Show times
Detailed information about show times and venues of the acts can only be found in the printed program booklet. It will be available from July on.
From 6pm – midnight, 40 groups will put the Lower Old Town of Berne in a spectacular summer mood.
Artists will play over 300 shows during three evenings. All artists will play on hat money instead of for a fixed fee. Thank you for your contribution!With the sale of the booklet & bracelet – your “entrance fee” – we finance a large part of the festival. In Bern this has been working for 20 years thanks to your support! Please note: There is no OFF/Fringe Festival at Buskers Bern.
Detailed information about show times and venues of the acts can only be found in the printed program booklet. It will be available from July on.
Brazil Latin Forró (BRA/MDA/COL)
Inspired by Forró, Xaxado, Baião and Xote, ABACATE transforms the sedate alleyways of Bern into the tropical beach promenades of Fortaleza or Recife. The gifted musician Luiz Murakami and his trio invite you to a first-class Latin fusion session – a gozar, saudade!
Acrobatic Circus Show (FIN)
ADRIFT hoists the sails and takes you on a trip full of acrobatics, spiced with a humorous take on life. With incredible ease, the duo creates figures and images that are smashed against the cliffs in the next moment. Fast-paced, contemporary circus at its best!
Neue Urklänge (CH, Bern/Tessin/Appenzell)
unplugged
The high-calibre trio will take you on a musical journey from Ticino via Emmental and Appenzell to the Andes in a lively and unabashed manner. Thanks to Nina Dimitri’s beguiling voice, any (stylistic) boundaries are easily overcome – a première!
Musica Popolare Napoletana (IT, Napoli)
This is exactly how Naples feels: sensual, emotional and dirty-beautiful! For three decades, ASSURD has been leading audiences into the middle of a full life with their powerful, guttural voices, bringing the musical heritage from Southern Italy into the present – a beguiling firework!
Dynamic Classical Strings (UK)
unplugged
This charismatic string quartet will turn your preconceptions about classical musicians upside down with its spectacular mix of upbeat classical music, comedy songs and well known film, pop and rock tunes. A humorous, virtuoso and impressively physical show. Rock me Amadeus!
Balancing Circus (JPN)
Inspired by traditional Chinese performing arts, CHO KAIRIN creates a show full of acrobatics, juggling, transformation (“Mask Changer”) and acting. The brilliant highlight is his balancing act on a twelve-meter-high chair tower. Breathtaking!
Visual Theatre (NL)
15 min./show
50 pers./show
with bracelet only
from 8 years on
tickets free of charge for that day are available at the reservation boot on Münsterplatz. A maximum of four tickets will be issued per person.
Backstage is onstage: An artist with massive blackout problems gets ready for his show – to make matters worse, the wardrobe seems to have a mind of its own: Props disappear and the mirror image takes on a life of its own. Humorous and surprising!
Old-Time & Bluegrass Progressive (FR, Bretagne)
Based on «Dear John, …» letters, this old break-up concept is applied and refreshed in a new musical purpose. The string quartet skilfully performs virtuoso Southern Gospel, Bluegrass and Old-Time to new grooves, transcendent rhythms and tap dance.
Greek Laïko Pop (GR/FR, Marseille)
Bongos, bouzouki and Farfisa organ in abundance! The energetic quartet from Marseille plays forgotten hits that once set Athens on fire. An explosive cocktail of Rock’n’Roll and trad. Tsifteteli from the 1960s in Greece – pure Mediterranean hip-wiggling drama!
Klezmer Gypsy Rap Fusion (CZ/USA)
Rap, Rumba, Folk and Feminism – Jewish music never sounded so eclectic. With energy and invention, four travelling musicians and a fiery frontwoman give tradition a facelift. A woman dressed as a rabbi, a romance between clarinet and violin, what else?
Mechanical Puppet Theatre (NL)
5 min./show
12 pers./show
with bracelet only
ongoing
ELECTRIC CIRCUS – the masters and pioneers of electromechanical puppet theater – are back with their new show – a première! You peer through little windows into a miniature pub – an animation without a movie becomes a spectacular live-motion performance.
Flamenco Pop Música & Baile (ESP/UK)
In the early 1900s, the queer, drag and flamenco scenes come together in Barcelona’s harbour districts Raval and Poble Sec. Inspired by this, FLAMENCO QUEER explore identities and flamenco on stage – a powerful and passionate electro-trad. Drag fantasy – unique, olé!
