Best Darkwave Festivals in the World (2027 Guide): Darkwave, Goth, Post-Punk, EBM and Industrial
Last updated: October 2026. Dates checked against official announcements and ticketing pages. Lineups and dates change, so always confirm on the festival’s own website before booking.
Dark music has a calendar of its own. Every year, from a castle in Poland to a beach in California, thousands of people travel to hear darkwave, goth rock, post-punk, EBM and industrial played live, and to meet a scene that still lives mostly offline. This guide gathers the best dark music festivals in the world, with the confirmed 2027 dates we could verify, what each one sounds like, and who it is for.
We are a darkwave radio and magazine based in Barcelona, and we have covered several of these festivals on the ground. Where we have been there, you will find our reports linked. Where a festival has not announced its 2027 dates yet, we say so, and we tell you when it usually happens.
Darkwave festivals in 2027: calendar at a glance
Only confirmed dates are listed here. Festivals without announced dates are in the next section.
| Dates | Festival | Where | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Feb | Winter Prague Gothic Treffen | Prague, Czechia | Gothic, darkwave |
| 26 to 28 Mar | Resistanz | Sheffield, UK | Industrial, EBM, electronic |
| 16 to 18 Apr | Dark Malta Festival | Gianpula Village, Malta | Darkwave, gothic, post-punk |
| 30 Apr to 2 May | Dark Force Fest | Parsippany, New Jersey, USA | Goth, industrial |
| 14 to 17 May | Wave-Gotik-Treffen | Leipzig, Germany | Everything dark |
| 11 to 12 Jun | Dark City Fest | Benidorm, Spain | Post-punk, darkwave, EBM, synthpop |
| June | Dark Mofo | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia | Dark art and music (days to be confirmed) |
| 1 to 3 Jul | Subkultfestivalen | Trollhättan, Sweden | Gothic and darkwave scene |
| 15 to 18 Jul | Castle Party | Bolków, Poland | Gothic, darkwave, industrial |
| 24 to 25 Jul | Amphi Festival | Cologne, Germany | Darkwave, EBM, synthpop, gothic |
| 7 to 8 Aug | M’era Luna | Hildesheim, Germany | Gothic, industrial, metal |
| 27 to 29 Aug | Infest | Manchester, UK | Industrial, electronic |
| 27 to 28 Aug | Prague Gothic Treffen | Prague, Czechia | Gothic, darkwave |
Darkwave festivals we are still waiting on
These are regular fixtures of the dark calendar that had not published 2027 dates when we wrote this guide. The typical timing is based on past editions, not on an announcement.
- Cruel World (Pasadena, USA): usually in May.
- Cold Waves (Chicago, USA): usually in September.
- Whitby Goth Weekend (England): twice a year, spring and autumn. Organisers usually announce the next dates around Halloween.
- Extramuralhas (Leiria, Portugal): usually the last weeks of August.
- Dark Storm Festival (Chemnitz, Germany): traditionally on 25 December.
- Berlin Atonal (Germany): late August, exact days to be confirmed.
- Ombra Festival (Barcelona, Spain): the 2026 edition was cancelled and the organisers want to return in 2027.
- Darker Waves (Huntington Beach, USA): the 2026 edition is on 14 November.
- Verboden (Pacific Northwest, USA and Canada): usually late spring.
- Lima Gothic Wave (Peru): usually mid-year.
- Octubre Negro (Mexico): usually in October.
Darkwave festivals in Germany: the heart of the scene
Wave-Gotik-Treffen (Leipzig)
14 to 17 May 2027, 34th edition. The WGT is the festival that defined the scene: held over the Pentecost weekend, it takes over a whole city for four days, with hundreds of concerts and events across venues all over town. Guides put attendance at around 18,000 to 20,000 people. The line-up runs from darkwave and EBM to ethereal, neofolk and metal, so it suits anyone who wants to see the whole scene at once.
Links: Official site
Amphi Festival (Cologne)
24 to 25 July 2027, 21st edition. Two days at the Tanzbrunnen on the banks of the Rhine, with a pre-festival boat party on the 23rd that has already sold out. The first wave includes VNV Nation, Deine Lakaien, Blutengel, Tr/St, Nachtblut, Die Krupps and Aesthetic Perfection. Early bird tickets sold out months ago, so book early. We covered the 2024 edition on the ground: see our reports on Amphi Festival 2024 (in Spanish), Blutengel and Project Pitchfork.
