Sounds Like Sugar Festival 2026

The "Sounds Like Sugar" Festival returns on Saturday, 1 August 2026, to Schlosspark Strünkede. Karl-Brandt-Weg 5. Doors open at 15:30, main programme starts at 16:00. This year, the festival focuses on the main stage in the castle courtyard.

"We wanted to make the festival experience even more direct and intense," says Maurice Margraf from the cultural office of the city of Herne. "The Schlosshof offers the perfect atmosphere for that." Musically, "Sounds Like Sugar" remains true to its concept: it combines current indie, pop, and alternative sounds with exciting newcomers and established acts.

Headliners of this year's festival are "Rikas" - a band known for their groovy indie-pop with plenty of retro charm, which has already attracted international attention. Also confirmed as a central live act are "Tiavo" - considered among the most promising German-language newcomers, combining Neue Neue Deutsche Welle (NNDW), indie and rock, renowned for their energetic live shows.

The line-up is complemented by: "Walking on Rivers" with atmospheric indie-pop and strong live performances, "Sloe Noon", combining guitar pop, shoegaze and krautrock influences, and "Tropikel Ltd." with ironically-tinged 80s-inspired synth-pop for dancing.

Although the festival this year focuses on a single stage, the idea of discovering new music remains. "We deliberately wanted to create more concentration without losing diversity," says the cultural office.

An expansion of the festival concept also takes place on water: on Friday, 16 October 2026, the Sounds Like Sugar Kulturschiff sets sail for the first time on the Rhein-Herne-Kanal.