From Dead Can Dance in early May to the Pixies in late August, the return of live music to Budapest brings with it not only revered names but intriguing ones too. Look out for Slovak DJ FVLCRM, Viennese duo HVOB and New York pair Tempers. Here are our ten top tips!

1/10

Dead Can Dance

Reformed in 2011, the UK-Australian duo of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry continue to create their mesmerising soundscapes across the globe, including their current tour of major concert halls in Europe. Judging by the venues chosen – the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna on Sunday 8 May, the Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb, the National Palace of Culture in Sofia – cultish Dead Can Dance still attract a significant following from their 4AD days. Ostensibly still promoting 2018 album Dionysos, the current set also delves into older material.

2/10

FVLCRVM

Stefan Kralovic, artistically known as FVLCRVM, is one of the most exciting emerging electronic music producer/DJs, doing a mini-tour of his Slovak homeland and surrounding countries in May, including the Turbina Cultural Centre on 18 May. In addition to great music – halfway between the mainstream and the underground – the party promises a special audiovisual show, with dancing aplenty.

3/10

HVOB

Sell-out dates across Europe, in Berlin, Prague and Amsterdam, hint at the huge popularity of Her Voice Over Boys, aka Viennese electronic duo HVOB. Anna Müller and Paul Wallner have visited Budapest several times, each date a special experience. The sound of the band is brittle, mechanical and warm at the same time, full of emotion, which creates a magical mix. The band's fifth studio album, TOO, was released in April, bringing them to the Akvárium Klub on 20 May.


4/10

Tempers

Formed in the first half of the 2010s, the New York duo Tempers bring nothing revolutionary to the table, their music would be familiar to any synthpop follower, especially of the cooler, darker version. Singer Jasmine Golestaneh and synth partner Eddie Cooper have so far released three major records, the most recent New Meaning, on 1 April. They perform at the Turbina on 27 May, accompanied by Australian industrial DJ Kris Baha, who swapped Melbourne for East Berlin.

5/10

Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets

The only member of Pink Floyd to have played on every album, drummer Nick Mason formed his Saucerful of Secrets band in 2018 to celebrate the classic Floyd era of their first two records. Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp, of all people, sings acid-era touchstones such as Interstellar Overdrive and Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun. The date at Budapest Park on 30 May is part of a vast world tour.

6/10

Chrystabell

Chrystabell, aka Chrysta Bell, is the muse of David Lynch, with whom she has worked several times as both a filmmaker and a musician. The artist has released four albums since 2010, her fifth titled Midnight Star in January this year, with a tour now coming our way. Although the party is a joint production of New Beat and Dürer Kert, the concert will take place on the A38 on 16 June.

7/10

Crime & the City Solution

Old mates of Nick Cave and The Birthday Party, these Aussies followed a similar if less celebrated career path, relocating to London from Oz. Both appeared in Wings of Desire, the cult Wim Wenders film set in Berlin. At one point, Crime & the City Solution frontman Simon Bonney even had great Rowland S Howard on guitar and Mick Harvey on drums. Now Bonney has got another version of the band together and they’re doing the A38 on 24 June.

8/10

Gary Clark Jr

Multi-instrumentalist songwriter-vocalist and guitar virtuoso Gary Clark Jr appeared in the early 2000s with artfully crafted elements of blues, soul, R&B, rock and hip hop. He has released five major albums over the past 20 years – most recently in 2019, This Land – and has performed at many prestigious festivals, won a bunch of awards and played with Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. He plays Budapest Park on 12 July.

9/10

Moderat

A trio of comprised of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary from Modeselektor, and Sascha Ring from Apparat, Germany’s electronica supergroup Moderat has a serious cult following, their tunes like poems put to music. After a four-year hiatus, Moderat have been active once more, producing their fourth major album, MORE D4TA, released in May, two months before their concert at Budapest Park on 22 July.

10/10

Pixies

Summer closes on 30 August, with everybody’s favourites from 30 years ago, the Pixies, at Budapest Park. This classic era went from 1986 to 1993 and produced four great records, resumed in 2004 as a touring band, and from 2014 they started releasing records again, good records at that. The last one was released in 2019, entitled Beneath the Eyrie. Given that this is their first show in Hungary, expect a few old classics.

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