The beautiful city on the Rhine is known for its cathedral, carnival, and the chocolate museum popular with tourists. But Cologne is much more than that and has a lot to offer musically as well.
The Kölsch rock from BAP and the a cappella songs of the Wise Guys are legendary. In recent years, chart-toppers AnnenMayKantereit celebrated their breakthrough and the band OK Kid from Gießen has also made Cologne their home. Some well-known names – and that's just the tip of the iceberg! Every famous musician once started as an unknown newcomer - and was eventually discovered. At your own house concert in Cologne and surrounding areas, you can experience tomorrow's stars live.
Cologne wears its music more openly than most German cities. Kölsch rock from BAP made the local dialect into a singing language, carnival keeps whole neighbourhoods rehearsing for months, and the city has a serious claim on electronic music through the label scene that grew up around Kompakt. The WDR big band and the conservatoire keep the jazz and classical end strong, while Ehrenfeld and the Belgisches Viertel supply most of the newer bands and the small stages that break them.
Cologne is also an unusually sociable city, and that shows up in how house concerts go here. Flat-shares and Altbau apartments with big front rooms are the norm, people are comfortable filling a room with friends of friends, and the city's own musicians are used to playing close up. A Cologne living room on a winter evening, with a singer three metres away, is about as good as live music gets.
A living room concert is exactly what it sounds like: a professional musician plays a full set in a private home, for an audience the host has invited. You will see the same thing called a house concert, a house show or - because of where we started - a SofaConcert. They all mean the same evening.
There is no stage, no ticket desk and no support act. A typical concert in Cologne runs 60 to 90 minutes, often split into two sets with a break, in front of anywhere from 15 to 50 guests. Most take place in an Altbau front room, a flat-share living room or a courtyard. The artist brings whatever they need; you provide the room and the people.
Everything you need to plan, folded into the order you'll actually do it.
Pick a date and a room - thirty people fit a living room more easily than you'd think. Then browse the artist list for a singer-songwriter, duo or band.
Send as many free enquiries as you like. Each artist replies with a non-binding offer, so you can weigh up a few before choosing. Settle the scope in writing in the booking system - that written record is what the contract is based on.
Confirming creates the contract and reserves your date. You deposit the fee plus the booking fee, which is held in trust and only released to the artist after the concert. You then get their contact details to sort out the last bits.
Browse Cologne and Rhineland acts, send free enquiries and book the one that fits your evening.
A few of the acts playing around Cologne.
List your space for free and touring artists apply to play your living room. You pick whoever you like the sound of, and you're never obliged to say yes - here is what hosting involves.
You would be joining people all over Europe who open their doors a few times a year and have turned their living room into somebody's favourite venue.
Some of the most recent spaces to join.
The choice can feel overwhelming. Don't worry - we'll help you.
Tell us the details of your concert and any particular wishes, and we'll do the rest.