Music Festivals
Jazz by Off Beat/JSB Festival
For jazz buffs, a major jazz festival takes place in April/May. Celebrated international musicians perform at a variety of locations throughout Basel. In recent years, the festival programme has been steadily expanded.
Bscene
For one weekend every spring, everything revolves around the local music scene. Dozens of bars and clubs set up stages and turn into a music bar. Over 300 local bands show their energy and perform.
Stimmenfestival
During the summer holiday season, the Stimmenfestival presents outstanding singers and musicians from rock and pop, jazz and classical music, from all eras and styles, as well as special in-house productions and festival projects that combine the genres of music, literature and theater in unique ways. It is a cross-border festival with a wide variety of venues: music and experimentation takes place in parks and at smaller sites. International stars such as Leonard Cohen, Pink and Juanes appear on the Markplatz in Lörrach. In addition, unknown pearls from around the world can also be discovered (www.stimmen.com).
‘Kulturfloss’ on the Rhine
In recent years the city has had a new forum in the summer months: the ‘Kulturfloss’ (Culture Raft) on the Rhine. For two weeks, Swiss bands play on a stage floating on the river, while the audience enjoys a beer on the banks of the Rhine. All concerts are free.
Open air concerts at the St. Jakob Park
When there is no football game, international stars rock the arena filled with 50,000 people. Check the news for upcoming shows.
‘Em Bebbi sy Jazz’
The end of the school vacation is signalled by the traditional jazz festival ‘Em Bebbi sy Jazz’. The festival is staged at a variety of open air venues in the heart of the city. The fabulous atmosphere is enjoyed by tens of thousands of visitors.
Baloise Session – Jazz, Blues & Soul
November is a highlight for fans of sophisticated music: The Baloise Session is staged at the site of the Basel Exhibition. Whether it be the Supremes or the Temptations, Zucchero or Amy Madconald, Suzanne Vega or Reamonn – the great names of the blues, jazz and soul world all come to Basel to present their shows.
Basel Tattoo
The Basel Tattoo is unique in Switzerland, and is one of the largest open-air festivals of its kind in Europe. Every summer, the best representation orchestras from around the world, present catchy tunes combined with elaborately choreographed march sequences, and provide a marvellous spectacle of colour and light in front of the magnificent backdrop of the Kaserne Basel.
Youth Culture Festival Basel (Jugendkulturfestival Basel)
At the Jugendkulturfestival, the very young take over the city for a whole weekend every second year. On a number of stages, young bands and dance groups show what they have learned in weeks of practice. The JKF offers young people a platform on which to present their creativity.
European Festival of Youth Choirs Basel
The European Festival of Youth Choirs Basel takes place every second year during the Ascension holidays. First held in 1992, it has now become firmly established, and, with more than 22,000 visitors, has become an integral part of the cultural life of Basel and the region. The festival focuses on interaction. Choirs representing a broad musical and cultural spectrum of European choir singing can be seen in more than 25 large and smaller concerts in Basel and the region.
Opera Festival Riehen
Since 2006, the Opera Festival Riehen has become a very popular event in the late summer. The festival uses the concept of placing the stage and the orchestra in the middle of the visitors, so that the soloists can be experienced close at hand.
les muséiques
Under the title «les muséiques», a "Museum-Music Week" has taken place in Basel since 2002. The idea for this small, fine festival in April came from the world-famous violinist Gidon Kremer. Starting from the large number of museums in the City on the Rhine, «les muséiques» aims to cross the boundaries between artistic genres and to bring together people who are normally only interested in one or the other form of art.
CULTURESCAPES
«Cultural Landscapes» (Kulturlandschaften) refers to regions that have been characterised by a common history, by a common culture. Organised as a festival in Basel for the first time in 2003, CULTURESCAPES has become a fixed institution in the regional and national cultural landscape. From 2011 onwards, CULTURESCAPES not only presents countries, but also cities.
