16 Locations
Rock music has a loud, proud home in Berlin, echoing through clubs, bars and concert halls across the city. From Friedrichshain to Kreuzberg, rock nights bring live bands, touring acts and DJs together for guitars, energy and a devoted crowd.
This overview gathers Berlin locations for rock, from intimate live venues to bars and big concert halls. Some focus on classic and hard rock gigs, others on punk, indie and alternative nights.
Browse the venues below to find the best rock music in Berlin, compare programmes and prices, and plan your night out.
The American Western Saloon is the only American diner in Berlin with its own Jack Daniel's exhibition: Over 600 exhibits are displayed in showcases and on the walls. Located in the basement of the Fontane House in Reinickendorf, it offers 180 seats, a stage for country bands, and a 50-square-meter dance floor for line dance classes.
Since 1995, the city's most consistent rock 'n' roll club has been located opposite Görlitzer Park. Several times a week, two to three bands play back-to-back, followed by a DJ set. The spectrum ranges from rockabilly and psychobilly to punk and surf, and ska. A dedicated series introduces newcomer bands with free admission.
At Heinrichplatz stands the city's most famous punk address, named after the old postal district Suedost 36. The venue is run by an association, and the programme ranges from hard concerts to the queer series Gayhane and the Roller Disco. The club explicitly takes action against sexist, racist and homophobic behaviour.
Despite its name, the largest concert club on this list sits in Alt - Treptow, on the Arena grounds by the Flutgraben canal. Six areas from ninety to eleven hundred places run from the main hall with eight metres of ceiling height to the fireplace room and the beer garden with its BBQ smoker. All entrances are barrier free.
In the listed boiler house of the Old Königstadt Brewery, automotive and motorcycle memorabilia hang alongside antiques. Celtic punk, rock, blues, and rockabilly play on the twenty-two square meter stage, while outside there's a beer garden and a heated royal tent. For bookers, it's also known as Roadrunners Rock & Motor Club.
On Skalitzer Straße, behind a brick door with a glowing 'P', a concert club is located in an old post office building. The program alternates between concerts and its own party series, ranging from indie rock and post-punk to darkwave and synth-pop, soul, and reggae. There is a separate ramp entrance for wheelchair users.
The Hard Rock Cafe is the most famous American diner in Berlin and has been located in a landmarked Bauhaus building at Kurfürstendamm 224 since 2010. Original pieces of music history hang on the walls, and the menu features Legendary Burgers, Baby Back Ribs, and Fajitas. With a concert ticket from the same day, you get a 15 percent discount.
Inside the old Tempelhof Airport building sits one of the oldest clubs still running in the city. Opened by the Americans over seventy years ago, it carried its name as a US Air Force NCO club back in the days of the Berlin Airlift. Today two floors host Rock'n'Roll, Rockabilly, Independent and Punk, with a large bar in the middle.
A staple of Berlin's heavy metal scene has stood on Mainzer Straße since 1991. Amidst neon lights, posters, chains, and skulls, they host release parties, unplugged concerts, and music video nights. Fourteen beers are on tap, plus billiards, darts, foosball, and a pinball machine. The heated terrace offers forty-eight seats.
In the Reichenberger Kiez, there's a bar that's also a record store: records are for sale in the back room, drinks are served at the front, and a framed photo of Iggy Pop hangs on the wall. The atmosphere is deliberately relaxed, rock 'n' roll plays without pretense. For a quick meal, there's a pizzeria directly opposite, and an afternoon is enough for browsing.
On Frank-Zappa-Straße in Marzahn stands an industrial building from the seventies, where bands rehearse around the clock on approximately 2,500 square meters. The building is run by an association that owns it. Concerts and workshops take place on the ground floor, and the street bears its name at the musicians' insistence.
In the Boxhagener quarter sits a small Rock'n'Roll bar whose name points to the English Teddy Boys of the fifties and sixties. Inside there are formica tables under retro lamps, vinyl decor on the walls and a DJ spinning records in the evening. The beer comes from the tap, there are seats outside, and smoking is allowed indoors.
The Cruise-In Diner in Spandau is the American diner in Berlin with the largest milkshake menu: Around 16 varieties are available, from cherry to vanilla with peanut. The freestanding pavilion on Päwesiner Weg is decorated in a 1950s style. Payments are cash only, and free parking is available right outside.
The Flame Diner in Marienfelde is the American diner in Berlin for rockabilly fans: restored motorcycles are in the dining area, plus pool billiards, darts, and a 1950s-style whisky and cigar lounge. The burgers weigh 200 grams and come from the lava stone grill; live bands regularly play for parties.
If you like to drink a beer with friends in a surf, tiki and rock'n'roll atmosphere, meet new people and listen to rock and roll music in style, then the Moja is the place for you.
The small, snuggly Bassy Cowboy Club in Berlin-Mitte is the first haven for all urban cowboys and rockabilly fans!