Pop Messe 2026

Pop Messe 2026: Oklou, Einstürzende Neubauten and Overmono at Brno's Velodrome

The seventh edition of the Pop Messe festival will take place from August 6 to 8, 2026, at Brno's velodrome, a unique space that fundamentally contributes to the genius loci of the Brno event. The three-day program will bring over fifty performers and will be complemented by a section dedicated to debates, film, and cycling.

The festival's dramaturgy has long operated at the intersection of pop, electronica, and the alternative scene, and this year is no different. Director and chief dramaturg Tomáš Kelar sums up the edition's intent as "artistic playfulness, courtship, or conversely break-ups with the pop music genre."

Headliners

The main names across the three days represent three different facets of contemporary music. French singer and producer Oklou is among the most interesting authors of current alternative pop, having collaborated in recent years with FKA twigs and Dua Lipa.

The Welsh duo Overmono, presenting the contemporary sound of UK bass music, has over the past two to three years established itself among the most prominent names on the British dance scene.

Einstürzende Neubauten are a German industrial legend that has been shaping the genre since the early eighties and, even after five decades, has not lost its appetite for seeking new forms of artistic expression.

The festival's closing day will also feature a concert by Richard Müller, the Slovak bard who probably needs no further introduction.

Electronica, the club scene, and other names

From the world of club and electronic music, Ben UFO, SHERELLE, KiNK with a live set, Ahadadream, and Mina Galán will arrive. French producer Kangding Ray, long based in Berlin, will bring his very distinctive take on raw techno to Brno. Among other things, it was precisely for this vision that he was nominated for a Golden Globe for the soundtrack to the film Sirât.

Swedish musician Anna von Hausswolff builds her compositions on the sound of the organ and vocals that move between sacral calm and dark ritual.

The Dutch duo Weval will bring a live set on the border of electronica and melodic ambient.

British-Nigerian Obongjayar mixes soul, afrobeat, and alternative rap and is among the names that will definitely be interesting to follow further.

Current Joys is the melancholic indie project of American songwriter Nicholas Rattigan, London's Fat Dog are one of the most interesting names in contemporary post-punk, and New York's Nation of Language bring the synthpop sensibility of the eighties back into play.

Domestic scene

Pop Messe traditionally builds its program around Czech and Slovak performers as well, and this time that holds true in a big way. Performers will include, among others, Gufrau, Dukla, Nina Kohout, Mutanti hledaj východisko, P/\ST, Michajlov, HRTL, Bratři, and 58G, as well as a number of fresh new names such as Kletis, Athena Chlebová, Ida The Young, Hey Yendo, and Rainer.

A separate item on the program will be the project K*ll Your Rap Idols, featuring Fvck_Kvlt, Berlin Manson, Dušan Vlk, Edúv syn, and Temný Rudo.

Accompanying program

Alongside the music, the festival will offer three parallel program lines. PopTalks is a section of discussions and podcasts with guests from the music, media, and academic scenes. The Czech Television Cinema will present film programming focused primarily on documentary work. CAP CUP is a cycling program that references the velodrome's original purpose and connects the festival with the place where it takes place.

Tickets and practical information

Three-day tickets are on sale for 3,100 CZK. The line-up has already been fully announced, but all the incoming information regarding the cycling program, cinema, and PopTalks can be found at popmesse.cz and on the festival's social media.

In past editions, Pop Messe has hosted, among others, Modeselektor, Tommy Cash, Skepta, Róisín Murphy, Leftfield, Orbital, Spiritualised, Young Fathers, Bicep, Sleaford Mods, Gus Gus, and Baxter Dury — even this list suggests that the festival is among the events with a very distinct dramaturgical profile, and not only in the domestic context.