Salzburg concert year

Wanda at Residenzplatz – Who else is performing?

Frontman Marco Michael Wanda and his bandmates are kicking things off: their performance on May 9, 2025 marks the start of the new era of Residenzplatz concerts. They will receive musical support from Christina Stürmer.(Bild: reinhard winkler)

The Viennese combo Wanda play their first concert on Residenzplatz after a long break. It is the start of an intensive year of music in Salzburg - away from the festival. . 

It's been a long, long time! In June 2016, singer Herbert Grönemeyer fired up his fans in Salzburg's old town. None of the thousands of visitors thought it was possible at the time, but the German's performance was to be the last concert at the time-honored Residenzplatz - even though greats such as Tina Turner, Falco and Joe Cocker had already performed here.

The last concert at Salzburg's Residenzplatz to date: in summer 2016, Herbert Grönemeyer fired up thousands of enthusiastic fans.(Bild: Gerhard Schiel)

Concert double follows long forced break
As reported, the wait will finally come to an end next May! The new city government around Mayor Bernhard Auinger (SPÖ) had already included the return of the Old Town Music Festival in its government program in spring, and now everything has been finalized with the local promoter "Semtainment".

 On May 9, the Viennese cult band Wanda will perform - one of the few local bands that also sell out concerts abroad. With Christina Stürmer, visitors can look forward to an extremely well-known opening act. The following day, electronic sounds will be heard at Residenzplatz. Star DJ Paul Kalkbrenner has announced his appearance on May 10.

Star DJ Paul Kalkbrenner will be playing at Residenzplatz in May 2025.(Bild: BALAZS MOHAI)

The contract between the City of Salzburg and "Semtainment" will initially run for two years. The next double concert at Residenzplatz will take place on May 29 and 30, 2026. "We want to build something here, we will deliver. Set-up and dismantling will only take a week," says organizer Thomas Semmler. Tickets will be sold via the online retailer Oeticket and go on sale on Thursday. "We sell just under one million tickets a year throughout Salzburg - almost all of them in the classical music and sports sectors. So there's some catching up to do when it comes to rock and pop," says a delighted Christoph Klingler from Eventim, which also owns Oeticket.

This is how hot the new music year will be in Salzburg
Salzburg's music lovers will also get their money's worth away from the old town in the coming year. On April 4 and 5, Italian chart topper Gigi D'Agostino will perform twice at the Salzburgarena. Austropop legend Rainhard Fendrich will be performing at the same venue on April 27 and May 17.

After the successful premiere this summer, the Gut Aiderbichl sanctuary will once again become a concert venue. With 80s icon Nena (14 August), pop bard Alvaro Soler (15 August) and folk music combo Die Paldauer (10 December), the program is more varied than almost anywhere else.

Gut Aiderbichl once again becomes a concert stage! 80s icon Nena will be performing on the grounds of the Tiergnadenhof next August.(Bild: Berger Hubert)

There will be no concerts at the Bischofshofen ski jump area in 2025. "We're taking a year's break," says Ski Club President Manfred Schützenhofer.