From August 25–30, Pop-Kultur returns to Berlin, bringing six days of live music, DJ sets, talks, workshops, and art installations to venues like the silent green Kulturquartier and Kulturbrauerei. The festival blends international stars with emerging talent. With its mix of creativity, activism, and celebration, the festival reaffirms Berlin’s place as a global capital of pop culture. Keep reading for our top picks from this year’s festival.
Bring Your Own Table: Black Perspectives in the German Music Industry
In a music industry still slow to change, BEN–GSA brings together some of the most influential Black voices in Germany’s creative scene. This panel goes beyond surface-level representation to talk real strategy: how to build careers, shape culture and create space where none existed. For artists, insiders and anyone ready to rethink what power looks like.
- silent green Atelier 2, Gerichtstr. 35, Wedding, Aug 25, 20:20 – 21:20, details.
Pop-Kultur Lokal: BABYCORE by BABYCAKES
What started in a Berlin gallery mid-pandemic has grown into a full-on sensory riot. BABYCORE crashes metal into drag, somatics into sound systems, and queerness into every corner of club culture. Expect DJs, live sets, workshops and a drag outfit competition that’s more mosh pit than pageant. It’s loud, playful, defiant – and completely free.
- Panke Culture, Hof V, Gerichtstr. 23, Wedding 18:00 – 02:00, details.
Klapping: Everything is a little bit of a dance
Part choreography, part…football? Klapping merges football gestures, urban dance and collective movement into one living, rhythmic performance. Spectators become participants in a piece that’s all about presence, connection and shared energy – no ticket – or ball – needed.
- silent green weise, Gerichtstr. 35, Wedding, 20:00 – 20:30, details.
Charlotte Colace
French-Cuban soul with Berlin edge – Charlotte Colace channels 60s grooves through a modern, cinematic lens. Fresh off tours with Nick Hakim and Omah Lay, she now brings her debut EP No Way But Through to the stage with a full live band. Presented by LISTEN TO BERLIN, this one’s smooth, sharp and worthy of a good groove.
- Festsaal Kreuzberg Biergarten, Am Flutgraben 2, Kreuzberg, 20:00 – 20:45, details.
Pamela Owusu-Brenyahs: AFRO x POP Unplugged
Curated by Pamela Owusu-Brenyah, this intimate series highlights standout voices from Berlin’s Afro-diasporic music scene – artists you haven’t heard at Pop-Kultur yet, but should. Expect rap, Afro-fusion, spoken word and more, performed up close and unplugged, with the audience seated on Senegalese mats and sobolo in hand.
- Probebühne RambaZamba Kulturbrauerei, Schönhauser Allee 36-39, Prenzlauer Berg, 20:40 – 23:50 with breaks, details.
Club de Baile by Camila Malenchini
Salsa, cumbia, reggaeton – Club de Baile turns the Çaystube courtyard into a high-energy, open-air studio led by Latinx artists and DJ Pendejo. With guided workouts and room for improvisation, it’s a celebration of queer joy, post-migrant memory and collective rhythm. No experience needed, just a willingness to move. Free entry, all bodies welcome.
- Çaystube Kulturbrauerei, Schönhauser Allee 36, Prenzlauer Berg, 18:00 – 19:30, Friday and Saturday, details.
- For the full programme, click here.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-berliner.com ’
