familiar
jovial
Hanse Song Festival in Stade
For those who love the extraordinary
The festival that inspires; the festival of unique musicians and stages: A variety of artists from different genres are featured at the Hanse Song Festival every year.
From classical singer-songwriters to pop and piano music and indie sounds, all genres are represented.
Despite this, or perhaps because of it, it is difficult to choose a favourite amongst such a wide selection. The festival invites you to discover new things by bringing both new and well-known artists to the festival. In addition to the artists, the concert venues are also exceptional.
The Hanse Song Festival came to the Hanseatic city of Stade more than 10 years ago and has since transformed venues such as churches, courtrooms and museum spaces into concert halls.
The Hanse Song Festival is an event organised by STADE Marketing und Tourismus GmbH in cooperation with Tapete Records.
Next date
Hanse Song Festival
Saturday, 18 April 2026
Tickets for children (6-12 years) at a price of 20 euros are only available at the ticket office in the town hall.
Hanse Song Festival
in Stade-
Admission to all concerts
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Advance registration required
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Children's tickets (6–12 years) for € 22.00
Tickets are also available directly from the tourist information office at the harbour in Stade, from Eventim and from Tapete Records.
Contact
Let me know your questions
STADE Marketing und Tourismus GmbH
Geschäftsführung
andreas.dr.schaefer@stadt-stade.de
04141 401410
Programme flyer to fit in your pocket
The Hanse Song Festival programme flyer is available to download as a PDF. Simply download it to your mobile phone and you can easily fit the entire night’s programme in your pocket. You can find information on all the acts as well as the timetable with all the show times at a glance.
The timetable will be announced here in advance.
All performances last approximately one hour with the exception of the concerts in the Seminarturnhalle, where each artist performs for 45 minutes.
Contact
Let me know your questions
STADE Marketing und Tourismus GmbH
Geschäftsführung
andreas.dr.schaefer@stadt-stade.de
04141 401410
The Hanse Song Festival line-up
Ambre Ciel
Montreal is a phenomenon: 60 per cent of the population speaks both French and English. Ambre Ciel also sings in both languages; with her fragile voice, she embellishes her songs with neoclassical, impressionistic and ambient colours. Her debut album was created not least with the help of Arcade Fire's musical network. Piano, violin and vocals form a timelessly graceful chamber pop.
Ansa Sauermann
Those who have to work at night don't have it easy in German hotels. ‘Breakfast until ten, who invented this crap?’ sings Ansa Sauermann. Born in Dresden and now a long-time resident of Vienna, he writes tongue-in-cheek protest songs. As a supporting act for Faber and Element of Crime, he has learned how to win over an audience: with his powerful voice, melancholic piano and, increasingly, electric guitar.
BC Camplight
He knows all about crises: addiction problems and depression almost ended the music career of Brian Christinzio, aka B.C. Camplight. The US singer and pianist reinvented himself in Manchester, where he has been writing his ‘beautiful baroque indie pop songs’ (Musikexpress) for several years now. His album ‘A Sober Conversation’ is one of the critics' favourites of 2025, and it's not just The Guardian that loves this ‘eccentric, tragicomic rock opera’. He'll be playing exclusively for Stade, performing solo on the piano!
Bill Pritchard
Bill Pritchard calls his songs ‘small urban operettas’, populated by real and fictional characters. The man from the British Midlands has mastered the classic art of singer/songwriting, but has always had a wide range of interests. He has set well-known poetry to music, toured with Pete Doherty, devoted himself to synth sounds and French pop – he recorded his hit ‘Tommy & Co’ with chanteuse Françoise Hardy.
Dennis Kiss
For Dennis Kiss, the Reeperbahn is not a place of longing: the Hamburg resident sings melancholically about the dark side of nightlife. The driving guitars accompanying his brutally honest lyrics are reminiscent of the raw artistry of Betterov, with whom Dennis has already been on tour. Is this the new Hamburg School? Yes and no. With his very own brand of post-punk and indie rock, Dennis Kiss howls under the ‘Kiezmond’.
Der Moderne Man
Gang Of Four meets Joy Division, with German lyrics – Der Moderne Man were too dark for the NDW kids in 1980. But the Hanover band was celebrated for its unwieldy yet danceable sound and humorous lyrics, and not just by BBC presenter John Peel. Punk and new wave are timeless, as the four musicians have proven since their reunion in 2019.
Die Höchste Eisenbahn
Those who have lost faith in the world need good music. Those who also appreciate clever, profound lyrics need Die Höchste Eisenbahn. After a six-year hiatus, the Berlin band led by the brilliant singers and songwriters Francesco Wilking and Moritz Krämer is back. With their swing and lightness, the dishevelled collective has saved German-language pop from boredom, as Kulturnews knows. Simply good, life-affirming music.
Die Liga der Gewöhnlichen Gentlemen
Northern soul with German lyrics – how well can that work? Since 2012, Hamburg-based band Die Liga der gewöhnlichen Gentlemen (DLDGG) has been proving just how well. The band is known for its lively guitars, described by their label as ‘agit-pop for dancing’. Their lyrics revolve around football heroes, Bud Spencer and the ‘Great Cologne deposit bottle Fraud’. Their concerts are great fun – and even more punk than their records.
Elias
What is it, hip hop or indie? Elias' fans don't care; they love his sensitive pop with its bass-heavy sound. Head voice choirs, minimalist guitar, accompanied by lyrics about doubt, fear and letting go. The Berlin-based singer, rapper and producer does his role model Frank Ocean proud.
