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Powerwolf on the Loreley, Alice Cooper in the arena – and three free festivals

This week the balance tips. Monday to Thursday the scene runs at club size; from Friday everything bursts at the seams: over 50 shows between 24 and 30 August in NRW, plus a few trips across the state line that are worth the petrol. If you only go to one place on Saturday, you either chose badly – or extremely well.

The week's heavy hitters

On Saturday the Loreley Freilichtbühne high above the Rhine belongs to the wolf pack. Powerwolf bring their "European Summer 2026" to the rock, and the support bill would pass as a festival anywhere else: Apocalyptica with four cellos, Orden Ogan playing a Sauerland home game, and Serenity from Tyrol. Doors at 5pm, and the bend in the Rhine behind the stage does half the work.

The night before, on Friday, the Lanxess Arena in Cologne rolls out the heavy artillery: Hollywood Vampires – Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp – play their drinking-club songbook of covers and originals. Cooper is 78 and still has the best stage show in the business.

If you want two days in a row, drive to the 20th Neuborn Open Air in Wörrstadt near Mainz. Friday Skindred headline at 22:45, with Paleface Swiss, Grave Digger playing their "Tunes Of War" anniversary set, Elwood Stray and Nervosa before them. Saturday brings Saxon, Grand Magus, The Real McKenzies, Parasite Inc. – and in Chapel Of Disease a Cologne death metal export that outgrew afternoon slots long ago.

Grave Digger manage both, incidentally: Wörrstadt on Friday, Burgtheater Dinslaken on Saturday for the SYLS Festival. "Support Your Local Scene" is the name, and it keeps its word – the undercard has Gun Barrel and Neversanity, who won the band contest.

The rest of the top tier is spread across the week: Uriah Heep open on Monday under the big top at Zeltfestival Ruhr in Bochum, In Extremo play Burg Satzvey on Saturday, Lacrimas Profundere bring their dark metal grief to the Kulttempel Oberhausen on Friday – and on Sunday AFI turn out the lights at Cologne's Live Music Hall. Davey Havok, 30 years of Californian horror punk, in a club that size: it will be tight.

Underground gems and local heroes

The best poster of the week hangs at the Jugendkulturcafé Troisdorf. Butcher Fest XI on Friday has Deadsquad, Jasad and Death Vomit from Indonesia plus Fatuous Rump and Emasculated Vituperation from Taiwan. Five bands, two continents, one youth centre – that happens here about once a year.

Similarly well travelled: Against Evil from Hyderabad bring their NWOBHM to the Pitcher in Düsseldorf on Wednesday. Tuesday Speed from Los Angeles hold hardcore service at the Kulttempel, and the same night Red Leather play classic US heavy metal at Die Kantine in Cologne. Thursday Annie Taylor drive their Swiss fuzz into Subrosa Dortmund; Saturday Black Wizard from Vancouver land at Culucu in Kleve. Also on Saturday, Hans Lazer Alien Slam throw the release show for their second album “POWERSTRIKE!” at Helvete Oberhausen, billed as Turbo Death Blast Vol. 1 – neon synthwave bolted onto metal guitars, with Riotforce from Neuss and Grave Intentions from Datteln, who stepped in at short notice for Hellgrav.

And the home team? The Zeltinger Band play Zakk Düsseldorf on Saturday – Cologne punk bedrock that hasn't skipped an evening since 1979. On Friday Jan Hegenberg fills the Blue Shell; Saturday The Moobies celebrate their "KATABASIS" EP at Veedel Club, and Zwakkelmann play the Rathausschänke in Bottrop for free. On Sunday AKUMA SIX close the week at Helios 37 together with Chiffre and Beyond The Breach.

From hardcore and punk to medieval metal

Ignite play four times: Tuesday Vortex Surfer Siegen, two nights at the AJZ Bahndamm Wermelskirchen on Wednesday and Thursday (the first is sold out), Friday Projekt 42 Mönchengladbach. Missing the melodic hardcore institution this week takes real effort. On Saturday War on Women from Baltimore bring their feminist hardcore to JKZ Hagenbusch in Marl.

On Saturday you can go all day without spending a cent on tickets. KAZ Open Air runs from midday at the Hibernia skatepark in Herne with Waving The Guns, Pisscharge, 100blumen, Angry Youth Elite and Dosenstolz – free, with a street skate contest. At the same time the Konzertmuschel im Volkspark Rheinhausen hosts Westside im Park 13 with Arrested Denial, The Modbirds and The Cokeras: folk, punk, beat and ska, also free. And in Marburg the KFZ throws its free summer party.

If you prefer it folkier, take your pick. At Bürgerhaus Stollwerck in Cologne, Haggefugg host the Hexenkessel – one stage, around 600 people, plus Storm Seeker, Vera Lux and Kupfergold. In parallel, Eventground Wuppertal runs the Me-T-al FESTival (mead, medieval, metal) with Harpyie and Reliquiae.

In East Westphalia two festivals carry the weekend: at Getöse on the Mastholte riding ground, FjØRT open on Friday and Bilk plus Acht Eimer Hühnerherzen follow on Saturday. Holter Meeting in Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock fields Soulbound and Our Mirage on Friday, Hi! Spencer and Skartoffel on Saturday.

Plus the edges: Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds on Tuesday at KUNST!RASEN Bonn, Madsen on Friday at Festung Ehrenbreitstein, Firtan on Friday at Ponyhof Frankfurt, Wine Lips on Saturday at Die Trompete Bochum, IQ across two nights at Zentrum Altenberg Oberhausen, and Garuda on Sunday at "Tokio Underground" in the Blue Shell. For darker ears: on Friday FZW Dortmund brings in Leæther Strip and Rhys Fulber (Front Line Assembly), two names that helped write EBM history.

Don't miss a thing with KRACH!

Over 50 concerts in seven days, 25 of them on Saturday alone – nobody can hold that in their head. You don't have to: the KRACH app lists every show of the week, sorted by distance, with audio previews and reminders. Download it, set your radius, go. 🤘