Links: Official site
M’era Luna (Hildesheim)
7 to 8 August 2027. A classic open-air festival on an airfield, with a main stage, campsite and a hangar for the indoor stage. Gothic, industrial and metal, held on the second weekend of August. Tickets for 2027 are already on sale. Our M’era Luna 2024 report (in Spanish) has the details.
Links: Official site · Facebook
Dark Storm Festival (Chemnitz)
Traditionally on 25 December. The 28th edition takes place in 2026 at the Stadthalle Chemnitz. If you want to spend Christmas Day among people dressed in black, this is the place. The 2027 date is not announced yet.
Links: Official site · Facebook
Berlin Atonal (Berlin)
Late August 2027, exact days to be confirmed. Not a goth festival but an essential one for fans of industrial and experimental electronic music, held at Kraftwerk Berlin.
Links: Official site
Darkwave festivals in the United Kingdom
Whitby Goth Weekend
Held twice a year in a seaside town in North Yorkshire, it is one of the best known goth events in the world. The autumn 2026 edition runs 30 October to 1 November. The 2027 dates are normally announced around Halloween, so watch the official site. Do not confuse it with The Gothic Gathering, a separate event with a different organiser that has a weekend planned for 22 to 25 April 2027 at the Whitby Pavilion.
Links: Official site
Resistanz (Sheffield)
26 to 28 March 2027. Held over the Easter weekend at The Corporation and Trafalgar Warehouse, it is a major industrial and electronic festival in the UK. Early bird tickets for 2027 are on sale.
Links: Official site
Infest (Manchester)
27 to 29 August 2027. After 25 years in Bradford, Infest moved to Manchester in 2025. It remains a reference for industrial, EBM and electronic music and is held over the August bank holiday weekend.
Links: Official site
Darkwave festivals in Eastern and Northern Europe
Castle Party (Bolków, Poland)
15 to 18 July 2027, 32nd edition. Gothic, industrial, darkwave and metal in a medieval castle in Lower Silesia. VNV Nation is the first act announced. If you want atmosphere, a castle is a hard setting to beat.
Links: Official site
Prague Gothic Treffen (Czechia)
27 to 28 August 2027, 22nd edition. A compact festival in one of Europe’s most photogenic cities, now in its 22nd edition. There is also a first winter edition on Saturday 27 February 2027 at MeetFactory.
Links: Official site · Instagram · Winter edition
Subkultfestivalen (Trollhättan, Sweden)
1 to 3 July 2027. A Swedish festival listed among the gothic festivals, returning in 2027 to Folkets Park, where it was first held in 2016.
Links: Official site · Facebook
Darkwave festivals in Southern Europe
Dark City Fest (Benidorm, Spain)
11 to 12 June 2027. Thirty-two acts across post-punk, darkwave, gothic rock, EBM and synthpop at the Sala Penélope. The 2027 headliners are Anne Clark, Laibach, Lebanon Hanover and Anja Huwe of Xmal Deutschland, with Mesh, The Cassandra Complex, Solitary Experiments, In Strict Confidence, Absolute Body Control and a strong Spanish presence, including Darkways, Las Novias, This Eternal Decay, Spammerheads and Azote Mental. Two-day passes are on sale through Mutick.
Links: Instagram · Facebook · Tickets
Dark Malta Festival (Gianpula, Malta)
16 to 18 April 2027. Three days of dark music on a Mediterranean island in spring. We wrote about the 2025 edition (in Spanish).
Links: Official site
Extramuralhas (Leiria, Portugal)
A gothic festival in the historic centre of Leiria, with concerts in theatres, a church and a garden. The 2026 edition took place on 20 to 22 August. The 2027 dates are not announced.
Links: Official site · Leiria agenda
Ombra Festival (Barcelona, Spain)
Usually held in early December at the Tres Chimeneas in Sant Adrià de Besòs. The 2026 edition, planned for 4 to 6 December, was cancelled; the organisers say they want to return in 2027, and 2026 passes will be valid then or refundable on request. See our reports (in Spanish) from Ombra 2024 and Ombra 2025.
Links: Official site
More Spanish darkwave festivals
Barnadarkfest in Barcelona held its third edition on 26 September 2026 at Sala Slow, and sold out: read our Barnadarkfest III review. Darkness Fest is another Barcelona name: see our Darkness Fest 2025 report (in Spanish). None of them had 2027 dates when we published this guide.
