Off Days is back: How Berlin's "in-between" festival stormed the Citadel

Off Days has quickly become a standout in Berlin’s festival scene. With a fresh lineup and growing buzz, the two-day festival returns to the Spandau Citadel this August. It only debuted last year and it’s already attracting major talent. This summer’s performers include Nelly Furtado, 070 Shake, Saint Levant, Yseult, Bakar, and more.

Nelly Furtado Headlines Day One, Joined by Yseult and A Song For You

2000s icon Nelly Furtado made a comeback last year with her new album 7. Her long-awaited return to Germany is scheduled for Friday, August 29, and promises to draw a crowd eager to sing along. With tracks like “Maneater” and “Say It Right,” the Canadian-Portuguese singer became a pop sensation – and a fixture on every Bravo Hits CD. Nostalgia for those tracks runs deep, especially as 2000s edits increasingly surface in today’s techno and trance scenes. It’s not uncommon to hear her voice from “All Good Things (Come to an End)” soaring over a pulsing beat at open-air raves.

But her comeback isn’t just retro appeal. With 7, Furtado is writing a new chapter – and Berliners will get to hear it live. She’ll be joined on day one by French star Yseult, known for her genre-defying soul-pop sound, and A Song For You, a Berlin-based project known for intimate, collaborative performances.

“We try to curate it in a… younger approach to make sure it’s not just a nostalgia 2000s day – which can be fun – but would be wrong for that project,” said Tobias Gruber, head of marketing at GoodLive Artists. “We have a counterweight that pushes it into a bit more of a contemporary direction, which Yseult does and which also A Song For You does, in my opinion.”

070 Shake and Saint Levant Return — Plus Bakar Joins the Lineup

Saturday, August 30, brings another genre-blending day to the Citadel, with 070 Shake headlining. The New Jersey native has already sold out two Berlin shows and is celebrated for her raw, emotional, and boundary-pushing sound. After her breakout 2020 debut album and viral success with “Escapism,” she’s back with Petrichor, released in 2024 and dedicated to her partner, Lily-Rose Depp. Refusing to stick to a single genre, 070 Shake blurs the lines between hip hop, pop, and R&B. Her name nods to her New Jersey ZIP code – her roots remain central to her story.

Also on Saturday’s bill is Saint Levant, a rising star who sings in French, English, and Arabic – often weaving all three languages into a single track. Born to a French-Algerian mother and a Serbian-Palestinian father, he spent his early years in Gaza before fleeing to Jordan in 2007. Now based in California, he’s making the journey to Berlin for Off Days.

Joining them is Bakar, the British indie artist whose eclectic style fuses punk, hip hop, and pop. Known for hits like “Hell n Back” and “Alive!”, Bakar’s live performances are high-energy and full of range.

A Festival for In-Between Days

Off Days first launched in Berlin in 2024 with a clever idea: build a festival around the “off” or “in-between” days on artists’ existing tour calendars. Rather than organizing a massive standalone event, the festival fits into artists’ downtime – making it easier to book major names without overextending schedules.

You can go after work and still be home before midnight.

“We realized over the last couple of years that the entire festival landscape got wiped out because of rising costs and post-pandemic pains,” said Gruber. “A lot of people who went to festivals back in the day got older, got children, got more comfortable…” Off Days, he said, offers an updated model for how people want to experience live music today: “You don’t come home too late, and you still have the festival experience.”

But the logistics model is only part of the story. “We want to book artists we are fans of,” said Niklas Magedanz, a member of the booking team. Not only because they have a free off day during the week.”

Off Days: City-Friendly, No Tent Required

The Spandau Citadel’s courtyard can accommodate up to 10,000 guests, but the vibe remains intentionally underground. “We want to create something beautiful, far from the mainstream,” said Gruber.

Accessibility is key: the Citadel is easy to reach by public transport, making it ideal for after-work concertgoers. “You can go after work and still be home before midnight,” said Marlene Thissen, another Off Days booker. “Even the younger crowd… no one wants to sleep in a tent anymore.”

The venue itself contributes to the atmosphere. “You have to go over this bridge and there’s water on both sides,” said Marlene. “It just makes you feel like you’re on holiday… You don’t feel like you’re in Berlin at that moment.”

“You’re not on a grass field,” she added. “You’re cozy, in between. There’s little food around, little places to explore… and that creates that festival feeling.”

Moments That Made it Click

For the Off Days team, the festival’s debut last year proved the concept was more than viable – it was meaningful. “We all collected in front of the door and you could see people getting in line,” recalled Marlene. “And then the gates went open and people ran inside… just to see this excitement for artists and to see their biggest fans enjoying it was a really nice moment.”

Backstage, a spontaneous fist bump between Flying Lotus and Marc [Rebillet] capped off the night – “they actually continued to tour together on the back of the Off Days performance,” she said. For Niklas, what mattered most was seeing the audience get it. “Even if there were just two people coming for the concert, it would be nice to see – okay, there are actually people out there who think: yes, this is nice. Yes, I want to support this. Yes, this is worth spending my time, money, and energy on,” he said. “That’s maybe even one of the reasons why every one of us started out in this industry in the first place.”