It all started with an idea: For Fanfare Gertrude’s tenth anniversary, we wanted to bring together all the people who have accompanied and inspired us over the past years. We invited friendly bands from different cities across Germany as well as the fanfare family from France to join us for Brass Odyssey during Pentecost 2026. We could only hope that it would become three days full of music, encounters and unforgettable moments.
Friday, May 22: Finally, it begins
Anyone who has ever organized a festival knows that the hours before it starts are rarely romantic. Major setbacks shortly before opening, plus the usual small problems here and there. Cables are missing. Where should we hang the decorations? Someone is looking for a key. And in between, we keep wondering whether everything will actually work out.
We were especially excited about the arrival of our guests: Nymphonik Orchestra and Texas Couscous from France, Tinnitussis from Hamburg, Brazzbanditen from Leipzig, as well as the Berlin bands Um:laut, Ostrich Party, Fanfaroni, Brass Caravan and Krach Boom Brass Band. Would everyone arrive on time? Had we remembered everything?
But then it finally happens. The first song begins. Together with all the guest bands, we play our official festival anthem, “Major Tom” by Tom Schilling. The tension disappears instantly. The festival is no longer a to-do list — it has become reality.
The garden of the NHU Community Center fills with people dancing, laughing and celebrating. Everywhere people are chatting, making music and raising glasses. The opening day continues late into the night — and we realize: this is going to be something special.
Saturday, May 23: The city becomes a stage
On Saturday, our brass music festival turns out exactly as we had imagined it. We perform concerts at the NHU Community Center, at the BRLO beer garden, at Sisyphos and on the streets of Neukölln. The music flows through the city.
Again and again, those moments happen that we love so much about brass music: people stop because they hear a trumpet in the distance. A group follows a bass drum around the corner. For a few minutes, the street becomes a concert hall.
Each invited band brings its own unique style. Our French guests in particular once again demonstrate how vibrant the fanfare tradition is — and how perfectly it works on the streets of Berlin. Between concerts, we reconnect with old friends, meet new people and keep hearing the same question: “When are you doing this again?”
Sunday, May 24: A grand finale by the river
On Sunday, the grand finale takes place at Holzmarkt 25. The River Spree sparkles in the sunshine, and curious visitors all over the site stop and wonder: What is happening here? Where did all these brass bands come from? We perform on two stages. Everywhere people are dancing, laughing and celebrating. Around every corner we encounter delighted faces.
To close the festival, we perform our festival anthem “Major Tom” together one final time. And because apparently three days of brass still were not enough, the celebration continued straight on to the Brass Music Rave at Sisyphos.
What remains
More than one hundred musicians came together over this weekend. A number that sounds impressive on paper, but whose true meaning only becomes clear when an entire army of trumpets, trombones, saxophones, sousaphones, clarinets, flutes and drums suddenly starts playing together.
And what was the highlight? The truth is: there was not just one moment.
There were many small ones. The first shared notes on Friday evening. Dancing people. Inspiration we take away from the other bands. Above all, what remains is the memory of how much can happen when people come together to make music.
Thank you to all the bands, volunteers, friends and guests who celebrated this weekend with us. You made Brass Odyssey what it was.
We are still a little overwhelmed. And we are still humming:
“Völlig lösgelöst von der Erde …”