With the next wave of newly confirmed acts, we’re digging deep into our bag of tricks once again and pulling out more than one legit surprise: Canadian songwriter folk with legitimate ‘70s vibes (Billy Raffoul), a New York bassist extraordinaire (Blu DeTiger), contemporary punk legends (DŸSE) and „ModernSynthBreakFunk“ (nand) are all here, as well as some all-new and artsy additions to the line-up. Featuring a big number of emerging as well as established female artists, this extension to the line-up is all about female empowerment and putting an end to the gender gap.

First up, Bonaparte & Sophie Hunger serve up a top-notch party song with their “Daft Punk playing in my house” cover of the LCD Soundsystem classic, kicking off their latest EP-length collaboration. The pair are masters of danceable grooves that range from electro-punk to tight garage riffs, and they’ll be proving that again on our stage.

Meanwhile, Billy Raffoul will perform a concert resembling something akin to a diary entry. The Canadian songwriter has been frequently compared to everyone from Neil Young to Jeff Buckley for years, and his raw soul voice and contemplative songwriting are inspired by a passion reminiscent of the great folk icons of North America.

Lola Marsh are already icons in their native Israel. The duo have established their own style of summery indie pop with catchy hooks and clever lyrics, which they have already performed to enthusiastic audiences at numerous festivals in Europe and the USA. They come to us with new material.

As will Blu DeTiger, bringing her mix of indie pop, deejaying and virtuoso bass playing to Hamburg. This multi-talented performer has performed on all the major festival stages, is an established TikTok star and one of the most ambitious artists of her generation - and should definitely be on everyone's radar.

DŸSE like to fly under the radar away from fame and commerce, but they are still nothing short of contemporary hardcore legends. For nearly two decades, the Berlin-based duo has been setting stages alight all over the country, leaving them unfit even for use as charcoal. Heroes in a world without any.

And Sharaktah wants to do something about it. The rapper, singer and guitarist follows the original inspiration of hip-hop and makes what today is called conscious rap: tracks with heart and soul, no fake image or feigned narcissism. Here it's all about fate, decline and revival, in short: life.

nand also takes the ideas for his lovingly arranged synthpop tracks directly from life, and this beat crafter has used them to make not only a name for himself, but also his own niche in the local bedroom producer scene. Exuberant partying in the best possible mood is agenda item numero uno for him.

This year's line-up will feature numerous art projects that interface with music. The exhibition “(IN)BETWEEN - Music & Graphics” thus uses screen installations to explore the mutual inspiration of music and graphic design, cover artwork and sound. Visual and auditory presentations blend into one another here, and the transitions to other creative industries become visible and finally tangible.

I’m right and you’re wrong. “Doch” is the key to the world of Max Gruber, alias Drangsal, as well as the title of his debut book. In a series of autobiographical mini-narratives and short stories, Drangsal opens up a world that lies between fact and fiction. About growing up in the provincial areas of Germany's Palatinate region, about music, about lonely figures who indulge in their obsessive endeavours somewhere between their waking hours and their dreams - he lets us share in all of this at his reading the St. Pauli Church.

With the inclusive space lab TRANSFORM, EUCREA creates links between the digital sphere, virtual reality and artificial intelligence, and human modes of production and thought. Artists from a whole gamut of disciplines, including music, dance, theatre and poetry, will show how physical artistic expression has been changing in the 21st century - and will continue to do so.

Amidst the hubbub of the festival, it can all get a bit overwhelming. The queer-feminist collective “Experimentelle Klasse” has taken this as an opportunity to establish a container as a place of retreat on the festival grounds and at the same time to scrutinize the demarcation between the spheres of art and science. Along with a care station with places to sit and drinks, a multimedia exploration of “care in urban space” will be available, organized in relaxed audio walks by the collective.

More festival acts:

Anaïs | Mia Morgan | Moglii | Skinny Lister | Sophia Kennedy | Will Linley | Kerosin95 | Sharktank | Baby Queen | M.Byrd | YAEL | ATOEM | BEACHPEOPLE | Caroline Rose | Bounty & Cocoa | Bulgarian Cartrader | bdrmm | Donkey Kid | Enola Gay | Tamzene | John Moods | Souly | Kings Elliot | Koki Nakano | Real Lies | Wu-Lu | Fluppe | Thomas Azier | Diana Goldberg | NASHI44 | Dani Larkin | Maffai | Tuys | The String Theory | The Daydream Club | KÅRP | Cham Léon | IMOGEN | Anna Bassy | Aze | Eli Preiss | BIBIZA | Pina Palau | Ferdous | Monvol | Leftovers | DAYYANI | Olympya | HÆCTOR | The Ferocious Few | ARDEN | Adriano Koch | Beverly Kills | Elena Rud | Elena Steri | H.B. Nielsen | Heart Directors Club | Alexandra Zykonov – Wir sind doch alle längst gleichberechtigt | Amerika, wir müssen reden! | Reflektor / Viertausendherz | Nachts um halb eins – music podcast