July 2026 makes the choice a torture. On some weekends four or five festivals sit on the map at once, from the North Sea coast down to the Neckar, from the 80,000-strong field to the club festival that started out with 250 people. Anyone who wants to catch it all would have to clone themselves. So we picked sixteen – across metal, rock, punk, gothic, hip-hop and whatever sits between the boxes.

This is the start of a series: from now on you’ll find a preview of the next month’s festivals here on the 15th of each month. And one thread runs through this first month: there’s a lot of saying goodbye. One festival is calling it quits after more than twenty years, a medieval spectacle is putting up its big stages for the last time, and two bands are playing their very last show. Whoever goes this year sees things that won’t exist afterwards.

The Big Stages

splash! 2026 – 2 to 4 July, Ferropolis, Saxony-Anhalt

splash! opens the run from 2 to 4 July in Ferropolis near Gräfenhainichen, Saxony-Anhalt – those old bucket-wheel excavators in the background that turn the country’s most important rap festival into a backdrop. Bonez & Friendz plays the headline show, alongside Ken Carson, Gunna, RIN, Quavo, Haftbefehl, Ski Mask The Slump God and SSIO. New this year is a dedicated “Block Party” stage across all three days. If you don’t have a ticket, you won’t get in: every festival ticket is sold out, only a waiting list remains.

Werbung

Deichbrand 2026 – 16 to 19 July, Cuxhaven/Nordholz, Lower Saxony

Deichbrand brings the full genre spectrum to the Lower Saxony coast from 16 to 19 July at the Sea-Airport Cuxhaven/Nordholz. Rise Against, SDP, Electric Callboy, Scooter, Sido and the Dropkick Murphys sit on a billing that’s officially complete. In 2026 you pay exclusively cashless, through the festival wristband.

Lollapalooza Berlin 2026 – 18 and 19 July, Olympiastadion

Lollapalooza Berlin moves into the Olympiastadion and the surrounding park on 18 and 19 July. Pitbull, Lewis Capaldi and Lorde sit at the top of the bill, with Anitta, Teddy Swims, Zara Larsson and Lily Allen below. The phase-three weekend ticket costs 214 euros, and according to official figures more than 83 percent are gone.

Wacken Open Air 2026 – 29 July to 1 August, Schleswig-Holstein

Wacken needs no explanation. From 29 July to 1 August the village in Schleswig-Holstein becomes the biggest metal city in the world again, with around 150 bands and Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Powerwolf and Sabaton at the top. Two sets carry weight beyond the usual programme: Running Wild play, so the announcement goes, their very last live show, and Sepultura make their final festival appearance in Germany. The festival isn’t fully sold out – the cheaper tiers are gone, the last one (“Louder”) sits at 351 euros.

For the Neck

RockHarz 2026 – 1 to 4 July, Ballenstedt, Saxony-Anhalt

RockHarz runs from 1 to 4 July at the Ballenstedt airfield in Saxony-Anhalt and sold fast – the festival pass was gone after a short presale, day tickets are still available for 90 euros. Helloween, Alice Cooper, Kreator and Feuerschwanz lead a field that also includes Emperor, Subway to Sally, Doro, Airbourne and Die Apokalyptischen Reiter.

In Flammen Open Air 2026 – 9 to 11 July, Torgau

In Flammen Open Air turns Torgau from 9 to 11 July into what the festival itself calls “Germany’s hellish garden party.” For its 20th anniversary it gets emotional: The Crown play their farewell show after 35 years, Satyricon come for a 90-minute special set. The weekend ticket costs 99.90 euros.

Dong Open Air 2026 – 16 to 18 July, Neukirchen-Vluyn, NRW

Dong Open Air climbs the Halde Norddeutschland near Neukirchen-Vluyn from 16 to 18 July, run by the non-profit Dong Kultur e.V. with around 300 volunteers and a view across the Lower Rhine. Subway to Sally, Amorphis, Alestorm and Overkill are on the programme. The festival ticket runs 169.99 euros, the day pass 79.99 euros.

Headbangers Open Air 2026 – 22 to 25 July, Brande-Hörnerkirchen

Headbangers Open Air is the pilgrimage site for everyone who puts true and old-school metal above polish. From 22 to 25 July (with a warm-up on Wednesday), Brande-Hörnerkirchen gathers Death Angel, Voivod, Sortilège and Marc Storace, the voice of Krokus, among others, plus a handful of underground names that fill no posters elsewhere but get celebrated here.

