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Seven Festivals, One Weekend – and 65 Shows in Between

Some weeks you pick a concert. Other weeks pick you. 65 shows between Monday and Sunday in NRW alone, and from Thursday onwards seven festivals run at the same time – three of them free. Stay home this weekend and you have only yourself to blame.

The Festival Weekend

It opens with Deathfeast Open Air at JUZ Live Club in Andernach: 33 bands from 18 countries across three days (20–22 Aug), the most international line-up in the festival's history. Thursday Signs Of The Swarm headline at 11pm, Friday belongs to Internal Bleeding, Cytotoxin and Hour of Penance, and Saturday closes with Revocation and Condemned. Andernach is technically already in Rhineland-Palatinate – but it is barely an hour from Cologne.

At the Sparkassen-Waldbühne in Oelde, the Oelde Open Air marks its fifth anniversary. Friday belongs to Lord Of The Lost, with Setyøursails and Münster's own Avalanche Effect opening the festival. Saturday brings Beyond The Black, Düsseldorf's Callejon and Rising Insane.

Then there are the three that cost nothing at all. Essen's Viehofer Platz hosts Nord Open Air: Friday with Bonded, FORMOSA, Tyranthrope and Daily Thompson; Saturday The Night Eternal play an exclusive release show for their new album "Cold Velvet", flanked by Attic, Imha Tarikat and Blizzen. In Coesfeld, Rock am Turm turns 25 – Saturday night with Kapelle Petra, Treptow and Engst, preceded on Friday by Frog Bog Dosenband. And in Düsseldorf, Rock gegen Rechts takes over the Ballonwiese in the Volksgarten from 2pm on Saturday, with The Busters and Adam Angst.

Things get grubbier at Joe's e.V. in Oer-Erkenschwick, where United Forces V hits its fifth edition: two days of NWOTHM with Gelsenkirchen's Iron Kobra and Hellish Crossfire, 20 euros a day, camping allowed. And up in the Sauerland, Orden Ogan play their Saloon Showdown V at FORT FUN's Silver Bullet Saloon with Grailknights as guests – and a sign on the door reading sold out.

The Clubs Fight Back

The week's biggest club show lands on Thursday at Sputnikhalle Münster: Deafheaven bring their blackgaze, and with Show Me The Body a New York hardcore band that is almost too much live. Two nights earlier the same room gets flattened by Signs Of The Swarm on Wednesday, with Duisburg's Call Of Charon opening.

Tuesday gets tight at the Junkyard Dortmund: Sacred Reich bring their "No Truth, No Justice" tour to a club that holds under 400 people – Arizona thrash at arm's length, with Aquilla opening. On Friday the Burgtheater Dinslaken puts Mono Inc. on its open-air stage, while Teen Mortgage deliver Washington noise punk at Matrix Bochum on Thursday.

From Celtic Punk to a Sunday Matinee

The Real McKenzies take the week twice: Wednesday at Bastard Club Osnabrück, Friday at MTC Köln – over thirty years of bagpipe punk out of Vancouver. Friday also brings The Casualties to Essen's Don't Panic, New York street punk in a venue on the very same Viehofer Platz as Nord Open Air – so you can switch. At the Sonic Ballroom Köln, Skin Of Tears from Wermelskirchen play.

Saturday The Troops Of Doom, led by Sepultura founding guitarist Jairo Guedz, bring Brazilian death metal to the Bastard Club, with Temple Of Dread in tow, whose sixth album "Dreadspawn Dominion" is barely two weeks old.

Sunday belongs to the early risers: Ignite play a matinee from 5pm at the Bastard Club, supported by Ash Return. At the Pitcher Düsseldorf doors open even earlier, at 3pm, for hometown heroes Battlesword with Tyranthrope. And if you still have anything left: Geese play open air at the Tanzbrunnen in Cologne that evening.