The Citadel Music Festival, which has been a fixture in Berlin's open air season for more than 10 years, started out very small. Back in July 2005, the musical foundation was laid with the first concert by Blackmore's Night; the first test run, so to speak, for the Berlin festival, which is not really a festival at all. The Citadel Music Festival is by no means a 1, 2 or 3-day festival, but rather a concert tour through the most beautiful months of the year (May - September). Organised by Trinity Music, one of the biggest players in Berlin's concert and event industry with almost 1,000 events a year, the small "festival" quickly attracted a lot of attention.
A lot has happened since then, with up to 25 concerts per season, there is no comparable format in the capital. The Zitadelle is also well received by the artists. Punk icon Patti Smith honoured us for the fourth time in 2022. Billy Idol, Jethro Tull, Queens Of The Stone Age, Silbermond and others were also happy to return. Singer Amy Lee from the alternative rock band Evanescence wrote on Twitter „…this may be the most beautiful venue I’ve ever played!”.
The Citadel Music Festival is not limited to one musical genre. Why should it? We believe that everyone interested in music should be inspired by the unique atmosphere. This means that all genres are represented at the festival, from pop acts such as Silbermond or Ich und Ich to harder acts such as Nine Inch Nails or Rage Against The Machine to established legends such as Bob Dylan or Chuck Berry.