Austrian Music Highlights: July/August 2024

Photo of Acoustic Lakeside festival (c) Bernhard Schindler
Acoustic Lakeside festival (c) Bernhard Schindler

After a period of fairly humane weather, Mother Nature has turned on the broiler, and everything and everyone is moving a little more s l o w l y around here..but the Austrian music scene waits for no one! Hot (and we do mean hot) off the press: it’s your Austrian Music Highlights for high summer.

Let’s get right into it: we teased it a little last month, and now it’s broken upon us like the blazing sun on a July morning…sorry! We’ll stop with the weather comments. In any case, it’s now undeniably:

Festival Season

Jump in the Pool

As we recently noted, the Poolbar Festival is a Vorarlberg institution. It’s got a lot going for it: besides combining “pool” and “bar”, it runs from July 10th till August 11th (in other words, now!), and, best of all: it features loads of quality Austrian music, including headliners like Cari Cari, Klangkarussell, and Molden & Seiler, and support acts like Aze, Anda Morts, Berglind, Bipolar Feminin, Cousines Like Shit, Fiio, Ja, Panik, Leftovers, Nnoa, oh alien, and Uche Yara.

…Or the lake

Acoustic Lakeside also sounds incredibly appealing right now, and that’s not just due to its location on Carinthia’s idyllic Sonnegger See. The line-up features Austrian Music Export favorites including Alicia Edelweiss, Endless Wellness, Leftovers, Mynth, My Ugly Clementine, and good ol’ Oska. Oh, and Calexico‘s also playing. But anyway: just look at the photos – you know you’re craving these vibes . And it’s happening from July 18 – 20, so get your tickets now (link at bottom).

…or the, er, reflecting pool at Karlsplatz

Photo of Popfest Seebühne (c) Eva Manhart/APA
Popfest Seebühne (c) Eva Manhart/APA

But hey: summer in the city has its attractions as well! Chief among them is Popfest Wien, Vienna’s annual, extravagant celebration of its vibrant pop scene. This year’s program, curated by Attwenger‘s Markus Binder and FM4 Soundpark maven Lisa Schneider, is heavy on the indie-rock and Deutschpop – A short list of highlights includes Der Nino aus Wien, Verifiziert, Oskar Haag (Thursday), Viji, Culk, Sharktank (Friday), Enesi M., Anna Mabo, Ja, Panik (Saturday), and Aze (Sunday). Also worthy of mention are the Popfest Wien Sessions, a workshop and discussion series co-sponsored by mica – music austria and the Wirtschaftsagentur Wien. For more information, head on over to our recent article.

Confront

The Konfrontationen festival for free and improvised music is in its 44th year; running from July 26th – 28th at the Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf in Burgenland, it’s the kind of grassroots, do-it-yourself, defiantly counterculture festival you don’t find too much anymore, and if the artists playing it aren’t all as media-savvy as the rest we’ve named here, they’re at least as worthy of your attention. Radian‘s Martin Siewert and Martin Brandlmayr will both be making an appearance, as will Didi Kern, Georg Graewe, and “surprises”, according to the flyer. Check out the refreshingly straightforward Konfrontationen homepage for more.

…or Head for the hills

At the other end of the country – and the spectrum – is Jazzfestival Saalfelden, an annual jazz extravaganza in the mountains above Salzburg. This year’s edition – also the 44th – is happening from August 22 – 25 and is as jam-packed as ever: Mona Matbou Riahi is taking the reins on the opening concert; Lukas Kranzelbinder will be holding court as usual, Franz Hautzinger (featuring Christian Fennesz, Lukas König, and members of Radian and Elektro Guzzi), Vincent Pongracz, Bipolar Feminin…actually, you know what? Head over to our recent Saalfelden article, where we’ve helpfully sorted out all the Austrian acts for you.

Video: Jazzfestival Saalfelden 2023 recap

Further Afield

Summertime is tour time as well, and lots of folks are out and about. For instance…

Voodoo Jürgens

We’ve said it before: Voodoo Jürgens, avatar of the Vienna vibe (and the mullet), is certainly one of the hardest-working men in Austrian show business. In the coming weeks, he’ll be stopping in at:

Photo of Voodoo Jürgens (c) Florian Lehner
  • July 16 – Karlstorbahnhof, Heidelberg
  • July 17 – Zelt-Musik-Festival, Freiburg
  • July 18 – Im Wizemann, Stuttgart
  • July 19 – U&D SoundGarten, Ulm
  • July 28 – Bardentreffen, Nuremberg
  • August 29 – Franzis, Wetzlar
  • August 30 – Musikbunker, Aachen
  • August 31 – Gdanska, Oberhausen

Lucy Dreams

The Vienna pop trio (2 men + 1 machine) Lucy Dreams is riding their A.I.-powered wave (with an assist from the Impulse Program) all the way to Canada this summer, bringing their sci-fi pop to audiences at:

  • August 16 – Jimmy Jazz, Guelph
  • August 21 – L’Escogriffe, Montréal
  • August 23 – Houndstooth, Toronto
  • August 24 – Maud’s Variety, Sarnia
  • August 26 – Avant Garde, Ottawa
  • August 29 – Warehouse, St. Catharines
  • August 30 – Palasad, London (Ontario)

Briefly Noted

Conny Frischauf – Kenne Keine Töne

In these trepidatious times, the ability to create an atmosphere of childlike wonder is a true gift – and singer/songwriter/electronicist Conny Frischauf has it. With a couple synths, a sampler, and no screen whatsoever, she creates songs like found objects. You get the impression she’s constantly discovering new things, but the subtle layering of beats and textures, both experimental and catchy, suggests that it’s at least partially on purpose. Beguiling. (Bureau B)

Video: Conny Frischauf – “Nordwestwind”

Oehl – Tom (EP)

Oehl’s new EP, appearing on July 19th, is subtitled “six sad songs to dance to” – and that about covers it. He croons over a pillow of plaintive synths and downtempo beats. The word “bittersweet” was coined for music like this: it’s sugary, there’s no denying it, but Oehl’s melodic inventiveness and subtle production lends it unexpected depth. (Mom I Made It)

Video: Oehl – “Das Fest”

And so this is us, riding off into the sunset: we’ll be taking the month of August off, but we look forward to sharing the latest Austrian news with you again in September. Happy summer! – Philip Yaeger