Aftermovie 2026

…like a fairytale

...it was an Âventiure in the sonic forest!

Under the motto "...like a fairytale", around 200 artists from over 20 nations brought musical audacity and fresh auditory impulses back to Moers this Whitsun! Our large open-air stage stood right in the centre of the Kastellplatz, while the festival continued to unfold across the surrounding venues.

We are still deeply moved and inspired by the incredible energy, the encounters, and the unforgettable concert moments. Thank you so much for bringing the fairytale of the "Jazz Festival for Little Red Riding Hood, clapping frogs, escapism, and: Âventiure" to life with us!

You were a fantastic audience!

See you next year! 

© Dennis Hoeren



© Dennis Hoeren



© Dennis Hoeren



© Dennis Hoeren



Senyawa | © Nils Brinkmann



Moritz Simon Geist | © Dennis Hoeren



© Dennis Hoeren



Folk Music (Geheimkonzert in der enni.eventhalle) | © Dennis Hoeren



WDR Big Band feat. Nduduzo Makhathini | © Dennis Hoeren



Futur 2 | © Dennis Hoeren



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Den tyske Moers Festival er ikke længere først og fremmest en jazzfestival, men et kurateret laboratorium for fri improvisation, lydkunst, kompositionsmusik og politisk absurdisme. Til tider virker det anstrengt. Oftest er det befriende. – Andreo Michaelo Mielczarek https://seismograf.org/en/article/oh-get-lost-moers What kind of festival was this, really? That question kept returning throughout the days at the Moers Festival in western Germany. The festival consistently defied the categories I tried to approach it with. Everywhere there were hand-painted signs reading »Moers ist politisch« and »Not a jazz festival.« The festival began in 1972 as one of Europe’s most important jazz festivals, but today it seems more concerned with escaping definition than affirming it. This year’s theme was Märchen – fairy tales. Plastic garden gnomes appeared as absurd signposts between Kastellplatz, the palace park, and the small paths through the town. A Donald Trump impersonator emerged on a giant mobile phone suspended from a crane above the festival grounds. Between concerts, recordings of the US president’s speeches streamed across the square. No one explained why. That, precisely, seemed to be the point. A clarinettist struck rhythms with a whisk, while another musician later that night set a bamboo flute on fire. The absurd – I quickly learned – was not just an element, but a method. #musician #music #musica #art #germany

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Luis Lopes @moersfestival #backstageproject #portraitphotography #fujigfx100s #profoto

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Ton an, Ohren auf und nochmals den Klängen des vergangenen moers festivals lauschen, denn hier kommt unser Rückblick Teil 2! Musikalische Highlights gab es beim 55. moers festival 2026 viele, einige seht ihr im Video: Auf den fantastischen Festivalstart am Donnerstag mit der WDR Big Band feat. Nduduzo Makhathini und SORBD folgten unzählige märchenhafte Musiker*innen, Formationen und Neukonstellationen, darunter auch Nana Benz du Togo, inEvitable extended, Gellért Szabó's Ideal Orchestra, Alan Bishop, Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Sway, Gordon Grdina's RU'YA feat. Ghalia Benali, Witch 'n' Monk oder Wukir Suryadi. In mehr als 100 Konzerten habt ihr monumentale, ergreifende, leise oder ungeheuer laute, neue, bisher ungehörte, bewegende, aufregende und märchenhafte Töne erlebt. Wir ziehen unseren Hut und bedanken uns für wunderbare fünf Festivaltage! ✨ Bis 2027! 🌕

schwarz/weiß-Motiv: drei junge Volunteers sitzen auf einer Parkbank mit dem Rücken zum Betrachter, sie tragen das Festival T-Shirt 2022

Volunteers

We need your help, so that we can all celebrate together again and enjoy the festival! 

Become a volunteer

Calendar

Improviser in Residence

July

Monday, 10.11. - 19:00

Improviser-Residence (Neustr. 20, 47441 Moers)

Kleiner Martinsumzug

Paed Conca (clarinet)

Bart Maris (trumpet)

Henri Storck (Sur Les Bords de la Camera)

More information | @iir.moers on Instagram 

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