This year’s Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg once again showed why it is one of Europe’s most exciting meeting points for new music and international exchange. From September 17 to 20, the city’s clubs were filled with discoveries, encounters and inspiring performances, and Austria was right at the heart of it.
The festival opened on Wednesday night with Austrian Heartbeats at the legendary Indra Club, presented by Austrian Music Export and supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum Berlin. Before the concerts began, guests were welcomed at a reception hosted by AKM, with President Peter Vieweger and Susanne Lontzen joining the evening. Over freshly fried schnitzel, including a celeriac version, sweet Kaiserschmarren and a taste of Austrian schnaps, delegates and friends from all over the world met, reconnected and prepared for a night of live music from Austria’s next generation.
The Austrian Heartbeats showcase brought together four strong voices from the local scene. Sodl, winner of this year’s FM4 Award at the Amadeus Austrian Music Awards, opened with her unmistakable, emotionally direct indie pop. Filiah followed with delicate, honest songwriting and soft folk tones. Lukas Oscar filled the room with soulful melodies and warm production, before Magdalena Wawra’s mix of analogue synths, brass and pop energy closed the night in true celebration.
Throughout the week, Austrian artists could be found on stages all over Hamburg. In total, 24 artists played 28 shows, representing the diversity and creativity of the country’s music scene. Alongside the Austrian Heartbeats line-up, performances came from Sofie Royer, Zelda Weber, Beaks, Ella Stern, Anna Buchegger, Reverend Stomp, Anna Ullrich, Gardens, Magda, EN60, Glazed Curtains, Pure Chlorine, BAC, Sandra Hesch, Laurenz Nikolaus, Kitana, Lovehead, Zinn, Donna Savage and Robert Stadlober, creating a strong and inspiring presence that made Austria’s voice heard across the festival.
Check out our recap reel on Instagram.
Following their performances, and in close cooperation with our long-term PR partner Factory92, several Austrian Heartbeats acts gained attention across German, Austrian and Swiss radio. Magdalena Wawra’s “Orangenbäume” reached number 14 on the College Airplay Charts and is currently in rotation on BR Puls, FluxFM and NDR Blue. Filiah’s “Sad Girl With A Punchline” is receiving airplay on EgoFM, Detektor FM and ByteFM. Lukas Oscar’s “Onions” and Sodl’s “I Am a Woman” are also being played regularly on stations including BR Puls, Radio T, TIDE Radio and Radio Dreyeckland.
This year’s Reeperbahn Festival also marked a special moment for us at Austrian Music Export. After 12 years with the organisation, it was the final Reeperbahn Festival for Tatjana Domany, who handed over the role of Project Lead to Paulina Parvanov at the end of September. We are deeply grateful to Tatjana for the spirit, warmth and innovation she has brought to Austria’s music export work over the past decade, and we hope to welcome her again at one of our upcoming receptions.
We would like to thank everyone who joined us at Austrian Heartbeats @ Reeperbahn Festival 2025, discovered new music, shared a schnaps at the reception or simply celebrated with us. It was a night full of good energy, great people and strong performances, and a wonderful start to another inspiring festival week.
Paulina Parvanov