Setmana Santa (Toulouse, France)
A week of goth culture in early December. The 2026 edition runs 1 to 6 December. The organisers have said their finances are fragile, so check the official site before planning a trip for 2027.
Links: Official site
Darkwave festivals in North America
Cruel World (Pasadena, California)
A large-scale festival for post-punk, new wave and gothic rock, at Brookside at the Rose Bowl and organised by Goldenvoice. The last edition was in May 2026. The 2027 dates are not announced.
Links: Official site
Cold Waves (Chicago)
Darkwave, industrial and synth, usually in September at the Metro in Chicago, and now with additional events in Los Angeles and New York. The 2026 edition is on 24 to 27 September.
Links: Official site
Dark Force Fest (New Jersey)
30 April to 2 May 2027. A three-day goth and industrial convention in Parsippany, with a pre-party on 29 April and more than thirty bands from around the world.
Links: Official site
Darker Waves (Huntington Beach, California)
A one-day festival on the sand for new wave, post-punk, darkwave and synthpop. The first edition, in 2023, was headlined by New Order and Tears for Fears. The 2026 edition is on 14 November.
Links: Official site
Verboden (Pacific Northwest)
A darkwave festival that turned ten in 2026 and ran across Portland, Spokane, Seattle and Vancouver. We found no 2027 dates yet.
Links: Official site
Terminus Festival (Calgary, Canada)
An annual festival of dark electronic, synth, darkwave, post-punk, EBM and industrial music. We could not verify 2027 dates.
Links: Facebook
Darkwave festivals in Latin America and Oceania
Octubre Negro (Mexico)
The Festival Internacional Octubre Negro, now in its sixteenth edition in 2026, combines concerts, cinema and visual arts across Mexico City and Morelia. In Mexico City, GothPunx Festival also programmes darkwave and post-punk around Halloween.
Lima Gothic Wave Festival (Peru)
The reference for the gothic scene in Peru and Latin America, held since 2004. The 2026 edition took place in July. We found no 2027 announcement.
Links: Facebook
Dark Mofo (Hobart, Australia)
Run by MONA in the Tasmanian winter, Dark Mofo is not a genre festival but a festival of dark art and music, with the Winter Feast, Night Mass and the Nude Solstice Swim. It returns in June 2027.
Links: Official site
Darkwave festivals that no longer run
Some famous names are gone, and old guides still list them. The Lumous Gothic Festival in Finland ended in 2020 after nearly two decades. Summer Darkness in Utrecht ran from 2003 to 2013, and Dark Munich Festival ended in 2015. If a list sends you to one of these, check first.
Where is the rest of the world?
We looked for recurring goth, darkwave or industrial festivals in Asia and found none we could verify for 2027. If you run one, or know one, write to us and we will add it.
How to choose the right festival
- Your first dark festival: Amphi or M’era Luna, both easy to reach and well organised.
- The full scene in one place: Wave-Gotik-Treffen, if you can handle four days.
- Industrial and EBM: Resistanz, Infest and Berlin Atonal.
- Post-punk and new wave: Dark City Fest, Cruel World and Darker Waves.
- Atmosphere: Castle Party, for the castle, and Dark Malta, for the island.
- On a budget: Prague Gothic Treffen and the smaller Spanish festivals.
Practical tips
- Early bird tickets for the big festivals sell out in weeks: Amphi 2027 did before the summer of 2026.
- Book hotels in Leipzig and Cologne as soon as the dates are out, and consider camping at M’era Luna and Castle Party.
- Combine festivals: Castle Party, Amphi and M’era Luna all fall between 15 July and 8 August 2027.
- Buy tickets only through the official shop or its listed partners.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest goth festival in the world?
The Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig is generally considered the largest, with around 18,000 to 20,000 visitors according to published guides.
When is the Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2027?
From Friday 14 to Monday 17 May 2027, over Pentecost weekend in Leipzig.
When is Amphi Festival 2027?
On 24 and 25 July 2027 at the Tanzbrunnen in Cologne.
Is there a goth festival in Spain?
Yes: Dark City Fest in Benidorm (11 to 12 June 2027), Barnadarkfest and Ombra, both in Barcelona.
Are you organising a darkwave music festival?
Other Voices Radio plays darkwave, post-punk, EBM and goth 24 hours a day and covers the scene from Barcelona. If you organise a festival and would like us to be part of it, get in touch. If we missed one, or your dates have changed, tell us and we will update this guide.
Listen to Other Voices Radio: other-voices.com/radio
