KONTAKTFELD Festival 2026

KONTAKTFELD Festival enters its second edition

On 10 October 2026, the Essen cultural collective KONTAKTFELD hosts the second edition of its festival at Zeche Carl. The one-day programme features six live acts, a reading, cultural-political discussions, and vegan street food - spread across two stages and several spaces on the site.

The festival positions itself as a platform for resistant and diverse contemporary culture, as a counterpoint to commercial, male-dominated line-ups. The programmatic focus lies on FLINTA and Mixed-Gender acts, as well as independent artistic positions. Musically, the programme ranges from post-punk, new wave, electronic club aesthetics to experimental wave.

The acts include: Camille Jansen (FR/UK), whose debut album The Loose Screws received attention from BBC 6 Music; Dutch band L.A. Sagne with raw punk energy and Riot-Grrrl attitude; VALS ALARM (NL), combining EBM, wave and punk into an uncompromising live sound; GiGi Girls with a mix of synth-punk, electroclash and Italo-pop influences; SMILE, merging post-punk with gothic rock and new wave; and Ulla Suspekt between NDW references, electroclash and feminist stance.

Author Clara Umbach reads from her novel "Pizza Orlando" (2025). About the book, Franziska Gänsler writes: "Pizza Orlando is reflection and dialogue, remembrance and the desire to understand. Love, sorrow, passion - an incredibly moving text."

Awareness structures, fair ticket prices and volunteer cultural work are core to the collective's identity. Vegan street food and local initiatives complement the supporting programme. The volunteer-run DIY collective has been organising concerts and events in Essen, Oberhausen and Bochum since 2020.

⚠️ Cashless payment only at the bars.