Szene Open Air 2025: A Tale in Contrasts

The Szene Open Air Festival has been an integral part of the festival scene in Austria, bringing music, culture, and good energy to Lustenau in Vorarlberg. Located alongside the Alter Rhein, this three-day festival is a passion project organized by the Kultur- und Jugendverein Szene Lustenau and run sustainably by hundreds of young volunteers. These three days offer a diverse program of live music, featuring international headliners, as well as a selection of smaller, local artists.

Day One - Thursday:

Upon arrival, I was greeted by music streaming from big speakers next to the entrance, pulling me into the vibrant atmosphere of this festival and offering me a taste of what was about to come. Following a set of muddy tracks through a line of trees, I was led to the festival ground by other festival-goers carrying their possessions in all kinds of different vessels - some going for the „traditional“ solutions like backpacks or trolleys, while others got creative, dragging garbage bins filled with camping stools and crates of beer over the root-covered soil.

The first artist on the main stage was the Austrian singer and songwriter Julia Zischg and her band, presenting her recent album „Things will fall into place“. Although most people were still only arriving and setting up their tents instead of watching this performance, the children of some festival-goers were the first ones to start dancing, setting the tone for the rest of the day.

Followed by the arrival of the international Indie-Rock-Band LEAP, the music played on the Alter Rhein stage experienced a change in pace, the audience erupting in its first moshpit of the day during the song „Fistful of Money“, after lead singer Jack Balfour Scott jumped into the steadily growing crowd.

Following a similar theme, I made my way to the second (slightly smaller) stage to see Yu perform, who has been described as the German Yungblud by several festival-goers because of his personal style and his socially critical song lyrics. The real surprise, however, was not his captivating performance, but his surprise-guest BAC suddenly appearing on stage to perform alongside him.

On the same stage, Domiziana managed to captivate her audience with her German-Italian charm, performing fan-favourites like „Tour de Berlin“, „Auf die Party“ and „Ohne Benzin“ while showing off her outfit.

However, the highlight of this day was the Headliner Provinz, a successful German Indie-pop band that has played endless sold-out live shows and festivals and is a staple in the German music scene. What makes Provinz so special is not just the insane musical talent of front singer Vincent but also the emotional sincerity of their storytelling, moving between heartache and hope. During the song „1000 Nächte,“ the audience lit up the night by transforming the field beneath the open sky into a sea of lights, making everything feel a little less heavy.

Day Two - Friday:

For me, day two began before even setting foot on the festival grounds. It started the moment I stepped onto the shuttle, where strangers were singing together, chanting the chorus to 2000s songs, forming a crowd of like-minded people. Their voices and laughter echoed beyond the walls of the bus, promising yet another festival day full of excitement. Even though it had rained before my arrival, the weather was relatively good at first, with the remaining raindrops glistening in the sunlight.

Arriving a little later than the night before, the first artist I watched perform at the mainstage was the German singer and songwriter Kamrad, whose music is best described as a blend of pop and electronic music.

After Kamrad's performance, Austrian artist Esther Graf sang her German songs to her mainly Gen-Z audience on the Szene Bühne, bringing some energy to an otherwise gloomy day, as the weather had worsened.

Following the rain, the ground softened, turning into thick mud. Many festival-goers were seeking shelter under the big pavilions, only to emerge from under them to witness the „worst boyband“, Aut Of Orda, live on the mainstage. Performing their songs in an Austrian dialect, Aut Of Orda has a big and diverse fanbase, leading singer Paul Pizzera to join his devoted listeners in the crowd, even taking selfie videos with some.

My personal highlight of this day, however, was Ski Aggu, one of my favourite artists, performing on the Alter Rhein Bühne at a little after 9 pm. Ski Aggu is not just a regular rapper, but a whole phenomenon. With his ski goggles and unmistakable style, Berlin-born rapper August Jean Diederich has reformed the mainstream rap scene, leading to him gaining international recognition. Not taking himself too seriously, Ski Aggu decided to play a set as DJ „Ski Auge“ on top of his regular performance, just because he had always wanted to do that - mixing all sorts of different music, ranging from party songs to Adele. What sets him apart from other German rappers is (apart from his style) his hatred for sexist language and behaviour, even encouraging starting a FLINTA* Moshpit to make everyone feel safe and secure. He ended the night by getting everyone to scream „fuck the rain!“ and quoting a meme about Austria, which made the crowd want even more of him.

Day Three - Saturday:

Although the green grass had turned to a brown, muddy mess, upon looking into the crowd, you could see an array of bright colours, contrasting with the lifeless soil - the verdict? Rain ponchos everywhere!

This day in general was characterized by its stark contrasts, not just because of the weather, but also because of the totally different genres of music that were represented that day. Anda Morts is a totally different experience from Fäaschtbänkler, for example. Artists like Christina Stürmer or Jan Delay, who were treasured especially by the older generation, and Gen-Z icons like Mathea or Zsá Zsá were equally loved.

Another personal favourite was the half-Austrian, half-Bulgarian artist Eli Preiss. With her looks and how she carries herself, she might as well be a Barbie, which might be exactly why she sampled a scene from a Barbie movie in her new song „Bussi“. You should not underestimate her, though, as she is so much more than just a pretty face. Writing all of her songs herself and singing everything live, often performing entire dance performances, Eli Preiss is as talented as it gets, which is a big inspiration to her mainly female fanbase.

Also performing on the Szene Bühne, Ikkimel stuns the organizers of this festival by drawing a much larger audience than originally anticipated. Due to the controversial nature of her songs and her live-performances (reclaiming the word „Fotze“, talking about sex and locking men into cages), her music receives a lot of backlash (you can imagine from which gender..) ranging from criticising the type of music she makes, questioning her feminist approach to downright sexist comments, which makes for an interesting mix of crowd reactions. While some looked confused or displeased, others had the time of their lives, proudly screaming her lyrics.

The final Headliner of this year was the German Rapcrew 01099 from Dresden, who not only delivered an outstanding live-performance, but also managed to lift up the entire crowd's spirit at the end of the night, even though everyone had been standing almost knee-deep in the mud for the past few hours.

Final Thoughts

All in all, the Szene Open Air Festival 2025 was a success, despite it raining so much! After talking to some people from the area, I learned that apparently this is a common occurrence, and the rain and mud are seen as much of a natural part of this festival as the hundreds of people volunteering here in their free time, which publicly displays the amazing spirit of the community of people here in Lustenau.

To another year of Szene Open Air(don‘t forget to bring your boots and a raincoat)!