Nine Festival Tips Away from the Big Stages

The summer holidays are just around the corner - and with them, the time for summer festivals of all genres and fields. Even beyond the big players in Salzburg, Bregenz, or Mörbisch, an almost unmanageable program beckons. Below is a tip for each federal state.

Vienna:

Summer Rhapsody in the Garden of Palais Liechtenstein: July 7-30

Launched in 2020 during the coronavirus crisis as a spontaneous summer cultural project by the Fürst Liechtenstein Foundation, the "Summer Rhapsody" has now secured a permanent place in the summer cultural program of the federal capital. This year, the "Culinary Corner," open on event days from 6 PM, to the right of the Garden Palace in Vienna-Alsergrund, will be curated for the first time by the Markterei Market Hall - with a weekly changing gastro offer. The cultural program will be opened on July 7 with a "Notte Italiana." And the following days already show with Dirk Stermann ("Zusammenbraut" on the 8th) and the concert evening "Ladies First" by the Trio Van Beethoven (9th), where the journey goes until the end of July, each Monday to Wednesday: towards musical, small-scale artistic, or literary entertainment in a pleasant, shady environment with fine culinary basic provision. (www.sommerrhapsodie.at)

Lower Austria:

"Hiesige & Dosige": August 8/9

Wieselburg (district of Scheibbs) is known, among other things, for its beer and its fair. The world music concert festival "Hiesige & Dosige" takes place in the Wieselburg Castle Park on August 8 and 9. Since 1998, the cultural association halle2 has put together an increasingly extensive festival program that combines "international live music, captivating dances, and workshops that everyone can participate in" with "culinary highlights in street food style." This year's lineup includes the vocal ensemble Hermann as well as the Bavarian band Maxjoseph or the US bassist Nik West, whose trademark is a colorful mohawk in the shape of a bass clef.

Burgenland:

Chamber Music Festival Lockenhaus: July 10-19

Founded in 1981 by star violinist Gidon Kremer and Father Josef Herowitsch, the Chamber Music Festival Lockenhaus quickly gained a reputation with its special flair in the Knights' Hall of the castle and in the Baroque church, its innovative program involving young talent, and its open rehearsals, attracting an international audience to Middle Burgenland. Founder Gidon Kremer and the current artistic director, cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, are also strongly represented in this year's program. However, this year's edition opens with András Schiff on July 10 with two already sold-out concerts. In the "Building Bridges" program, he brings young, talented pianists to the stage - which also stands across the Hungarian border in the Köszeg Synagogue. On July 18, Emil Petri, national winner in the organ category at the national competition "Prima la Musica," will play on the largest church organ in Burgenland. This can also be found in Lockenhaus. (https://www.kammermusikfest.at)

Styria:

Theater Days Weißenbach: July 18 to 30

The Theater Days Weißenbach near Haus im Ennstal call themselves "the somewhat different Summer Theater Festival". The 20th and final program by Wolfgang Seidl and Peter Faßhuber, who will hand over the leadership to new hands, starts on July 18 with the comedy "The Invitation" by Hadrien Raccah in a production by THEO Theater Oberzeiring. The showcase of the Free Scene offers, for example, "No Easy Girl - A Saleable Evening of Songs", a program about sex work developed by soprano Elisabeth de Roo with Theater Kaendace. At the Theater im Gsöllhof, among others, the SchauSpielWerk & Theater Forum Schwechat ("Titanic - let's stop!"), the Dada Circus with the surreal circus theater piece "Genesis" and the Klagenfurt Theater KUKUKK with the children's play "Miss Sunshine and Mister Happy" will also be guests. (https://www.theaterland.at/2025/theatertage-weissenbach-ttw-25)

Salzburg:

