After a two-year hiatus, Wave Gotik Treffen returns! Once again the sprawling festival runs from Friday, June 3rd until Monday, June 6th in venues spread across the entire city of Leipzig.
During this year’s edition of the world’s largest Gothic festival, there is something for every taste ranging from straight-up post-punk, gothic rock, darkwave, synthpop, minimal, and industrial.
On Friday night, it’s a tough decision. For the dreamers, we recommend heading to Moritzbastei and catching Riki, SRSQ, NightNight, and Deathsomnia. For a mix of synth and guitars mosey on over to Stadtbad, and catch Choir Boy and Rue Oberkampf. And, if you want gothic rock, Täubchenthal is the place to be that night, with Children on Stun and Nosferatu helming the evening there.
Saturday sees the Haus Leipzig showcases Belgian, Dutch, and Scandinavian post-punk with Silent Runners, The Names, Whispering Sons, The Exploding Boy, and Then Comes Silence. Moritzbastei features Korine ending the evening, one of the best synthpop duo’s in the world right now. Täubchenthal is once again the place to be for the old-school sound, with a stacked lineup including a few legends, Twisted Nerve, Frustration, and Sigue Sigue Sputnik, but try to get there early to see Totenwald, who are one of the best dark post-punk acts to come out of Berlin in quite a long time. Alternatively, if you fancy some Shoegaze-metal, check out GGGOLDDD and Alcest at Westbad.
Sunday there are quite a few choices, but if you don’t want to take cabs or trams across town, you can do no wrong sticking to the Volkspalast, where Soft Kill, Blacklist, And Also the Trees, Ritual Howls, and more are playing. But if you want something more synthy that evening, head over to Stadtbad where Tobias Bernstrup closes out the lineup there. Afterward, be sure to head to Agra Hall and catch Gary Numan who is performing as this year’s Midnight Special.
Monday, the last day of the festival, there are two choices. For synth lovers, head over to Haus Leipzig and see Qual, Kite, Linea Aspera, and more! If you want something more guitar-driven, head over to Westbad and catch New Days Delay, and Whispers in the Shadow, and for the death rockers and horror punk fans out there, Täubchenthal is your place to close out the Festival with Frankenstein, Rezurex, Nim Vind, and more!
Lastly, Friday through Sunday, if you want to dance after the concerts, we highly recommend the When We Were Young party at Täubchenthal.
See our full schedule picks below, and for the full schedule, and more info, head over to the official Wave Gotik Treffen website.
Moritzbastei
Stadtbad
Täubchenthal
Haus Leipzig
Moritzbastei
Täubchenthal
Westbad
agra hall
Moritzbastei
Stadtbad
Volkspalast Kantine
Volkspalast Kuppelhalle
Haus Leipzig
Westbad
Täubchenthal
Cold winter’s journey Oh your soul keeps bleeding on Through the storm and the war…
Untie The few and far behind Interest informant redefined Form a feed within and without…
Lost in a dream again Tell me that you want me, no need to pretend…
You can’t believe what they say, they’ll treat you like a fool It hurts me…
Did you feel afraid to whisper? It’s such cold comfort but it’s real The weight…
When light has gone Snow angels will turn to grey Dark veil of our embrace…