There's always so much to do in Budapest and it can seem impossible to find out exactly which programs are on when. We've done the legwork for you with this roundup of the unmissable major events coming up this April to help you fill the month with exciting activities.
Concerts9 April:
Laibach at Barba Negra Music Club
The band, which is key in the Neue Slowenische Kunst (aka New Slovenian Art) political art collective, has already performed on the A38 Ship, but this time they perform at the Barb Negra Music Club with a bigger, more mesmerising and dangerous show. Following the concert is 101Klub DJs.
11 April:
The Bad Plus at Trafó One of the most well-known piano trios, The Bad Plus, which has been widely heralded for their innovative re-workings of rock, indie rock, electronica, and modernist classical music will play a special show at Trafó. They will play their own interpretation of Ornette Coleman's classic album, Science Fiction, together with saxophonist Tim Berne, soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome and trumpeter Ron Miles.
15 April:
Mono, Helen Money at Dürer-kert
The middle of April will be a memorable day for post-rock fans as two of the biggest name of the genre, the Japanese Mono and the American Helen Money will play a cathartic concert.
16 April:
Against Me!, Caves, Roger Harvey at A38 Ship
If there are transgender rock stars, the front-woman of Against Me!, Laura Jane Grace, is surely one of them. The famous anachro-punk-rock band will rock the boat.
18 April:
Ben Frost, Vessel on Trafó
The seventh instalment of the Trafó Electrify series presents Iceland-resident Ben Frost with his volcanic new release Aurora. UK producer Vessel makes his Budapest debut with his sophomore album Punish Honey.
21 April:
Sinéad O’Connor at MüPa – Palace Of Arts The once shaved-haired singer, known for her viscerally ingenious songs and for her take on Prince’s song Nothing Compares 2 U, will present her newest album, I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss.
Clubbing3 April:
Bok Bok at Toldi
Bok Bok has founded one of the most important labels for fresh club music mutations and future-facing R&B, Night Slugs. And that also tells a lot about what he likes to spin as a DJ: inventive and percussion-heavy takes on lo-fi house, techno and grime with grooves that just scream for the dance floor.
4 April:
Tiga at Akvárium Sunglasses at Night, Plush, Let's Go Dancing, Move My Body, Sex O' Clock – that's just some of the biggest dance floor hits that one of the most well-known DJ-gigolos has released. Tiga - the always classy house/techno maestro will show everybody at Akvárium why he headlines some of the most famous electronic festivals.
11 April:
RL Grime, Djemba Djemba at Akvárium
Born from the depths of darkness, DJ/producer RL Grime utilises elements of electronic and rap music as his hinges, to create sonic worlds that are arcane and mysterious in nature, yet resonate far beyond typical dance floor expectations. Now he is coming to Hungary for the very first time and his support will be Djemba Djemba.
17 April 17:
Applescal, David Douglas at Toldi Atomnation is a record label that releases a wide range of experimental electronic music and helps to spread out atoms of inspiring artists.
NVC will host their special label night, where Applescal and David Douglas will play. Be there!
24 April:
Breakage at A38 Ship
Breakage is UK sound system culture’s dark magus, shapeshifting through the submarine pathways of the British hardcore continuum, master of tension and chest rattling sonic frequencies. He will release his long-awaited second album, When The Night Comes, in April and will also do a special live set, centred on the new album.
25 April:
Hyperspace at HungexpoOne of the leading European electronic festivals celebrates its 20th anniversary with a pre-ceremony where DJs like Nina Kraviz, Marcel Dettmann, Adam Beyer, Sam Paganini and Felix Kröcher will keep you dancing until and after dawn. Two arenas, 15 DJs and hours of outstanding electro. Calling this night unmissable is an understatement.
Exhibitions Apart from the major ongoing exhibitions (which are listed at the end of the article), the following exhibitions are opening this month:
Imre Bukta's newest exhibition at Gallery Godot, titled Landscape thrown off balance is a kind of chronicle of the rural parts of Hungary. The artist focuses on a contradiction. While people tend to leave the countryside cities of Hungary and small rural villages disappear with more and more moving to the capital, artist Imre Bukta chose to move away from Budapest to a small village. Although many people have the image of Hungarian village farmers at the forefront of their minds, the truth is that ancient traditions and skills disappear every day. Imre's paintings focus on these topics, with a hint of cynicism and much empathy.
The new emerging star of contemporary Polish art, Agnieszka Polska, introduces her work at Trafó in her first solo exhibition in Hungary, titled Future Days. Agnieszka Polska is a key figure of a new generation of Polish artists who experiment with the aesthetic boundaries of documentation and fiction. The neo-conceptual videos and feature films of Polska focus on the research of private mythologies of the art of the 1960s and 1970s.
