Friday
5pm - : Tilos Radio Birthday Weekend at Dürer Kert
Budapest’s independent, non-profit radio, Tilos, will be celebrating its 27th birthday at Dürer Kert. Two days of free concerts and parties await, with a garden barbecue and cake. Look out for acclaimed Roma combo Parno Graszt on the Friday night and ambient-folky Üzgin Űver from Kecskemét on the Saturday night. The audience can support the radio with donations and by buying raffle tickets, to be drawn on Friday.
6pm - : ATB at Budapest Park
Freiburg’s award-winning André Tanneberger, aka ATB, spins trance and progressive house to an up-for-it crowd at Budapest Park, ably supported by his compatriot in electronica, Jan Wayne. Also on the bill are Fragma, German trance masters best known for the Ibiza world smash from 2000, Toca’s Miracle.
6:30pm - 11:30pm: Meet the Brewer - Beer and BBQ at Kupak és Dugó Bar
Up on the Római part embankment in Óbuda, the Reketye brewing company from Nagytárcsa hosts a presentation night at the Kupak & Dugó bar. Session Lager, Pale Ale and India Pale Ale, also sold in distinctive cans with striking black-and-white imagery, will be showcased. To go with the ales, the boys from the brewery will cook beer-braised pulled pork and live music will be provided by the Zrínyi Pop band.
7pm - : Nightdrive: Sofie at PONTOON
Keeping it real at riverside Pontoon, part-Palo Alto, part-Austrian, part-Iranian DJ Sofie spins a hip hop-funk-rap-house mix. Behind the distinctive Boiler Room events in Los Angeles, host of a monthly show on London’s NTS and involved at LA-based record label Stones Throw, Sofie has shared stages with Peanut Butter Wolf, fLako and Mndsgn.
8pm - :Elvis '68 Comeback Special at Uránia National Film Theatre
The King is back! See a screening of this seminal show by Presley, in full black leather and accompanied by his old muckers from the Sun years. After a decade of making miserable Hollywood musicals, Elvis kicks the Colonel into touch and reveals all his raw power to a TV audience of zillions. Unmissable.
8pm - : The Trousers, Peter Kovary & the Royal Rebels at A38
In circulation for ten years or more, enthusiastic rockers The Trousers return for a major show at the A38 Ship after dates around Hungary and Central Europe. Expected in September is a fifth album from the band, under the title Invisible Darkness, which was prefaced by the video Dancer from the Dance released this spring.
Saturday
noon - 3am: Budapest Beer Festival at the Buda Castle
If lagers, pales and stouts are your thing, then you are in luck this weekend. At the Budapest Beer Festival, more than 250 types of special suds feature at Buda Castle, the city’s most panoramic location. Offerings will include globally known brands and craft beers from local brewers. Admission includes a tasting glass and the first drink.
7pm - : Budapest Rooftop Cinema presents Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind at Corvin Plaza
Casting its two stars completely against type, an introvert Jim Carrey and an extrovert Kate Winslet, this bizarre Sci-Fi comedy from 2004 earned cult acclaim and even an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Joel (Carrey), heartbroken that his girlfriend Clementine (Winslet) underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake. The movie is screened in English, at the recently relocated Rooftop Cinema atop the Corvin Plaza mall.
8pm - 10pm: Miklós Fenyő - Never Stop! at Margaret Island Open-Air Stage
Evergreen rocker Miki Fenyő enters his seventies still unable to give up showbiz, it seems. Under the title Never Stop! (perhaps catchier than its Hungarian equivalent, Soha abba ne hagyd!), the former Hungária frontman performs his traditional summer show on the Margaret Island Open-Air Stage. Expect all the old hits.
10pm - : Lithium Night party at Budapest Park
Music by Green Day, Foo Fighters and Fall Out Boys is just a sample of what’s on the agenda at Lithium Night, a summer party series hosted at the city’s main outdoor hangout, Budapest Park. Merrymaking also features the likes of Offspring, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana, starts at 10pm and runs until silly o'clock.
11pm - : Analog Soul at LÄRM
Brought to Budapest by party organisers, Persephone, Analog Soul are a Brooklyn-based twin sister DJ duo from the New York underground scene. With sets blending dark house, Detroit techno, acid and electro, the appearance of this electronica ensemble should shake up LÄRM, a music club on the first floor of the popular Fogasház ruin bar in Budapest's party zone.
Sunday
10am - 11pm: Szentendre Éjjel-Nappal Nyitva in Szentendre
The picture-postcard destination of Szentendre north of Budapest bids farewell to summer with the Open Day & Night weekend for outdoor concerts, workshops, films, shows and exhibitions. Houses and courtyards are open to the public, where local residents, including a painter, a teacher, a writer and a restorer, are the hosts of these events. Homemade food and drinks are also offered to visitors. Check out Szentendre in this guide
11am - 9pm: Cholent Festival at Kazinczy utca
For an entire day, Kazinczy utca in the Jewish Quarter transforms into a lengthy open-air eatery to host the kosher Cholent Festival. Alongside other authentic Jewish dishes, four traditional cholent stews from different countries will be offered for tasting. Children’s activities and cultural events also feature.
7pm - : Jewish Cultural Festival citywide
Starting Sunday and running for a week, the Jewish Cultural Festival fills several venues of Budapest with classical and pop concerts, theatre shows, exhibitions and many other activities presenting Judaic culture. Among the locations are the impressive Dohány utca Synagogue, the Hegedűs Gyula utca synagogue, the Goldmark Room, the Uránia Film Theatre and the 2B Gallery.
7pm - : Budapest Rooftop Cinema presents Perfume - The Story of a Murderer at Corvin Plaza
At its new Corvin Plaza location, the Budapest Rooftop Cinema presents a psychological crime thriller of the young Grenouille, who was born with a superior sense of smell. Killing a beautiful girl by accident makes him learn about a new fragrance: the scent of a woman’s soul. The murderer then spends the rest of his life attempting to smell this essence again and capture it. The movie is screened in English with Hungarian subtitles.
8pm - : Magna Cum Laude concert at the Margaret Island Open-Air Stage
Two decades of hard work, albums, videos and concerts have led the core of the Magna Cum Laude group from their small rehearsal room to become a stalwart of festival stages. The band’s joint concert with the Hungarian Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra will present unique interpretations of classics by the rock outfit.
