Drop Dead Festival: International art & music showcase

Since its beginnings at the legendary New York City venue CBGBs in 2003, the Drop Dead Festival has always been about the punkier side of art music. With a strong DIY ethic and the help of a small but devoted team of music lovers, promoter Polina Y has been making some of the best underground festivals in the world. With genres ranging from electro and post-punk to experimental cabaret, the diverse collection of artists has always had one defining factor: sounds that speak to your heart.

Though Drop Dead has grown beyond its NYC roots and expanded into a multi-day traveling showcase of some of the best art-music from the past and present, it still maintains the DIY attitude that forged it. There’s a strong community feeling, one of family and friends that makes you feel like you know everybody there, even as you walk through the door. Attendees and bands alike are often seen helping out, setting up decorations, dancing like crazy, and hanging out together in and out of the festival. If you’ve ever wanted a place where everybody knows your name, Drop Dead is the place to be.

This year’s festival is being held in Berlin at Maria am Ostbahnhof from September 1-6. The lineup features international 60+ bands and DJs, and includes NYC noir-pop duo CREEP, UK psychedelic madmen The Legendary Pink Dots, Denver occult-house pioneers Modern Witch, German indiewave darlings Schwefelgelb, and French ravepop experimentalists DAT Politics, as well as a showcase curated by popular style/music blog Gucci Goth for local and international fashion and experimental/social artists like Felisa Funes and Perfictionism. We at Electronic Beats love the all-inclusive, do-it-yourself attitude that Drop Dead promotes, and we hope to see you there!

Published July 13, 2011.