Venues  

Small(er) venues in Western Germany... and other recommendations

This is a service mainly for bands from abroad touring Germany: I've put together a list of small clubs in Western Germany that are great places for smaller bands to play.

Frequently, I receive inquiries regarding (chronically) overworked promoters and performance venues – these are not always easily located from a remote perspective, particularly when bands are self-managed or employ booking agencies with limited geographical knowledge of Germany.

For that reason, I made this list, it is not a complete list, but it will help bands to find and contact small clubs. To be honest, I do not know what will come from your requests and how the clubs work. I am independend, and only know the clubs from the inside, but not the people that work there. But I hope that this list (which will be updated) can help you.

To ensure ease of use, I've arranged the clubs by city. The link associated with each club name directs you to their homepage, followed by a link to their Instagram profile. 

These clubs I mentioned are mainly for the kinds of music I put on my playlists – shoegaze, punk, indie-rock, metalcore (other genres are possible) 

The list focuses on grassroots music venues, which are spaces that give a stage to newcomers, young acts, and bands that aren't so well-known.

UPDATED May 11, 2025

Aachen

Bonn

  • Name: Kult 41 • Instagram 
  • Great venue for indie-rock, shoegaze, punk-rock, post-everything...
  • Name: RPZ Bonn • Instagram
  • 'Rock & Pop Zentrum', great venue for all kind of indie-rock, indie-pop, punk-rock and more. Great for newcomer!
  • Name: BLA • Instagram
  • Great venue for indie-rock, alt. rock, punk and other genres.

Cologne

Siegen (near Cologne)

  • Name: Vortex Surfer Club • Instagram
  • Great venue for metal and more heavier stuff
  • Name: VEB Siegen • Instagram
  • Great venue for punk..., but it's possible you'll have to organize everything here yourselves... the VEB doesn't handle the organization

Monheim am Rhein (between Cologne & Duesseldorf)

  • Name: Sojus 7 • Instagram
  • Indie-Rock, Alt-Rock, Punk and many other genres

Duesseldorf

  • Name: zakk • Instagram
  • Great venue (two stages) for all kind of indie-rock, indie-pop, punk...
  • Name: Ratinger Hof • Instagram
  • Legendary club in the old town (Kraftwerk, Die Toten Hosen), now under new management by Concert Team. All types of indie rock, punk...
  • Name: Weltkunstzimmer • Instagram 
  • Great venue for all kind of indie rock, shoegaze, indie pop...
  • Name: JugendKULTURCafé Franzmann • Instagram
  • It's a really tiny place, but super nice. Franzmann is an open youth hangout. (Mostly indie-rock, shoegaze, punk)
  • Name: Pitcher • Instagram
  • Great venue for metal, hard-rock, indie-rock, punk...
  • Name: Kulturschlachthof • Instagram
  • Great venue, but please be patient for an answer, it may take some time... all kinds of indie-rock, post-punk, gazey stuff...
  • Name: Bilker Bunker (Schleuse 2) • Instagram
  • Great club, very artful, I think they are open for a lot of styles!
  • Name: AK47 • Instagram
  • The city's best, legendary punk rock spot

Krefeld

  • Name: Kulturrampe • Instagram
  • Best venue for shoegaze, punk-rock, indie-rock, post-everything, metal...

Bochum (Ruhr Area)

Duisburg (Ruhr Area)

Essen (Ruhr Area)

Gelsenkirchen (Ruhr Area)

Oberhausen (Ruhr Area)

  • Name: Drucklufthaus • Instagram
  • Best venue for all kinds of punk, but also indie-rock, shoegzae, metalcore
  • Name: Gdanska • Instagram
  • Restaurant and Culture All in One: Wonderful small stage for all genres (Indie-Rock, Indie-Pop, Jazz, Americana, Shoegaze and beyond!)
  • Name: Helvete • Instagram
  • Great club for Rock, Metal, Punk and Alternative
  • Name: Kulttempel • Instagram
  • Bigger, maybe more elegant, open to all genres!

Recklinghausen (Ruhr Area)

  • Name: Altstadtschmiede • Instagram
  •  A highly engaged socio-cultural center and youth center. Great venue for all kinds of indie-rock, indie-pop, jazz, acoustic...

Wermelskirchen (Bergisches Land)

Solingen (Bergisches Land)

  • Name: Waldmeister e.V. • Instagram
  • Once a month, the club members listen to the stuff and decide who gets to play on stage... all kind of punk, indie-rock, post-everything, shoegaze...

Wuppertal (Bergisches Land)

If you want me to add a venue to the list, please write me!

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If any of the above links don't work, please let me know: blackmarket@mail.de

OTHER EXCELLENT RECOMMENDATIONS

Belgium: Schaerbeek (near Brussels)

  • Name:  Brasserie de la Mule (Link to their Facebook page) • Instagram
  • Its an old beer factory and they are hosting several days a week concerts. They accept every genre. Place to go from 50 to 300 people. Close to brussels center.

OTHER AREAS IN GERMANY:

South Germany: Radolfzell (Bodensee), near Switzerland

  • Name: s‘Bokle • Instagram
  • Great support association for alternative youth culture. Metal, Punk, Guitar-Pop, Rock, New Wave, electronic...

Central Germany: Wiesbaden (Hessen), near Frankfurt

South West Germany: Kusel (Rheinland-Pfalz), between Saarbrucken & Kaiserslautern

  • Name: Kulturzentrum kinett • Instagram
  • Great venue for indie rock/ alt. rock, shoegaze, post, post-punk and more. Don't know the place, but the lineup is superb. Really good network, many overseas bands. The only downside is it's a bit out in the sticks, off the beaten path.

The above list provides an overview of smaller live music venues in Western Germany, situated within the area between Krefeld and Bonn, Aachen and Bochum, Wuppertal and Düsseldorf, and Cologne and Oberhausen and other cities as per recommendations I reveived. This list is regularly updated and includes information on the primary music genres presented at each venue. Homepages and Instagram accounts are linked for reference. Please note that inclusion in this list does not guarantee a response to inquiries. The Cologne and Ruhr regions represent a significant concentration of subculture and underground music venues in Germany, offering outstanding opportunities for live performances, making them a valuable destination for bands, particularly international acts, seeking suitable venues. Live-Events, Eventim, Ticketmaster, rausgegangen.de, Bandsintown, Songkick, Eventbrite, Dice, Fever, Magenta, concerts, gigs, shows.