The festival for new music in the heart of Vienna. Vienna, a city often associated with classical music and culture, reveals a completely different side every October: modern, loud, bold, and creative.
At Waves Vienna, an international showcase festival, numerous clubs along Vienna’s Gürtel ring road transform into a stage for emerging artists from all over Europe and beyond.
The 2025 edition will take place from October 2nd to 4th and feature more than 100 live acts on over 10 stages. The focus is clearly on newcomers and innovative sounds – acts that may soon be on Europe’s major festival stages will perform here. Waves Vienna thus offers not only music, but also discoveries, surprises, and plenty of inspiration.
The Waves Conference, a conference with panels, workshops, and lectures on the music industry, media, booking, and artist management, will also take place in parallel. An absolute must for anyone who works professionally in music or simply wants to get a glimpse behind the scenes of the scene.
2025 is also a special year for the festival: Waves Vienna is celebrating its 15th anniversary. The opening ceremony will take place on October 1st at Vienna’s Volkstheater – OSKA, Christina Stürmer, Josh., Yasmo, Oskar Haag, and Hans Platzgumer will be performing, among others. The evening is planned as a benefit event; the proceeds will go towards a new residency program in the UK, which is scheduled to start in 2026.
Another highlight is the “Free Saturday Afternoon Program” – on Saturday afternoons, venues like Lucia, Loop, and Coco will open their doors for free concerts. Ideal for anyone who wants to get into the festival spirit without buying a ticket.
Date: October 2–4, 2025
Location: Various clubs along Vienna’s Gürtel (e.g., Fluc, B72, The Loft, Chelsea, Rhiz)
Time: Evening events starting at approximately 6:00 PM
Admission: Super Early Bird Festival Pass: approximately €25
Early Bird: approximately €33
Regular price: approximately €48
Discover with us the best events in Vienna today, this weekend.
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