all-new layout and a fresh new challenge on the concrete apron of the old airport.
Japanese Tea & Calligraphy Workshop
Sunday, 12.05, 3 - 6 pm. Nion Playground, Oranienburger Str. 32, Voderhaus 6 OG, Mitte. Ticket: 81,09€.
Two events in one: A Japanese Tea Experience with Yumi Tanabe with a tasting of Shincha, the first tea of the season, and the Calligraphy Workshop with Mika Kobayashi.
🎹 Kali Malone & Special Guests: I won't be in Berlin, but I wouldn't miss this concert if I were here. 🎧 All Life Long #experimental #post-minimalist - Thursday, 16.05, 7 pm. Zenner, Alt-Treptow 15, 12435 Berlin. Ticket: 35€.
🎹 Sofi Paez is a Costa Rican musician who beautifully explores piano and voice. 🎧 Silent Stories. Thursday, 30.05, 8 pm. Colosseum Berlin, Gleimstrasse 31, Prenzlauer Berg. Ticket: 23,69€.
🎹 The Smile presents the new album 🎧 Wall of Eyes. James Holden will be the opening act. ♡ 11.06, 8 pm. Uber Eats Music Hall. Ticket: 78,40/153,90€.
🌕 Air play Moon Safari: Sunday, 21.07, 7 pm, Zitadelle Spandau. Ticket: 54/82€. 🎧 Moon Safari
🎹 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
🎙️ Belle & Sebastian: The indie gems from Scotland are back on stage with two fresh albums in town! Fri, 07.06, 8 pm. Admiralspalast. Tickets: 41,13/55,50€. 🎧Late Developers
🎸 Garbage: Shirley Mason is back! Thu, 04.07, 8 pm. Verti Music Hall. 🎧 Betcha
🎤 Marisa Mont: The Greatest Hits Tour - One of the biggest names in Brazilian MPB. Sunday, 20.10, 8 pm. Tempodrom. Tickets: 49,83/91,85€. 🎧 Portas