In 2026, Klagenfurt will once again be transformed into a vibrant festival city with an exceptionally dense line-up of musical, literary and performing highlights. The sixth edition of the Klagenfurt Festival is a deliberately open promise: see, hear, be amazed - and immerse yourself in artistic worlds that radiate far beyond the country.

The Carinthian cult band Naked Lunch are getting things off to an emotional start with their first album after a twelve-year break. "Lights (and a Slight Taste of Death)" builds on what has always characterized the band: existential depth, musical devotion and a touching mixture of melancholy and new beginnings. With new songs such as the longing anthem To All and Everyone I Love and classics from three decades, the concert will be a powerful start to the festival, arousing nostalgia and curiosity in equal measure.
With Fuzzman & The Singin' Rebels, another fixed star of the local music scene follows. For twenty years, Herwig Zamernik has been moving between punk and pop, political wit and disarming lightness. In Klagenfurt, he presents an exclusive best-of full of stubbornness and surprises - a performance that perfectly captures the festival feeling between renewal and recognition.

Rebekka Bakken © Andreas Ausland

Delicate introspection meets Nordic power when Rebekka Bakken makes a guest appearance at Burghof with her new album Nord. Her music, carried by jazz, folklore and a voice of impressive emotional range, revolves around origins, memory and the art of rediscovery. An evening that gets deep under your skin. Further highlights are provided by star actor Lars Eidinger, who renegotiates musical melancholy in the world premiere of his program My Way - accompanied by Hansjörg Brandenburg on the grand piano and with songs from Sinatra to Bowie. In the second part of the evening, however, the stage belongs to his legendary anti-disco: a wild, clever, ecstatic night in which Eidinger as DJ breaks down all boundaries between art and club.

A panorama full of contrasts is created by the performances of Ernst Molden & Christopher Seiler with the Vienna Women's Orchestra, hip-hop innovators Kreiml & Samurai and electro-pop band MiA. A special moment: the first Carinthian performance by electronic world stars Kruder & Dorfmeister, who combine their iconic "DJ-Kicks" sound with spectacular visuals.
Theater also plays a major role at the Klagenfurt Festival. Manuel Rubey, Christoph Grissemann and Robert Stachel present Yasmina Reza's art as a comedic tour de force - pointed, sharp and with subtle melancholy. Philipp Hochmair, who interprets his autobiography as an energetic performance reading, is as personal as he is intense: a poetic ride through literature, life and role models.
Literary and musical highlights follow in the Konzerthaus: Schubert's Schöne Müllerin with Franui and Florian Boesch, a touching Bachmann-Frisch evening with Caroline Peters and Roland Koch and Karl Kraus' Letzte Tage der Menschheit in an impressive interpretation by Nicholas Ofczarek, Georg Nigl and Markus Hinterhäuser.
The crowning finale: opera superstar Asmik Grigorian with the program A Diva is Born. A sensational commitment - and a performance that will make Klagenfurt a great city of music.
May 22 to June 7, 2026
www.klagenfurtfestival.com