Theatre3-4 April:Recirquel Contemporary Circus Company - The Naked Clown at Palace Of Arts In the latest piece by Recirquel, the creators help the audience explore the desire of humans to fly.
7-9 April:Cirque Le Roux - Paris De Nuit at Palace Of Arts
Delve into the (often absurd and hysterical) theatrical world of Cirque Le Roux through a mix of acrobatics, handstands, and Chinese-pole mastery!
The shows offer a glimpse into the secrets of Paris in the last century, inspired by the black-and-white photos of the world-famous Hungarian artist, Brassaï (born Gyula Halász). Champagne, circus, live music, singing and dancing: a true variety show!
9-10 April:Máté Mészáros - Hinoki 2.0 at Trafó Mortality – destruction – recreated reality. The latest piece by Máté Mészáros, a member of the Belgian Ultima Vez company led by Wim Vandekeybus and titled Hinoki 2.0 focuses on this special trinity. As his creative partners, he has chosen Hungarian dance artists studying in foreign schools or institutes or who are currently working abroad. A special challenge for both dancer and artist.
24-25 April:
Wayne McGregor & Random Dance - Atomos at Trafó Atomos is the newest full-length work by cutting-edge contemporary choreographer and Sadler's Wells Associate Artist, Wayne McGregor, who has now been leading his company through a radical trajectory of work for 20 years. Imagining the indivisible order created through uncuttable structures and interwoven with an architectural manipulation of bodies, the choreography of Atomos grows from the form of the atom. The newest piece sees ten incredible dancers perform McGregor's unique style - sculptural, rigorous, jarring and hauntingly beautiful.
Major Events1-30 April:Hungarians Etsy Team Fair at Kazi Art Gallery
The Hungarian Etsy Team is organising a joint exhibition and fair.
38 artists and craftspeople will put their various products on display at Kazi Art Gallery where visitors can also make purchases.
3-13 April:
Negyed7Negyed8 Festival in Budapest The spring edition of Negyed7Negyed8 (aka Quarter7Quarter8) festival will kick off with a half traditional Passover Seder as well as the album release party of Butterfly Effect that is expected to make everyone go berserk. Over nine days in the Pesach season, festival-goers will have more than 70 events to choose from at the best venues in two of the most exciting districts in the city.
3-6 April: Easter There will be a special Easter Event in the Buda Castle.
Details here.
10-12 April:
Old-timer Weekend at Budapest’s Railway Museum Lovers of vintage cars and bikes will get the chance to admire more than 500 beautiful vintage vehicles, among them antique motorbikes that are more than 100-years-old and cars with wooden wheels.
10-26 April:
36th Budapest Spring Festival in Budapest The annual Budapest Spring Festival awaits art lovers with a colourful program comprising all art forms:
classical and contemporary music, opera, jazz and pop, world music, dance, contemporary circus, theatre, and visual arts. What makes the Budapest Spring Festival even more special is that along with the best Hungarian performers, true international superstars will also grace the stage.
10-18 April:
Titanic International Film Festival at various venues
This year TIFF will feature 52 works from 34 countries in eight sections. 8 films will compete for the Breaking Waves Award. This year’s films have been selected by new program director, Dane Allan Sorensen.
18-19 April:
Budapest100 at various venues
Many 100-year-old residential apartments, buildings and factories will
open to the public with various tours, programs, games and so forth.
The programs are primarily in Hungarian, however, entrance is free so it's a good chance to see behind the usually closed doors of some of Budapest's most historic and interesting buildings.
Prior registration is required
for some of the tours.27 April - 3 May:
Budapest Dance Festival Held in multiple locations such as the Palace of Arts, MOM Kulturális Központ and the Royal Garden Pavilion, the Budapest Dance Festival will feature a whole array of dance styles from contemporary, ballet and folk.
Many long-term events are actually coming to an end in April, so get in while you still can:
- Sylvia Plachy's When Will It Be Tomorrow exhibition with 110 of her pictures on show at the Hungarian House Of Photography.
- The Story Of A Friendship exhibition, which focuses of the artistic documents of the friendship between József Rippl-Rónai and Aristide Maillol at the Hungarian National Gallery.
- Chimera Project's latest exhibition, titled Investigative Painting, which focuses on the latest paintings by the artists Johanna Binder from Austria, Gábor Erdélyi from Hungary and Magda Wegrzyn from Poland.
- Tamás Szvet's special, interactive light installation at the Kunsthalle Check out other must-see
events, happening in Budapest over the coming weeks, at our regularly updated
