March is here, bringing the first signs of spring and plenty of reasons to dive into new music or head out to a show. Whether you’re following Austrian artists at home or catching their moves abroad, there’s a lot happening this month. Austrian Music Export is once again spotlighting the releases, concerts, and projects you’ll want to have on your radar. Dive into this month’s AUSTRIAN MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS and catch up on what’s new, what’s coming, and what’s worth your attention.
Festivities
Vienna’s Salam Music & Arts Festival returns for its 24th edition (17–26 April 2026) with guest curator Mohamed Ben Saïd steering a program that jumps from prestige stages to club sweatboxes. Highlights include the opening with Labess Trio at Porgy & Bess, the immersive film-concert “Aïchoucha” by Tunisian producer Khalil Epi, an Iranian double bill with oud newcomer Avin Ahmadi plus songwriter Sanam Maroufkhani, Syrian-German electro duo Shkoon, Lebanese indie icon Yasmine Hamdan at Flex, and a full Salam Club night with AMMAR 808; desert-blues legends Tinariwen bring the big outdoor punch at Arena, while Sheherazaad adds a radically new sound world at ORF RadioKulturhaus. Beyond concerts, the festival widens into visual art (incl. Studio Cairo — Peter Garmusch), artist talks, listening sessions, and cross-genre formats spanning film, poetry, and cuisine.
Running from 13 March to 6 April 2026 at Klangraum Krems Minoritenkirche in Krems, Austria, Imago Dei returns under the banner of “the power of poetry,” linking literature, ritual and cross-cultural sound worlds rather than treating music as a standalone event. Highlights include the opening night Wasser erzählt on 13 March, with Brot & Sterne, visuals by Lillevan and the world premiere of apsu, as well as Chris Thile’s solo set on 14 March, where Bach arrangements meet original songs.
MaerzMusik 2026 is leaning hard into Austrian avant-garde firepower this year: the festival opens March 20th with Georg Friedrich Haas’ 11,000 Strings—a massed, immersive statement piece. The large-scale concert installation, performed by Klangforum Wien with 50 microtonally tuned pianos placed around the audience, turns MaHalla’s former factory hall into an immersive field of shimmering, unstable sound. MaerzMusik keeps the thread buzzing with performances of works by Peter Ablinger and Wolfgang Mitterer, two composers who’ve spent decades rewiring how we listen. Expect a program that doesn’t just present contemporary music, but tests its physical limits: perception, noise, resonance, and the room itself as an instrument. In addition, Klangforum Wien has a second MaerzMusik slot beyond the opening: a matinee concert titled “Archipelische Klänge” on Sun, 22 March 2026 at the Akademie der Künste (Hanseatenweg), Berlin.
Release Radar
Bon Jour — the new featuring Dominic Muhrer (The Makemakes), Mario & Giovanna Fartacek (Mynth/Berglind/Farmar), Amelie Tobien, and Julian Pieber (Good Wilson) — drop “How Long Is Forever” on 6 March 2026 as the first taste of their EP of the same name (out 17 April via Morinoko). The single is psychedelic indie with pop bite: hypnotic guitars, a pulsing drive, and a hook that latches on fast — capturing that blurred-boundaries rush where “forever” is less a promise than pure intensity. The six-track EP expands that headfirst-now feeling with an airier, more colorful mix of psychedelic funk, surf-rock, indie and pop (opening with FM4 chart #3 track “Lego”), before the band takes it on the road through Germany, Austria and Switzerland, starting 7 April at Zermatt Unplugged.
Kimyan – “Colours” (PlusPlusPlus Music // Release Date: March 6, 2026)
“Colours” is the second single from Kimyan’s upcoming album and showcases a new side of him. For the first time, his own voice can be heard, characterized by its honesty and intimacy, carried by a warm, richly detailed sound. Kalimba and orchestral elements meet electronic energy, creating a colorful soundscape. The song radiates a positive, motivating vibe, like a sunny day that instantly puts you in a good mood. (Translated from the mica – music austria German original.)
Mel*E – “Fall” (JazzWerkstatt Records // Release Date: February 27, 2026)
With “Fall,” Mel*E releases the next single from her upcoming album “PROUD.” It’s a track that straddles the line between disintegration and free fall. The trio blends acoustic and electronic soundscapes into a dense, driving soundscape. A warm, effects-laden bass meets floating synth pads and an expanded drum setup full of hybrid textures. Sweeping melodic arcs stand alongside energetic grooves and raw immediacy. “Fall” draws listeners into a vortex of tension, movement, and sonic depth. (Translated from the mica – music austria German original.)
CULK – “twenty, eighteen” (Siluh Records // Release Date: March 4, 2026)
With “twenty, eighteen,” CULK returns with a new preview of their upcoming album. The song is carried by Sophie Löw’s distinctive voice and unfolds spaces between euphoria and emptiness, closeness and alienation. Images of memory emerge in the mind’s eye: concert lights on stage and the feeling of being part of something while somehow standing on the sidelines. Musically, CULK rely on minimalism and repetition, which makes the song feel like a trance-like state. (Translated from the mica – music austria German original.)