Music Summer St. Leonhard: July 17 to August 28

This year, the Music Summer St. Leonhard in Lungau invites you to nine concerts between mid-July and the end of August. For over 30 years, trumpeter Horst Hofer has been organizing high-caliber concerts in the late Gothic pilgrimage church above Tamsweg at an altitude of 1,200 meters, in front of up to 800 listeners. Hofer raves about the picturesquely located church as a "power place" and a space that "also tolerates great sound fullness", while patron Klaus Albrecht Schröder calls it a "Gothic jewel of the highest quality": "For me, it is the most beautiful place in Austria to listen to music." The opening on July 17 features musicians from the Vienna Philharmonic and the Milan Scala with mezzo-soprano Ulrike Hezel. The program includes Mahler, Schubert, Chopin, and Nino Rota. On July 25, baritone Rafael Fingerlos presents a "bouquet of songs", and on August 14, folk music takes center stage - including the Salzburg String Ensemble and the Oimbliah Dreigsang. (https://musiksommerstleonhard.at/)

Upper Austria:

Theater Time in Freistadt: July 11 - August 2

In the exhibition hall in Freistadt, starting July 11, "exciting cinemascope theater, innovative literature and theater performances, film-music events, international competitions for film and literature, visual installations, creative children's programs, and much more" await an audience. For the 15th anniversary, Upper Austrian director and festival director Ulf Dückelmann is once again presenting a modern adaptation of the Everyman material after 2018: In "Everyman 25", the title character is a successful investment banker who suffers from panic attacks. The program also includes a short film competition, where prizes will be awarded this year in the categories "War & Peace" and "AI & Me". Robert Dornhelm and Harald Sicheritz are on the jury. (https://www.theaterzeit.at/)

Carinthia:

Acoustic Lakeside Festival at Sonnegger Lake: July 17-20

For more than ten years, the Acoustic Lakeside Festival has been held in Sittersdorf, Lower Carinthia, attracting indie scene fans to the small Sonnegger Lake. Recently, however, there have been significant troubles: fines exceeding 140,000 euros were imposed following an inspection. The reason: the festival was deemed too professionally organized, and the volunteer helpers should have been registered. However, the organizers were vindicated by the Carinthia Regional Administrative Court and announced for this year's edition, starting on July 17, artists such as Anna Buchegger, Anna Mabo, Felix Kramer, Friedberg, Moights Oaks, Mira Lu Kovacs, and The Tallest Man on Earth. The latter is the pseudonym of Swedish folk rock musician Kristian Matsson, whose height is listed as 1.70 meters. On stage, however, he is said to be able to surpass himself. (https://www.acousticlakeside.com/)

Tyrol:

Geierwally Open-Air Stage Elbigenalp: July 5 - August 23

On the "Geierwally Open-Air Stage" in the municipality of Elbigenalp in the Tyrolean Lech Valley, which has been in use since 1993, this year features "Anton Falger - the Father of the Lech Valley" by Christof Kammerlander and Bernhard Wolf. The focus is on the Tyrolean lithographer, painter, engraver, and scholar Johann Anton Falger (1791-1876), who met Goethe in Weimar, returned to his wife and great love Therese in Elbigenalp at the age of 40, and founded a drawing school here. One of his most famous students was the flower painter Anna Stainer-Knittel, whose life inspired Wilhelmine von Hiller's novel "Die Geierwally." Traditionally, one of the main attractions of the evening is nature: the 550-seat stage is built into the rocks of the impressive Bernhardstal Gorge. (https://www.geierwally.at/)

Vorarlberg:

Poolbar Festival in Feldkirch: July 2 to August 10

The Poolbar Festival in Feldkirch is entering its incredible 32nd year, having grown into a mega event with a wide range of offerings. "From intimate pool concerts to sold-out open-air concerts on vibrating wooden floors - music lovers can be inspired by a unique variety of music here," the organizers promote the program at the Old Indoor Pool and on the Reichenfeld Meadow, which opens on July 2 with free admission featuring Swiss pop musician Sarah Palin and "Americana melodies to simple lyrics, inspired by Lana Del Rey and Nirvana." This year's headliners on the festival grounds, redesigned by 30 international students during a project week, include Tocotronic (5.7.), Voodoo Jürgens (9.7.), OSKA (12.7.), My Ugly Clementine (25.7.), and ZAZ (9.8.). "The regular musical program is rounded off by club nights, pool quizzes, cabaret, open-air cinema under the stars, Sunday programs with jazz brunch, flea markets, carefully curated cultural programs, sporty-fun events to participate in, and more," it says. The festival pass costs 395 euros this year. (https://www.poolbar.at/)

More about summer in Vienna

(APA/Red)

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