Streetcomedy (UK)
Basic English
A fast-paced mixture of circus tricks, improvisation and comedy routines, mixed with a pinch of British humour: These are the characteristics of this talented duo. Controlled chaos, crazy fun, interactive and spontaneous – no two shows are the same!
Magic Ride (NL)
5 min./show
1 pers./show
with bracelet only
for adults
mid Gerechtigkeitsgasse
18.00 – 19.30, 20.00 – 21.30, 22.30 – 24.00
The Hobbel Brommobiel makes all happy who refuses to grow up! After a strict driver’s license check off you go on a speedy ride. Incredibly entertaining for all spectators too. P.S.: Wearing a helmet or alternative headgear is recommended.
World Swiss Nordic Folk (CH, Luzern)
The sextet takes you into a world of pulsating rhythms and captivating melodies. Traditional and new Swiss Folk music harmonises with Jazz, fiery Balkan rhythms merge with Irish Folk. Let yourself be enchanted by this magic of musical diversity!
Cosmic Electronic Prog Rave (UK, Manchester)
“Attention Humans! This is HENGE. We are not from this world. We bring you music from distant planets. We offer this gift for the edification of humankind so that eventually your species may put an end to war and set up new homes in space.”
Interactive Installation (ESP)
A network of paths and branches that can only be mastered with skill and brains. Solve mechanical challenges and visual puzzles to open the blockades and avoid being stuck in the labyrinth forever. Great fun for everyone!
Fast Paced Acrobatics (FIN)
A road trip that ends abruptly: The six friends are stranded in the middle of the wilderness and a story of love, humor and madness unfolds: fast-paced, incredibly precise acrobatics full of humour – impressive and unique!
French Hip Hop Punk (FR, Jura)
It becomes clear that the boys from across the Jura pay tribute to the hidden powers of barley when they perform their wild and amusing stage costume show. Refreshing with subtle flavours ranging from Chanson Festive to Hip-Hop and Punk – santé, glouglou.
Cinema Concert & Object Theatre (FR)
20 min./show
14 pers./show
with bracelet only
from 6 years on
tickets free of charge for that day are available at the reservation boot on Münsterplatz. A maximum of two tickets will be issued per person.
Step into the micro-cinema, into this childlike dream world full of mechanical inventions! Watch out: The characters of the movie suddenly burst out of the screen. A poetic, sensual experience on all levels, accompanied by live music.
Cirque Nouveau & Clownerie (DE)
8 min./show
The Cyr Wheel spins too fast and is always one spin ahead of Mikail. The result is a witty, mimically strong performance with few props: red socks, a person and a ring. A tribute to the feeling of being “too late”, winner of several awards.
Mobile Act (NL)
Breaking news! Incredibly grown due to the consumption of junk food and food waste, giant beetles are crawling through Bern’s alleyways. “Don’t panic!” says the forester and tries to bring the giant creatures under control.
Puppet Theatre (BEL)
basic English
for adults
A play about the last living dog in the world, its “master” and the big question: What is important in life and what happens when a breed dies out? A philosophical treatise, grotesque, irritating and hilarious.
Progressive Brass Art Rock (UK/IT)
A musical monster: exuberant, multivocal, bewitching and disturbing all at once. The twisted multi award-winning brass band sounds like Steve Reich and Andy Warhol with a Bulgarian women’s choir between them, staggering through Oktoberfest – beautiful and dead drunk.
Interactive Poetic Installation (BEL)
mid Postgasse
18 – 20, 20.45 – 22.30, 23 – 24
Happiness to go: Fill the Take Care Kits with what you need right now: a little peace, a little love, a little bit of everything?! A poetic, loving approach to the existential question of happiness: What do you need to be happy?
Interactive Installation (FR)
18 – 20.30, 21.30 – 24
A six meter long wall full of old phones – who or what is waiting for you at the other end of the wire? Pick up, listen and maybe even communicate… A whimsical and playful installation, full of surprises.
Mobile Flat (POR)
4 min./ride
5 pers./ride
with bracelet only
A mobile home in the truest sense of the word, only much more playful. Sit on the loo or step into the living room and make yourself comfortable on the sofa while you are driven through Bern’s old town. Live out mobility at home!
