Program

Shattering electronic beats, booming bass, razor-sharp synth riffs and soaring high-flying vocals, accompanied by a captivating, mid-earthly, weird performance. Eccentric disco sequin prog pop madness at it’s best!

Ahmed Eid, co-founder of the legendary band «Bukahara», and the Berlin band ILYF merge contemporary electronics and traditional Arabic music into a wonderfully playful sound – powerful improvisation, full of content, poetic and exhilarating!

Contortion, dance and acrobatics merge in this contemporary, poetic show full of interaction. Together, connected by ribbons, we explore our collective fears and recharge our batteries with positive energy. Deeply moving!

By activating the mechanics of the showcases and apparatuses, the misappropriated «toys» and modelled creatures you immerse yourself in an imaginative, playful and darkly bitter world – inspired by our increasingly complex reality.

Mid Postgasse

Multi-talented Claudia Masika embodies Kenyan charisma and pure joie de vivre. With a huge dose of positive energy, meaningful songs and a fantastic band, she puts a smile on every face and rhythm in your legs – a dazzling display in a class of its own!

Discarded everyday objects become sources of sound. Their sound is delivered directly into your ear via headphones. Improvise away with washers on threaded rods, bicycle spokes, grill grates or shock absorbers! No prior musical knowledge or score needed.

Junkerngasse
ab 8 Jahren

David DiAlma’s heart beats for the soul and funk of old. The cocktail: a concentrated load of soul with a pinch of pop straight from the soul, neither sanded nor polished. Plus a voice full of recent maturity and great emotions. Stevie Wonder, Amy Winehouse and Ray Charles send their regards.

Dear bike friends, dear music lovers, welcome to the Athletic-Cyclo-Disco-Club! Here you can pedal the music with your own muscle power into the right pace – be it rock, reggae, flamenco or jazz, there is a record for every taste.

Upper Gerechtigkeitsgasse

Brothers Rich and Rob are back at Buskers Bern. With powerful drums, deep grooves and the hypnotic pulse of the didgeridoo, they deliver a live show that is as energetic as it is uplifting. Dangerously electrifying energy with addictive potential!

The FAYA trio develops captivating soundscapes at a very high musical level, inspired by South American and European folklore. A show that impresses with its fiery energy and great joy of playing. Pure joie de vivre!

With a sensitive yet daring approach, the highly virtuosic Les Fils Canouche take us on a journey of divers musical influences. Their improvisations are peppered with humour and lightness. Quel groove, nom de dieu!

Always protected by their gâpette (= beret), the sextet touches with its Chansons Musette n’Roll, a mix of styles from Musette, Folk and Rock. Profound and committed lyrics straight from the bistro in Brittany – an energetic tribute to humanity.

The Latvian combo travelled across Europe with their street troubadour for ten years until they met singer Hermann in Germany. A perfect match for the wild brass band! Witty, profound lyrics, rousing, irrepressible joy of playing. Brass meets Chanson meets Rap – don’t miss it!

Five steampunk-style pinball machines are waiting for you to venture into their augmented reality. Each box hides its own story with holographic figures that accompany you through the game. Put on your helmet and jump into the adventure!

Cathedral Square

With a 7‑metre-long accordion, Kapelle Sorelle bring a breath of fresh air to the stages of the Lower Old Town. They perform fervently heartfelt domestic and foreign songs, deliver treacherous rhymes, yodel down from the Alps and defy their tricky instrument.

Step into the dreamlike, whimsical scrapyard: sit on a manually operated carousel, balance on oversized scales or try out colourful, tricky games. An attempt to bring balance to the world.

Lower Gerechtigkeitsgasse

With plenty of humour and daring acrobatics on the Rola Bola, two women take on the unattainable standards of perfection. A show about imperfection, humour and the beauty of the unexpected – for laughter and amazement!

The Luftibus invites you on a theatrical song journey through space and time, where we meet the hairdresser’s crab, dance a storm waltz on the Mediterranean, sway to a polka with the bats and finally perform an orangutango. Climb aboard and fly with us!

The creative energy of this lyrical and virtuoso string trio from France is highly infectious. Their broad repertoire is characterised by Balkan, Greek and Turkish influences and sweeps you away into a wild folk-string universe.

On Friday the LYR Trio welcomes you for a big «Bal Folk»:

«Bal Folk» is a social dance movement that brings together traditional dances from France and Europe.

The rule is: no Bal Folk without live music. Everyone can join in, even without previous experience. Dances are usually performed in circles, pairs and lines, creating an irresistible feeling of community, inclusion and participation – pure joie de vivre. Join in, welcome!

Four hands, two drums, a pithy voice – highly reduced and refined, with surprising tempo changes, fast crescendos and unexpected silences. Sometimes it is reminiscent of incantations from forgotten times, sometimes the beats are danceable. Dense, raw, atmospheric and delicate.

What is reality, what is imagination? What happens when your perception differs from the perception of others? This internationally acclaimed dance show explores this question and the resulting consequences in a humorous and playful way. A Swiss premiere.