BOBfest 2026 – 25 July, SparkassenPark Mönchengladbach

BOBfest turns the SparkassenPark Mönchengladbach into a one-day onslaught from rock radio station Radio Bob on 25 July. Beyond the Black, Phil Campbell’s Bastard Sons and Airbourne warm things up before Judas Priest take the headline slot around 8:30 p.m. Standing room costs 109 euros.

Small, Stubborn, Uncompromising

Burning Pants 2026 – 3 to 5 July, Hude, Lower Saxony

Burning Pants, from 3 to 5 July at the HS Lifestyle Club in Hude, describes itself as “the only rock festival for the BDSM, fetish and sex-positive scene.” Grown out of a gathering of around 250 guests, the organisers deliberately go for intimacy over mass. On stage: Hämatom, Diary of Dreams, Stahlmann, Lacrimas Profundere and League of Distortion. The weekend ticket costs 169 euros.

Langeln Open Air 2026 – 3 and 4 July, Langeln, Schleswig-Holstein

Langeln Open Air is the first of the announced goodbyes. On 3 and 4 July the small rock, punk and metal festival runs in Langeln, Schleswig-Holstein – and, according to the organising team speaking to the Stadtmagazin SH (May 2026), for the last time. After more than twenty years they want to stop “while it’s at its most beautiful.” The official website says nothing of the sort; it even mentions a call for applications for 2027. If you want in, it’s 55 euros including camping, fifteen bands on two stages.

Knights, Smoke and Riffs

MPS Bückeburg 2026 – 25 and 26 July, Bückeburg Castle Park

MPS Bückeburg brings a medieval market, jousting tournament and music arena to the castle park on 25 and 26 July (the second weekend then on 1 and 2 August). Saltatio Mortis, Versengold and Faun play the Saturday. The organiser announces that the 2026 season will be “the last of its kind” – meaning, concretely, that this is the last time the big bands stand on the big stage. The MPS itself continues from 2027 in reworked form, with smaller acts, more tournament and camp life. The Saturday ticket including the music arena costs 78 euros in presale.

Punk on the Tarmac

Ruhrpott Rodeo 2026 – 24 to 26 July, Hünxe, NRW

Ruhrpott Rodeo takes over the Schwarze Heide airfield near Hünxe, on the edge of Bottrop, from 24 to 26 July. The organisers call it Germany’s biggest punk festival; in its nineteenth edition, Feine Sahne Fischfilet, Turbonegro, Napalm Death, the Dropkick Murphys, New Model Army and Sondaschule play. Laura Jane Grace and Good Riddance have cancelled their sets. The combi ticket starts at 160.50 euros.

Old School and Cypher

Samy Deluxe – Block Party Deluxe 2026 – 11 July Heidelberg, 12 July Hamburg

Samy Deluxe turns July into block-party season. On 11 July his “Block Party Deluxe” format stops in Heidelberg (Metropolink’s Commissary), on 12 July in Hamburg at the 45 Hertz grounds – the second edition for Heidelberg, the third for Hamburg. Eight hours of DJ sets, live sessions and Samy at the mic in full concert length, plus writers and artists who turn the grounds into an open-air atelier during the day. The man has shaped the German rap landscape for more than three decades and is part of the graffiti scene himself; he keeps the guest line-up under wraps until the end.

Old but Gold 2026 – Cologne (4 Jul), Berlin (11 Jul), Hamburg (25/26 Jul)

Old but Gold serves, in parallel, everyone who prefers old-school rap standing up with an ID check: entry from age 30. The Ü30 series stops in July in Cologne (4 July, Tanzbrunnen), Berlin (11 July, Zitadelle Spandau) and Hamburg (25 and 26 July, MS Artville). Busta Rhymes, KRS-One, Ginuwine and Onyx run through the billings, with Max Herre & Joy Denalane and De La Soul added in Hamburg. Festival tickets start at 110.99 euros in Cologne, 109.99 euros in Berlin and 99.99 euros in Hamburg; the separate aftershow party in Cologne starts at 30 euros.

Festivals in July 2026 at a Glance

Sixteen festivals, one month, every shade of genre covered. Whoever finds nothing in July isn’t looking properly – and should hurry, because a few of these stages are standing for the last time. The next preview comes on 15 July, then for August.