Six places where live music is celebrated

Old factories, off-spaces and pubs

Mitsubishi Electric Halle, PSD Bank Dome and Merkur Spiel-Arena - if you regularly go to concerts, you are probably familiar with these Düsseldorf venues. But what about the smaller stages? Whether guitar band or hip-hop combo, electro session or DJ set: if you like live music, Düsseldorf offers great variety - even outside of special events such as the New Fall Festival. You just have to know where. Which music pubs are worthwhile for whom? Where is the atmosphere right and which bookers go the extra mile for you? We have put together six places for you here where live music has found a suitable home. 

zakk 

If there is a synonym for live music in Düsseldorf-Flingern, then it is the abbreviation zakk. It originally stands for "Center for Action, Culture and Communication" - and the old factory building on Fichtenstraße does indeed host a wide range of events, from poetry slams and hip-hop workshops to political theme nights. But what really makes the zakk indispensable are the concerts. The bands that the music magazines recommend play here. From Wanda to Maximo Park, from Sophie Hunger to Antilopen Gang to Tocotronic: if you don't want to fill a stadium - or want to fill one - you're in good hands on the stage in the hall or in the smaller club. Not least because you are always close to the audience. The atmosphere is unpretentious, there are no fixed seats or fear of contact. And with a festival like "Lieblingsplatte", program planner Miguel Passarge ignites old and new zakk fans every December. Bands play one of their albums in its entirety - their favorite album. Where else can you find something like this but at zakk?  

Muse KTV 

Live music of a special kind: karaoke is a social event in Asia - and also a pleasure in Düsseldorf that you should treat yourself to from time to time. For example at Muse KTV on Klosterstraße. The abbreviation KTV stands for karaoke box, especially in Chinese-speaking countries, and therefore for the more "private" version of karaoke. The Muse has eleven different rooms available for the fun song contest, which can accommodate between four and six and a maximum of ten to 15 people. They can be rented by the hour, or you can book one of the "menus", which includes a fixed contingent of beer and finger food in addition to the room rental. All rooms are equipped with comfortable sofas and, of course, a karaoke machine. The advantage compared to karaoke on open stages: You are among yourselves and don't have to wait long for your turn. If you prefer to perform in front of a larger audience, we recommend the karaoke nights at McLaughlins and O'Reilly's on Fridays and Saturdays respectively. 

World art room 

Ten years of Weltkunstzimmer this October! Ten years in which artists from a wide variety of backgrounds have played, danced, performed or exhibited their work in the former baking factory on Ronsdorfer Straße. But the interdisciplinary project is much older: around 40 years ago, free spirit Hans Peter Zimmer took over the 10,000 square meter backyard area with the aim of transforming the testimony to old industrial culture into an open space for art and subculture. The Weltkunstzimmer still breathes this spirit today: since Zimmer's death, the foundation named after him has continued the project in his spirit, financed among other things by renting out numerous studios, rehearsal rooms and studios on the site. "As an urban biotope in the heart of Düsseldorf, the listed Backfabrik is a refuge for creativity," says the foundation. The important role that the Weltkunstzimmer actually plays for interdisciplinary networking can always be felt and heard when the asphalt Festival is a guest. Other recurring events include digitale düsseldorf, the DIYsseldorf/DIY Synth & Soundart Festival, the Acoustic Festival and the monthly Musikzimmer concert series, which offers a stage for up-and-coming bands from Düsseldorf in particular. 

Cassette 

Düsseldorf's cultural scene has always thrived on its off-spaces. Of course, these are often housed in temporary structures and unfortunately have to make way for construction projects or other commercial interests just when things are at their best. We are therefore all the more grateful that the Kassette on Oberbilker Flügelstraße has been going strong since July 2012 - and is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. You can tell from the name that this small, cozy bar has nostalgia at its heart. But it never gets boring here: there is an open mic series, the "Quizzette" for guessing along and a changing "Beer of the Month". A screen is set up for watching Fortuna. But the Kassette undoubtedly attracts the biggest crowds to its regular living room concerts. The small stage right in front of the window is usually occupied by local musicians and sometimes also musicians from all over Europe. You can assume that owners Tobias Wecker and Kim Thurau have a penchant for subversive guitar music outside the mainstream. But you can also enjoy singer-songwriters and their quieter sounds live in the vintage-furnished bar. By the way, there is often no entrance fee, instead the hat goes round. 

Pong  

Hamed Shahi is where everything comes together. Over the past decade, the Düsseldorf native has established several indispensable live music events, most notably the New Fall Festival. True to the motto "pop music in unusual places", you can enjoy an international line-up every autumn and make yourself comfortable in the Tonhalle or the Robert Schumann Hall. In previous Corona years, there was a Summer Edition in the Ehrenhof. The festival ran parallel to the Sunday picnic "Parklife", also established by Hamed Shahi, where DJs play in various Düsseldorf parks. And then there's "Beats & BBQ": In summer, you can always spread out your picnic blanket on the lawn in the Ehrenhof on Saturday afternoons when the weather is nice. The Pong team takes care of the sound and catering - that's right, because Hamed Shahi has also been responsible for the pop culture catering in the NRW Forum foyer for around five years. His most recent heroic deed at Pong: the revival of the "Tonfrequenz" party series, which took place in the rotunda of the Tonhalle in the 2000s. DJ greats such as DJ Hell, Jan Delay and Richard Dorfmeister were there at the start.   

Café Modigliani 

Friedensplätzchen is an integral part of the Unterbilk neighborhood, and not just because of the Rhenish farmers' market every Tuesday and Friday. Small, but all the nicer events such as the Friedensplätzchen summer festival or the annual flea market are thanks to a residents' initiative that loves and cares for its little square. It was founded around 25 years ago. Where was it founded? The café on the square, the Modigliani, of course. With its wooden bistro chairs, walls full of film posters and art prints and slightly dim atmosphere, the café, which reveals its full potential after sunset and with a glass of wine, is one of the places that really shape Düsseldorf's pub scene. No wonder that when bands perform here on "Blue Monday", they are often rooted in Düsseldorf - but by no means exclusively. The musical spectrum is also wide-ranging. In 2022, Heavy Gummi and Hack Mack Jackson were already guests here, as were Samba Bom and Tzigan. 

Cover picture: Düsseldorf Tourismus