The virtuoso duo takes us on a colourful journey through Norwegian, Brazilian, Creole and Japanese traditions. Old-new sounds played expressively and playfully on traditional instruments _ extraordinary, exciting and never heard before!

The Olympic Games in Bern’s Old Town? You bet! Compete with the world’s best Olympic athletes and become part of the football team, cheer on the pros in the ring or compete against the other spectators in a sprint. Interactive, strong facial expressions and crazy fun.

Beatbox, banjo and tap dance? And how! French beatboxing championship runner-up Mike Fly accompanies the French-American songs with driving rhythms and suddenly Léna is tap-dancing to them for all she’s worth. A wacky, atypical combination, culminating in a live looping performance.

Natascha – the multi-talented artist from Pernambuco, nominated for «Best New Artist», reflects the lively Brazilian spirit with her authentic, powerful shows. Born for the stage, she captivates her audience with Forró and traditional Roots Music. Dance the night away with Saudade!

Announcement: Enrique Matos (Zabumba = percussion) is unfortunately cancelled at short notice.

Palisades and saloon doors combined with an all-conquering metal structure – in search of freedom and glitter, the aerial acrobatics troupe mixes daring rodeo and acrobatic skills in a show peppered with all the clichés of the Wild West. Impressive!

Colourful, lovingly designed puppet boxes, inspired by traditional English Punch and Judy shows. You stage the wild spectacle yourself: you control the mechanical puppets with levers and buttons and try to defeat your opponent. Who will win?

Münsterplatz

This trio unites titans of traditional Irish music (Martin Tourish of Altan) and classical Persian music (the Coohe brothers of Nava). Segah combine centuries of mesmerising melodies with the poetry of Rumi and the ecstatic rhythms of santur and tar. Absolutely exceptional!

Short-term change to the line-up: Unfortunately, Shayan Coohe (tar, vocals) is currently unable to leave Iran. We are very happy that the duo Martin Tourish/​Shahab Coohe will now be joined at short notice by the great, young, professional Irish dancer Thomas Colangelo from West Donegal.

You can see them from afar, the oversized, glowing white creatures. Coming from another dimension, the orbs glide through Bern’s old town and subtly explore the human condition with all its emotions. Wonderfully poetic.

In their heartfelt project «Totätanz» (= Dance of the Dead), the four heavyweights of Swiss folk music fathom the potential of new folk and explore the tabooed Swiss culture of death and mourning in dance songs. Sophisticated, controversial, comforting and timelessly beautiful. (> unplugged)

With breathtaking stunts and comedic elements, Soon Circus tell a story of teamwork, friendship and rivalry. The centrepiece is the teeterboard with which they spike each other into the air. A contemporary, energetic circus jewel, definitely worth seeing!

The Superband combine self-composed songs with Dadaist lyrics, ugly beats with improvisation and a lot of surprises. Sometimes instrumental, sometimes vocal and always performative. The joy of music and friendship is the ultimate goal. Refreshingly weird and surprising.

Viva la tarantella, viva il Sud Italia! The guitar lays the ground, the accordion plays virtuoso solos, the tambourine heats up like crazy, the voices get under your skin – chicken skin! The result? Dancing feet, swaying hips and exuberant feelings – grandi emozioni.

Tobi reinterprets the world-famous balcony scene from Romeo & Juliet and spontaneously casts it with volunteers. Dazzle in the various roles and marvel at how the charming and funny street performer disappears into the biggest balloon of all time. Exceptional and hilarious!

The Bringer of Light has been crawling out of the mudflats of the Wadden Sea every now and again since time immemorial. Tell it a joke or caress it and it will enlighten you with its special, precious light. But watch out: If it gets angry, it turns into a roaring dragon.

Cheerful «Sega» from Mauritius, melancholic «Maloya» from La Réunion: The TWO artfully combine the music of these neighbouring islands in the Indian Ocean with earthy blues and a pinch of folk and underlay it with various African rhythms – an intoxicatingly exciting journey!

Full of joie de vivre, the four high-calibre musicians from folk, pop and jazz mix their own elixir of world music. In their luggage they carry a bag full of rainbows, symbolising the bridging, the connecting between human being and nature – the core message of Veronika Stalder’s lyrics.

Two somewhat clumsy clowns tell a tender comedy peppered with poetry and facial expressions. Two shirts brought to life become the main characters, metaphorically reflecting the friendship of their two puppeteers. A finely tuned and witty show.

from 10 years on

Ancient myths tell of the marvellous phoenix bird that sets itself on fire and rises rejuvenated from its own ashes – a symbol of immortality and longevity. At Buskers Bern, this red and gold creature unexpectedly circles above the heads of the audience!

Traditional, authentic flamenco reduced to its essence: This hot-blooded troupe tells and dances the stories of the Andalusian people, characterised by longing and passion. Let yourself be fuelled by the strict elegance and sharpen your palms – olé!