Harmonica FEN Festival 2026

In the organizer's words:

At the third HARMONICA FEN FESTIVAL 2026 in Berlin, music fans can experience the harmonica in its many facets. The instrument, today often only known from blues, rock/pop or folk music, is often underestimated in the music world. From May 29-31, 2026, international musicians will bring the harmonica to the stage of the Kesselhaus in the Kulturbrauerei Berlin in a wide variety of genres.

Artistic directors Sören Birke and Eric Dann and festival director Julia Thurau present an impressive variety: Indian ragas meet old-time grooves, jazz sounds classical or oriental, plus country, Chicago and Brazilian blues as well as folk from Finland.

The focus is on genre diversity and the joy of music. In its second edition, the festival has already become a meeting place for international musicians.
"The HARMONICA FEN FESTIVAL is a place for everyone who is ready to be amazed and curious about new things," says Julia Thurau.

Internationally renowned virtuosos will be playing at the 2026 festival:
Old-time musician Seth Shumate (USA), the Belgian-Israeli jazz musician Yotam Ben-Or, blues icon Keith Dunn (NL/USA), the young Indian Shubhranil Sarkar, Hermine Deurloo from the Netherlands (jazz), the Swedish country blues band John Henry led by harmonica player Mikael Bäckman, the Finnish quartet Sväng and the young Brazilian Indiara Sfair,

At the end of the HARMONICA FEN FESTIVAL, the Free Reeds All Star Quartet will be bringing four instruments with a resounding reed to the stage, thus commemorating the 30th anniversary of the first "reed festival" in Berlin in 1996.

The festival
- Three evenings, each with three top-class concerts
- Late-night jam sessions for everyone on Friday and Saturday
- Masterclasses and workshops on Saturday and Sunday
- Jam session in the beer garden of the Frannz Club on Sunday - free and outside

Price information:

From one-way ticket to 3-day ticket