Hamburg Spinners
The Hanseatic city's all-star band! The four have already appeared on countless soul, funk and rhythm & blues records. Carsten ‘Erobique’ Meyer (Hammond organ) is a regional favourite, not solely due to the ‘Tatortreiniger’ theme tune. The Hamburg Spinners perform groovy instrumental music inspired by the mod jazz of the sixties. Wonderfully retro!
herbst
Pianists such as Debussy and Chopin inspire him. Leander Haque, alias herbst, may have enjoyed classical piano training, but Billie Eilish is of even greater importance to him. Like the US artist, the twenty-something from Osnabrück reveals his vulnerability in his songs and combines a wide variety of genres. This can sometimes lead to tears, both on stage and in front of it.
Huah!
Their very first single, ‘Warum ich und mein Mädchen so gern katholisch wären’ (Why my girlfriend and I would love to be Catholic, 1988), featured the name-giving karate battle cry: ‘Huah!’ Knarf Rellöm, enfant terrible of the Hamburg School, developed a danceable sound between punk, soul, 60s beat and new wave together with Bernadette La Hengst and others. Currently, they are performing their first concerts after a 14-year hiatus. Expect a political, absurd, and intense show.
ISE
Ise hails from Flanders in northern Belgium and is not yet 20 years old. But anyone who hears her voice will understand why she has already graced the stages of huge Belgian rock festivals. Ise strikes a perfect balance between raw sincerity and gentle fragility. Combined with her 90s guitar sound, this makes her one of the greatest indie talents around at the moment.
Julian Knoth
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a heavy toll on Julian Knoth. 2020: When the singer and bassist of the noise band Die Nerven didn't know what to do next, he wrote songs for the acoustic guitar. He captured his depression ‘with chamber music romanticism, beauty and melancholy,’ noted Der Spiegel. The string ensemble Trio Abstrich now completes the band. A lonely solo project has thus become something bigger and more hopeful.
Laura Lee & The Jettes
Laura Lee once called her music ‘maternity krautrock’. An ironic reference to the fact that the lyrics of the Berlin-based songwriter/singer/guitarist also deal with motherhood. Laura is as familiar with unsolicited parenting advice as she is with the rock business: she enjoyed success with the indie duo Gurr before forming The Jettes. Critics have compared her fabulous guitar sound to that of Josh Homme.
Naima Bock
Her post-punk days with Goat Girl are long behind her. Naima Bock has released two fantastic folk albums under her own name. ‘It's as if a space outside of time has opened up,’ enthused the taz newspaper. The songs by the Londoner with Brazilian roots are intense and uncategorisable. It sounds as if Aldous Harding and Shirley Collins were jamming in Sao Paulo. Jazzy, light and exhilarating.
Oska
Her pseudonym was inspired by her brother Oskar, with whom she wrote her first song: Maria Burger, alias Oska, is known for her ‘melodious songs with surprising depth’ (Musikexpress). Her indie folk, influenced by artists such as Phoebe Bridgers, already impressed audiences when she opened for Coldplay. With a whispering soprano voice and haunting melodies, Oska tells stories of loss, friendship and newfound trust.
Reflektor Live
Jan Müller has been the bassist for Tocotronic for 30 years. He knows the German pop business better than most. The guests on his podcast come from all walks of life; he is no stranger to rap, punk or classical music alike. What makes a good song? How political can music be? Jan's conversations are profound, amusing and personal. At the Hanse Song Festival, he will be hosting an exciting conversation with Julian Knoth.
Steiner & Madlaina
Legend has it they met in the schoolyard of their Zurich music school. Nora Steiner and Madlaina Pollina have Swiss street cred. This flows into their comforting, clever lyrics, into pleas ‘for enduring ambivalence; for taking a stance without the clamour of clarity’ (Rolling Stone). True to the title of their current album, the two indie-folk poets are ‘Nah Dran’ and will be performing their very special duo show in Stade.
Svaneborg Kardyb
Their NPR concert thrilled thousands during the lockdown in spring of 2022. Keyboardist Nikolaj Svaneborg and drummer Jonas Kardyb play meditative instrumental music that blends soul, ambient and jazz. Dreamy melodies on the Wurlitzer piano, accompanied by gently rolling and murmuring percussion – a fabulous mix that, in a better world, would make the two likeable Danes superstars.
Tiny Wolves
These 60 children from a village in Lower Saxony form no ordinary choir. The Tiny Wolves may not yet be grown-ups, but they are a choir of humanity – a group that reminds us of the beauty of life. For years, the Wolves have opened the Festival with a cappella classics by Coldplay, Maximo Park, Wir sind Helden and Tom Petty. Wild, unpretentious and full of dedication. Teary eyes guaranteed.
Yola
She herself describes her music as ‘fairytale poetry’ – powerful bass lines show that it doesn't always have to sound gentle. Yola is a talented newcomer from Essen who captures the attitude to life of her generation with personal lyrics. Atmospheric sounds, catchy melodies and a touching voice.
Yunus
He is known as the ‘rapper with the viola’. A title that Johannes Berger, aka Yunus, gladly accepts. His life story is not a conventional one. Born in Istanbul, Yunus studied jazz in Hanover between battle rap and poetry slams, eventually ending up in Berlin. Today, his music is probably best described as indie pop. Sometimes delicate, sometimes political, often humorous and always catchy.
Joshua Murphy
Schwedenspeicher | 18:00 - 18:45 Uhr
Ein Australier mit Gothic-Vorlieben, den es nach Europa zieht – kommt irgendwie bekannt vor. Die Rede ist nicht von Nick Cave, sondern von seinem deutlich jüngeren Landsmann Joshua Murphy. Der Mann mit der grandiosen Bariton-Stimme lebt heute in Berlin. Dort nimmt er auch seinen nachtschwarzen, atmosphärischen Indie-Folk auf. Spooky und bewegend.