visual sound outdoor festival - Festival für Free Jazz, improvisierte Musik und Experimentelles, 13.08. - 15.08.2026

visual sound outdoor festival
Festival for Free Jazz and Improvised Music

August 13–15, 2026

We’re excited to invite you to the 7th edition of the Visual Sound Outdoor Festival!

Three days filled with free jazz, improvised music, and experimental formats await you from August 13 to 15.

You can look forward to 16 concerts, live DJ sets, and visual art installations on two open-air stages in the courtyard of the Depot as well as in the Parzelle at the Depot. The lineup features international bands and musicians from Europe, North America, and Brazil, local scene figures, and young artists with contemporary repertoires.

A special highlight is the “Magic Ensembles”—lineups curated specifically for the festival, where festival musicians come together for the first time. These concerts promise musical surprises and intense moments of exchange.

Ticket sales have begun! Get your tickets at Rausgegangen Dortmund and experience three days full of exciting concerts, interactions with artists, and fresh perspectives on free jazz and experimental soundscapes.

We look forward to seeing you in Dortmund’s Nordstadt—be there when the seventh edition of the VSOF once again transforms the Nordstadt into a vibrant cosmos of sound!

Program

Thursday, August 13, 2026

7:00 p.m.
MAGIC ENSEMBLE
Duthoit & Vicente
Isabelle Duthoit (F) – clarinet, vocals
Luis Vicente (PT) – trumpet

8:10 p.m.
MAGIC ENSEMBLE
Brice | Togander | Marraffa
Barbara Togander (ES) – trumpet, vocals
Edoardo Marraffa (IT) – s
Olie Brice (GB) – double bass

9:20 p.m.
Oswald & Nilssen-Love
Margaux Oswald (F-PHL/DK) – piano
Paal Nilssen-Love (NOR) – drums

Visual Art: Triangle of Transitions – Claudia Terlunen & Sabine Held
Photo Exhibition: vsof 25 – Dawid Laskowski

Friday, August 14, 2026

5:00 p.m.
Right Now – Right Here (GB) feat. Barbara Toganer (ES)
Charlotte Keeffe – t, flh, comp, sound brush
Ashley John Long – double bass
Ben Handysides – drums
Moss Freed – guitar
Barbara Togander – double bass, vocals

6:10 p.m.
Marraffa 4 feat. Bart Maris
Edoardo Marraffa (IT) – s (IT)
Salvoandrea Lucifora (IT/NL) – pos
Aaron Lumley (CA/NL) – double bass
Onno Govaert (NL) – drums
Bart Maris (B) – t

7:30 p.m.
So Says the Drum (BRA/D)
Bruna Cabral – drums, percussion
Bella Comsom – clarinet, electronics, light performance

9:00 p.m.
Duthoit | Heather | Moor
Isabelle Duthoit (F) – voice, clarinet
Steve Heather – (AU/D) percussion, electronics
Andy Moor (GB/NL) – guitar

10:30 p.m.
MAGIC ENSEMBLE
Keeffe | Musson | Oswald | Sanders | Stewart
Charlotte Keeffe (UK) – t, flh, comp, sound brush
Rachel Musson (UK) – s
Margaux Oswald (France-Philadelphia/Denmark) – piano
Mark Sanders (UK) – drums
Luke Stewart (US) – double bass

11:30 PM
ACH KUHZUNFT – tt, live DJ
Free admission

Visual art: Triangle of Transitions – Claudia Terlunen & Sabine Held
Photo exhibition: vsof 25 – Dawid Laskowski

Saturday, August 15, 2026

4:00 p.m.
MAGIC ENSEMBLE
Gottschalk | Muche | Blume
Gunda Gottschalk – cello, cello
Matthias Muche – piano
Martin Blume – drums

5:10 p.m.
Kurzmann & Gartmayer (AT)
Christof Kurzmann – lloopp, voice
Susanna Gartmayer – bc

6:20 p.m.
Toxodon
Salome Amend – vibraphone
Raissa Mehner – guitar
Simon Camatta – drums

7:50 p.m.
Brice | Musson | Sanders (UK)
Olie Brice – double bass
Rachel Musson – ts
Mark Sanders – drums

Luis Vicente Quartet
Luís Vicente (PT) – t
John Dikeman (US) – tenor sax
Luke Stewart (US/NL) – double bass
Onno Govaert (NL) – drums

10:20 p.m.
ACH KUHZUNFT – tt, live DJ
Free admission

Visual art: Triangle of Transitions – Claudia Terlunen & Sabine Held
Photo exhibition: vsof 25 – Dawid Laskowski

LUNCH – SYRIAN DELICACIES

Ghazwa Ghazi invites you to enjoy a varied “lunch menu” on Fridays and Saturdays from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM! Look forward to authentic Syrian specialties—whether vegan, vegetarian, or with meat—there’s something for every taste. Delicious samples are also waiting for you at the counter! (insta@ghenacake)

FOR ALL VINYL LOVERS

delicate groove records isn’t just located at Kaiserstrasse 101—there’s also a record booth at the festival with a fine selection to browse and discover. Martin Schüttler looks forward to seeing you! https://delicate-groove.de

Supported by: Ministry of Science and Culture of North Rhine-Westphalia, Cultural Office of the City of Dortmund, Downtown-North District Council, Sparkasse für Dortmund Foundation, anne-fischer-stiftung, Pro Jazz e.V. 

Cooperation partners: RuhrVolunteers e.V., train of hope e.V., Kulturort Depot e.V., Grünbau GmbH