Brass Odyssey
From 22 to 24 May 2026
in Berlin
Three days of brass music with Fanfare Gertrude & Friends
Support Gertrude’s Brass Odyssey
Help with a donation
With your support, we can make Brass Odyssey happen in Berlin from 22 to 24 May 2026 and celebrate 10 years of Fanfare Gertrude! Together with brass bands from Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig and France, we are planning a long weekend full of concerts and dancing. To pay for venues, tech, travel and accommodation, we need your help!
If you have any questions about the Brass Odyssey or the fundraising campaign, please write to fete10@fanfaregertrude.de.
Join in – volunteers wanted
We are organizing Gertrude’s birthday weekend completely on our own and are still looking for a few motivated helpers who want to pitch in. For example: setup & dismanteling, entry, cleaning up, decorating, driving things around by car (bringing materials from A to B, ideally with your own car), taking photos, and similar jobs.
If you’d like to be part of Brass Odyssey, get in touch at helfen@fanfaregertrude.de
Brass Odyssey in Berlin from 22 to 24 May:
3 days of brass music concerts
On Pentecost weekend 2026, from 22 to 24 May, we are celebrating the tenth birthday of Fanfare Gertrude and you are invited to a long, loud birthday weekend in Berlin! Three days full of brass and beats with bands from Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig and France, at different venues across the city.
There will be dancing, sweating, and celebrating.
You can look forward to more than 100 musicians, rock-pop brass music, bold choreographies, glitter in your hair, and partying late into the night. We celebrate the tradition of French fanfare bands and mix it with Berlin’s craziness. In short: a wild weekend for everyone who wants to experience music together, not just listen to it.
We will announce the full program with all times and locations soon.
Which bands?
We invited friendly bands from Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig and France for a weekend full of brass music. Joining us are the Nymphonik Orchestra and Texas Couscous from France, Tinnitussis from Hamburg, Brazzbanditen from Leipzig, as well as the Berlin-based bands Um:laut, Ostrich Party, Fanfaroni, Brass Caravan and Krach Boom Brass Band. Get ready!
Coming soon – the program and the locations
We found some really great venues in Berlin where we will celebrate with you from Friday to Sunday. We can already tell you this much: it is going to be wild and colorful. More details about the places and program points are coming soon, stay tuned!
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Which bands are joining?
BrazzBanditen (Leipzig)
Unmistakable glam brass: loud, glittery, danceable, playful. We are a self-organized brass band with a total of 25 musicians, and for 10 years we have been on the road in and around Leipzig and across Europe. In Leipzig, we mostly play at different cultural events and demonstrations, or organize concert nights ourselves. Our musical repertoire is wide-ranging, from punk, pop and new wave hits to Eastern European and North American brass music.
Brass Caravan (Berlin)
Just under a dozen musicians set out from Berlin heading southeast, with stops here and there and a lot of fun along the way. With a mix of original
compositions, well-known songs in new arrangements, and hidden gems, this brass band blasts melodies from Balkan and Klezmer traditions over wild grooves and energetic ska beats that get everyone jumping around.
Fanfaroni (Berlin)
At Fanfaroni, you get musical bites from all over the world, tossed in the pan fresh and crisp and served with love. The mix is as hot as pepperoni: from Balkan beats to jazz. From electro to ska. From salsa to waltz.
Fanfare Gertrude (Berlin)
Fanfare Gertrude is a Berlin brass band that brings together the French fanfare tradition with rock-pop brass music, choreography, and a lot of fun. On the street, in clubs, or at festivals, more than 25 musicians and plenty of glitter make sure people dance.
Krach Boom Brass Band (Berlin)
The Krach Boom Brass Band Berlin 3000 has been playing funky street music between New Orleans and Berlin since 2019. The band has performed several times with Fanfare Gertrude and can otherwise be found at the Oberbaum Bridge, Konnopke’s Imbiss, or in the DB train bistro. In 2025, following a viral video from a REWE store in the Schönhauser Arcaden, it became the in-house brass band on “The Voice.”
Nymphonik Orchestra (France)
The Nymphoniks Orchestra is the human adventure of a bunch of curious friends, that started music out of an exces of good mood. Eager for new faces and new experiences, the band has for only goal to spread brassy music, dance and celebration at your doorstep, on stage or in the streets of the world. Its repertoire comes from the popular rhythms of the South (cumbia, salsa, reggae, ska), of the Est (Bregovic, Markovic), and of the West (Budos Band, Mark Ronson, Earth Wind and Fire).
Ostrich Party (Berlin)
With saxophones, trombones, trumpets, tuba and drums, we take well-known pop, disco and techno songs and turn them into loud, funky dance numbers driven by brass.
The result? Big sound, fat grooves, and people dancing whether they want to or not.
And yes, we bring the party.
Texas Couscous (France)
The fanfare Texas Couscous has been doing its thing since 2006.
Like someone deep in Texas suddenly craving good couscous with harissa, this band mostly leaves you hungry for two things: dancing and the sound of their brass instruments.
Die Tinnitussis
Die Tinnitussis are a Hamburg fanfare somewhere between Balkan brass and party pop.
We are inspired by French student bands like La Grasse Bande (Bordeaux), La Cacophonie (Lyon) and Los Teoporos (Bordeaux).
We do not have an official motto, but at least one of these fits pretty well: Plus c‘est gros plus c‘est bon! The more the merrier! Big sound, big honor!
Um:laut (Berlin)
Born in the heart of Neukölln, but at home in the mysterious depths of the brass universe, Fanfare Um:laut carries you through the Berlin nights, from the first squeak of the saxophone to the last breath of the trumpets.
But always remember: do not feed the sousaphone after midnight!
Whoever follows this golden rule may have their hunger for great brass music satisfied as they please! 🎺🥁✨
Contact
Questions? Contact us at: fete10@fanfaregertrude.de
Conacts for volunteers: helfen@fanfaregertrude.de.
Thanks to our supporters
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