About Pop – Festival und Convention für Popkultur und Popmusik in Stuttgart 2026

ABOUT POP IS NOW, NEW AND NEXT.

Now reflects the pulse of the present: artists who are defining the sound this year and topics that everyone is discussing right now. About Pop is zeitgeist.

New shows current trends that surprise, inspire, and are critically questioned: innovative music projects and exciting talks that deal with where pop culture is heading. About Pop is change.

Next sets the trends for tomorrow: emerging genres, visionary technologies, and utopias for music and culture. Bold, progressive, and forward-thinking. About Pop is the future.

Pop here stands not only for aesthetic practice, but also for a social force that consciously strengthens the regional music and creative scene, creates visibility, promotes networking, and drives creative development.

Here, young creatives meet national and international trendsetters, making About Pop a starting point for social, aesthetic, and economic questions about the future.

About Pop creates spaces, connects people, and draws on the diverse potential of pop culture, youth culture, the music industry, nightlife, and more. It is aimed at everyone who not only wants to listen, but also wants to think and help shape the future.

The following venues have participated in the Club Festival so far: A.K.T; Pforzheim, clubCANN, Club Zentral, contain’t, das K – Kornwestheim, die Halle e.V. Reichenbach, Fridas Pier, GOÉT Tattoo (formerly Atelier Farbe), Goldmark’s, Helene P., Hotel Central, Impact Hub Stuttgart, Im Wizemann, Institut français Stuttgart, JuHa West, Kleinkunstkeller & Keller Bietigheim, KOMMA Kultur Esslingen, Kulturbunker, Kulturhaus Schwanen Waiblingen, Kulturzentrum Dieselstrasse Esslingen, Kulturzentrum Merlin, Laboratorium, Landesmuseum Württemberg, MeinSchlossplatz, Park der Villa Reitzenstein, Rakete, Theater RAMPE, ruby Hanna, Schwarzer Keiler, Stuttgart City Library, Stadion der Träume (at Marienplatz), StadtPalais – Museum für Stuttgart, StuttPark, Sunny High, UTOPIA Kiosk, Werkstatthaus, and white noise bar & club.

Come along and use your festival ticket for free entry to the pre-sessions. There is usually a box office for all last-minute visitors. Admission with your festival ticket is always first come, first serve!

About Next ist der Zukunftsschwerpunkt der About Pop und bringt Popkultur, Kreativwirtschaft, Start-ups und Technologie zusammen. Panels, Talks und Best Practices schaffen Raum für Austausch, Vernetzung und neue Kooperationen rund um Innovation, Geschäftsmodelle und nachhaltige Kulturarbeit.

Stattfinden wird die About Next am 13. Juni 2026 im Gutbrod (Friedrichstraße 10, S-Mitte). Zum Programm ist hier bald mehr zu finden.

Programm

• – Begrüßung durch Veit Haug (WRS), Dr. Ellen Koban (MFG), Hannah Schneider (Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart) und Robin Hofmann (HearDis!)
  –Panel: »Creative Disruption–Wie die Kreativwirtschaft Transformation gestaltet und was andere Wirtschaftsbereiche davon lernen können« (präsentiert von der Wirtschaftsförderung Region Stuttgart)
  –Workshop mit Mira Kleine: »Creative Collaboration–Wie stärkt Brückenkompetenz cross-innovative Zusammenarbeit?« (präsentiert von der MFG Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg)
  –Panel: »Creative Networks–It’s not what you know, but who you know« (präsentiert von der Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart)
  –Panel und Masterclass: »Cultural Identity–Warum starke Marken von innen entstehen« (präsentiert von Gold und Wirtschaftswunder)
  –Workshop mit Christian Vögtlin und Benito de Michele: »KI einführen? Erstmal Organisation reparieren«
  –Panel und Masterclass: »Gegen die Beliebigkeit–Die Bedeutung des menschlichen Fingerspitzengefühls« (präsentiert von HearDis!)
  –Panel: »Mehr als nur Betten–Das Hotel als Schaufenster einer Stadt« (präsentiert von HearDis!)
  –Closing Keynote mit Martin Eyerer von Green City Development: »Wie initiiere ich ein Ökosystem für Start-ups?« (hybrid)
  –Get together in der Networking Area, Food + Drinks

It connects ideas and people from club culture and the nighttime economy, addresses social coexistence, and thus provides impetus for a city of the future.

Programm

Donnerstag, 11.06. @ Fridas Pier

Panels, Workshops, Networking

Freitag, 12.06. @ Impact Hub

Panels, Workshops& Networking im Rahmen der About Pop Convention

Samstag, 13.06. @ Fridas Pier

Panels, Talks & Lesung in Kooperation mit dem Club Kollektiv Stuttgart e.V.

Programm

Freitag, 12. Juni (Impact Hub)

• Talk zu »Allegro Pastell« mit Leif Randt

Musikvideo-Talk mit lldikó und YOUNG BUGS Award

Samstag, 12. Juni

Werkstattgespräch zu »Wild Wild Women« (Delphi Kino)

Antikriegsfilm-Masterclass mit Franz Böhm (Innenstadtkino, E3)

Filmscreening: »Allegro Pastell« (Delphi Kino)

Filmscreening & Talk: BW-Premiere »Back For More« (Delphi Kino)

The youth conference About Y will take place again in 2026 on the festival Saturday at the Jugendhaus Mitte and the neighboring Club Zentral, combining workshops for young music enthusiasts and live music in one day – free of charge!

What do you actually do at a convention? What are receptions for? And how do I get started with networking?

With our About Talents program, we want to make it easier for you to get started in the music industry and help you network.

All musicians, managers, producers, photographers, etc. can apply every year. The only requirement is that you live in Baden-Württemberg and are under 30 years old.

Once you have been selected by a jury to participate in the About Talents program, you can enjoy yourself at the Wizemann-Areal with a free ticket for Friday. We organize a joint start for all talents and provide you with recommendations and guidance for the convention program.

Please fill out this form if you would like to apply for a free ticket as a talent:

TO THE APPLICATION FORM
THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS MARCH 8, 2026

In addition, we are giving young bands from Baden-Württemberg the opportunity to be part of the festival line-up. Please send us an email with your application: talents@region-stuttgart.de

The deadline for submissions is also March 8, 2026.

We need the following from you: Sound samples (Spotify, YouTube, Drive link, etc.), a short band/artist biography (including name, age, place of residence), and a letter of motivation (maximum 2,000 characters).

Das About Talents Programm richtet sich an junge Menschen – egal ob z.B. Musiker*in, im Management, Booking, mit einem eigenen Label, ob Videoregisseur*in, PR-Manager*in oder Journalist*in.