Several nights. Various labels. A proper venue. And an amplifier that goes all the way up to 11. Indie Label Week is where Mozart would hang out if he were alive today.
- Music festival with typically 2-3 indie bands and acts every night
- Genres range from hip hop and electronic to heavy rock and punk
- Next dates: TBA (last one was Oct 19-24 in 2020)
- See also:
- Vinyl & Music festival
- Waves Vienna music festival
Six strings, one plectrum
(Ad poster for the last event)
Back in the early 19th century, no A&R man sat in the Palais Collalto twiddling his cravat and thought, “This Mozart kid has promise; we should get hold of a demo tape”.
Music has changed. And Vienna with it.
Once in a while, it pays to look beyond the stylish classical concerts and magnificent operas, and dive into the city’s independent music scene. For example, at the Austrian Indie label Week.
The event took place for the first time in 2019, repeated in 2020, and looks set to return as life reverts to some kind of normal.
The event gives independent bands and labels a spotlight to showcase their talents. In the past, the rock magazine, Stark!Strom!, has shared Friday night duties for an evening of music of the heavier kind, followed by an aftershow party.
Labels featured last time out included Rhythm & Poetry, Mai Lei Bel, Silvertree Records, monkey./Blind Rope Records, Mars Music Productions and Problembär Records.
The venue for Indie Label Week has been the Reigen to date, also home to most of the gigs in the Vienna Blues Spring Festival. If you want to combine your visit there with something a little older or furrier, then Schönbrunn Palace and Schönbrunn Zoo are close by.
Dates and tickets
I don’t have dates yet for the next Indie Label Week, which seems likely to be in autumn 2023.
Tickets are typically available direct from the venue(s).
How to get there
For anything at the Reigen, we can thank the forward-thinking city planners of the late 1800s for planting an urban rail line right opposite.
Subway: take the U4 line to Hietzing station and it’s about a 30 second walk, depending on how long it takes for the lights to change so you can cross the road
Tram: the 10 and 60 tram lines also stop at Hietzing station
Address: Hadikgasse 62, 1140 Vienna | Website