With Wanting Machine II (Jazzwerkstatt Records), Vienna guitarist and JazzWerkstatt Wien co-initiator Peter Rom presents an album that resists clear genre boundaries, unfolding instead as an open, constantly shifting sonic world. Joined by a stellar ensemble including Manu Mayr, Lukas König, Valentin Duit, Khadijah Pamelia Stickney, David Müller, Klemens Lendl, Vincent Pongracz, Matthew Halpin, and Benny Omerzell, Rom builds a sound of striking intensity through restraint, spaciousness, and an unusual instrumental palette that includes theremin, singing saw, and altered wind and string textures. Moving between composition and free play, dreamy looseness and nervous rhythmic density, the album opens up an atmospheric, highly individual musical cosmos that reveals its full power through attentive listening.
Marina & The Kats – “A Star With A Delay” (Marina & The Kats // Release Date: March 5, 2026)
With “A Star With A Delay,” Marina & The Kats deliver a charming anthem about growing older in the music business—complete with a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor. Blending swing, pop, and a laid-back groove, the song tells the story of perhaps finding your moment a little later in life. The message: reclaim the stage, have fun, and stop worrying about what others expect. The track is accompanied by a humorous music video that playfully picks up on the idea of the “star with a delay.” A song that inspires courage and simply spreads good cheer. (Translated from the mica – music austria German original.)
Naked Cameo — Ana Take Your Time (Naked Cameo // Release Date: 2/27/26)
Naked Cameo welcomes spring with “Ana Take Your Time.” The track feels light as a feather, full of sunny warmth and a relaxed confidence that’s instantly contagious. Between reflective moments and a laid-back drive, a sound emerges that practically takes listeners by the hand. The song isn’t aimed at social media appeal, but rather speaks to trusting your own rhythm. It’s a song that leaves room for interpretation—and that’s precisely how it makes its impact. (Translated from the mica – music austria German original.)
To everything, tour, tour, tour
Sodl’s spring tour 2026 hits the home straight in the last third of March: 19 March in Cologne (die wohngemeinschaft, w/ ELENN), 21 March in Villach (Kulturhof, w/ Sage Darley), then the final sprint with 25 March in Munich (Live Evil), 26 March in Salzburg (ARGEkultur), 27 March in Linz (Stadtwerkstatt, w/ wirsindanderswo) and 28 March in Innsbruck (PMK, w/ humming people). Powered by her self-produced debut Sheepman (2025) and that signature “fairy-folk meets heavy distortion” contrast, the FM4 Amadeus winner is basically built for these sweaty end-of-tour rooms.
Anda Morts is bringing his “Zweimal ist Einmal” run back to Germany in April with a tight, club-sized loop that’s already flirting hard with the “too late for tickets” zone. The Linz-born indie-punk agitator hits Munich (15 & 16 April, Strom), swings through Cologne (17 April, c/o pop), then double-dips Hamburg (19 & 20 April, Molotow) before closing the stretch in Berlin (21 & 22 April, SO36)—with multiple nights listed as sold out.
Lukas Oscar takes his “Lukas’ Layers Tour” through Germany in April with four tight club dates—built for the kind of close-up set where the details in his glossy, layered pop production actually hit. The run starts 14 April in Mainz (Schon Schön), then 15 April Berlin (Kantine am Berghain), 16 April Hamburg (Hebebühne), and 17 April Osnabrück (Popsalon).
Please Madame roll into Germany in mid-April 2026 for a brisk five-date club run: 15 April (Dresden, Blauer Salon), 16 April (Hannover, LUX), 17 April (Husum, Speicher), 18 April (Hamburg, Hebebühne) and 19 April (Kassel, Theaterstübchen). The Salzburg indie-rock quartet have built their name on big choruses and high-impact live energy—one of those bands that sound even more direct and punchy once the room starts moving.
Bon Jour take their “How Long Is Forever” show on the road this spring, kicking off with a festival moment at Zermatt Unplugged (07 April) before hitting a run of club rooms built for close-up intensity: Graz (Orpheum, 29 April), Salzburg (Rockhouse, 06 May), then Mainz (Schon Schön, 19 May), Hamburg (Übel & Gefährlich, 20 May) and Berlin (Neue Zukunft, 21 May). The tour wraps on home turf with Linz (Stadtwerkstatt, 23 May), Vienna (Flucc, 27 May) and Laufen (zumOXN, 31 May)—a clean arc from alpine unplugged to full-band, late-night club energy.
Marko Ciciliani’s spring diary reads like a guided tour through his favorite zones: hybrid instruments, performative listening, and concepts that spill off the page into the room. It starts in Graz with “BLUMEN HÖREN” on 21 March 2026 (15:30–18:00) at the Botanischer Garten Graz, pairing Flowers from BAROGUE with improvisations in a large ensemble setting led by Jeremy Woodruff—a site-specific tilt that treats the garden as part of the score. Then Ciciliani and longtime collaborator Barbara Lüneburg head to Hong Kong for a trio of events: 1 April (19:00) at Hong Kong Baptist University with Archipel Arpeggio, Pop Wall Alphabet, and The White Cube, followed by 3 April (20:00) at Twenty Alpha for the world premiere of BAROGUE – Anatomic Probing, alongside Archipel Arpeggio and Flowers from BAROGUE. The run closes in Oslo at E⸺PARM on 11 April with a daytime paper on BAROGUE (“Transmedia Composition and Hermeneutic Accrual…”) at the Norwegian Academy of Music, and an evening performance of Fragments of Archipel Arpeggio—played by Ciciliani himself on a digital instrument built around a multidirectional spherical speaker, turning space into the final moving part.
Arianna Alfreds
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