Next Week in Munich – Joel Sarakula, Moop Mama & Spoon

The week starts with retro pop artist Joel Sarakula in the Muffatcafe. Lauren Laverne is a fan, and he released his latest track, synth pop piece Analog Dreams, in March of this year. Tickets cost just 15 € and it’s such fun music to dance to.

Also on Monday, Spoon are playing the Technikum. I felt a nostalgic wave come over me when I read that they were playing – I loved their 2005 album Gimme Fiction, and I Turn My Camera On was one of the songs of my student days. Several albums later, they’re still going and playing in Munich.

Five of Anselm Kiefer’s works will be exhibited at the Pinakothek der Moderne for just over a week from Wednesday onwards.

Gurdan Thomas are playing a Brex-hit (geddit?) at the Kulturstrand on Wednesday (entrance completely free). The British-German band recently recorded a single “I Forgive You For Being A Bitch” with the wonderful Münchner Kneipenchor, and will tour the UK in July.

The Viehhof is showing the 2014 biographical movie Love & Mercy on Wednesday. The film deals with Wilson in the 1960s and 1980s (1980s Wilson is played by John Cusack) and met with acclaim upon its release, receiving nominations for two Golden Globes. Viehhof is showing the movie in English (with German subtitles).

The annual FILMEST MÜNCHEN starts on Thursday – there’s a separate post on that coming up soon, but there are a whole host of stars in town for the festival, including Sofia Coppola, Bill Nighy and Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston.

Wake up hungry on Saturday morning to enjoy a feast of burgers at the Optimolwerke 2017 Burger Festival.

On Saturday, the Bayerische Staatoper’s annual Oper für Alle festival will be held at Max-Joseph-Platz. Bring your picnic blanket, a bottle of champagne, some sausage rolls and enjoy an evening of opera for free. The show starts at 8:30pm and usually finishes around midnight.

Manchester band The 1975 are playing their postponed February gig at the Tonhalle on Saturday. Tickets are still available, costing 46 €, and lead singer Matty Healy (son of Denise Welch from Coronation Street) recently announced the band are working on their third album, which is set to be released in 2018.

Also on Saturday, Moop Mama are playing at Tollwood. Tickets cost 33 € and the after-show party is at Milla, which is run by the guys who manage their label, Millaphon.

If you fancy a more action-packed Saturday night, take part in Radlnacht – cycle 16km alongside thousands of other cyclists (last year 16,000 people took part) and celebrate the bicycle and its 200th birthday. It all starts at Königsplatz after the mayor’s speech at 8:30pm, and if you’re not planning on joining Radlnacht, it’s a good idea to leave the car at home and take public transport (ideally the underground and the S-Bahn), as many of Munich’s streets are closed for the evening.

Go Sing Choir is on on Sunday in Milla. If you fancy a good old sing-song but don’t have the time to join a choir, head to Milla to sing Pixies Where Is My Mind? with dozens of other like-minded folk.

The Spotify playlist for the week’s gigs is below – subscribe for weekly updates:

Have a great week, folks!