Concerts in the Park

August is the best month for concerts in the park. The sweltering heat of July is over, the last weeks of vacation are still on, and there are at least four weeks to go before theaters and concert halls open again for the new season. Outdoor summer performances remind us that Berlin is gritty but green.


Since I was away on vacation, I missed a large part of the Wassermusik 2010 Festival at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, but I am still in time for the Parks in Concert series (20-29 August), including open-air performances in the Botanische Garten, Schloss Charlottenburg, Britzer Garten, Kulturbrauerei and Schloss Köpenick.

My tip for August-October is the Acoustic Concerts Berlin, a small, unplugged summer concert series that showcases local talent. Concerts are held in intimate settings: this year, the Alte Bahnhofshalle Friedenau, the beautifully restored, historic railway station at S-Bahnhof Friedenau (dating back to 1874), and the Natur-Park Schöneberger Südgelände, one of Berlin's most unique (but still relatively little-known) nature parks. 

I only discovered the park this spring, after having lived just three stops away for many years. It has a fantastic history, so I'll save it for my next post.

Tomorrow (August 13, at 19:30) San Francisco- born Shannon Callahan will be performing at the nature park with her band (guitar/vocals/bass/drums). Callahan has a background in opera and musical theater, but the music she records and performs now is purely acoustic: a mix of folk, pop, country and soul.

Whether or not you make it to the concert tomorrow evening, stay tuned for more on the nature park Schöneberger Südgelände in my next blog to find out why it is one of Berlin's hidden gems.