Milonga Rembetiko Experimental (CH, Genève)
unplugged
Bass clarinet and bandoneón – the alchemy of two unique sound colours, Orient and Tango fever united in Rembetic laments and Milongas Porteñas. Raoul roams the underworld from Athens to Buenos Aires, driven by trade winds, gusts, storms and whispers – magical!
Mundartlieder (CH, Bern)
Zorro and Toni Tortuga sing about the legendary mouse from “Münsterspitz”, Jimmy Flitz and about the Xenegugeli ABC. Interactive, spontaneous and close to the little and adult audience members.
Space Jazz Rock (UK/POR)
With deep punk grooves coated in bass synths and New Orleans Jazz horn lines, Rum Buffalo have built an unforgettable live show. Forged on the rough streets of London, these ruthless renegades will keep your blood pumping and your body moving with their cutting sound.
Puppets & Objects (IT)
15 min./show
7 pers./show
with bracelet only
from 8 years on
tickets free of charge for that day are available at the reservation boot on Münsterplatz. A maximum of two tickets will be issued per person.
In the ocean blue trailer you dive into a poetic underwater story. An artistic interweaving of musical clowning, puppetry and intellectual madness. Visualized by spatulas, wheels and waves, the sensitive view of the world becomes a great show.
Kologo Electronic Global Grooves (GHA/CH)
The song Anchor Point by Ahmed Spins feat. Kologo star STEVO ATAMBIRE has 44 million clicks on Spotify… The band fuses traditional Ghanaian sounds with electronic music and rousing brass sections – a bridge-building, captivating firework. Dance the night away!
Music from Balkan to Syria (IRN/SYR/LBN/MDA)
This highly virtuosic quintet traces the rich treasures of trad. Music of the Levant and Caucasia. Thousands of years of musical heritage from Moldova, Kurdistan, Armenia, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon and the Roma can be experienced live in Bern’s alleys!
Rock-Punk-Trash One-Man-Show (CH, Zurich/PERU)
In the middle of the lake, the pirate is looking for friends and something to eat. He meets the lake police, instead, and they find his rock-punk-trash sound far too loud and only welcome him when they find out about his pirate money. Undeterred by the incidents, the pirate continues his concert and his story. A colourful musical mix of styles for young and old, with traditional Schwiizerörgeli sounds and the muffled bass of a rock guitar.
Walking Act (NL)
…and suddenly there are three giraffes in the middle of Bern’s old town! They stalk through the alleyways at a fast pace, elegantly strecking their long necks to nibble on leaves or bending down to stroke passers-by.
Object Theatre (ESP)
from 6 years on
Two little plastic cups play the main characters on the minimalist stage, balancing between love, disappointment and rejection. A sensitive, highly precise object theater of the highest class! Delicate and intense at the same time.
Interactive Installation (CAT/ESP)
Junkerngasse
Wooden games built with love, imagination and perfection that challenge you. Roll marbles or memorize complex colour sequences. All done? Then look through the little hole – there’s a surprise hidden behind it. For everyone and for the inner children in particular.
Reggae Hip Hop Acoustic (UK, Bristol)
Combining thoughtful, political, and often humorous lyrics with dangerously catchy hooks and a feel-good groove, UNDERCOVER HIPPY will make you think, laugh and dance simultaneously. Known for the electric atmosphere of their live shows, they always leave the crowd feeling both inspired and energised – yeah!
Vocal Art Pop (AUT, Wien/DE/CH)
Nineties fashion Art Pop Cabaret in Viennese and Denglish, Jazz, Femme Funk or Hip-Hop after all? VIBERQUEEN’s stage performance feat. dazzling front woman Magdalena Hahnkamper and exiled Bernese Booxy defies all descriptions – check out this explosively creative surprise bag of a show!
Folk Rave Dance (UK/SCO/IRL/USA)
Hedonistic, folk-inspired, psychedelic dance music, fiddlers with incredible driving power, bold arrangements, trance-like tunes and killer ballads… Bern’s sandstone walls will vibrate in ecstasy, the audience will hang out of the windows – full on!
Ukrainian Folk Music (UKR, Lwiw)
In eight years from a powerful-voiced female quartet to a charismatic 7‑piece band: Literally between the bunker and the stage, YAGODY explores traditional songs, enriches them with modern influences and offers a theatrical music show of incredible force and outstanding power.