Hamburg is bursting with cultural life in September. As well as NEXT, you can dance the night away at the Reeperbahn Festival, dive into the future of the creative industries at the Reeperbahn Conference, and explore the digital future of society at re:publica.

Your NEXT ticket (your badge and wristband together) give you access to the Festival on the Thursday, and to the other two conferences throughout their run. Here’s our selection of events that might be worth your time…

• The Reeperbahn Festival
• The Reeperbahn Conference
• re:publica

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The Reeperbahn Festival

NEXT sits right in the heart of the Reeperbahn Festival – both in terms of time and locations. It would be a sin to visiting the most sinful mile without taking in some of the music while you’re with us.

On the Thursday of NEXT Conference, you can attend any Reeperbahn Festival concert for free with your NEXT badge. Here are a few from the massive selection of events you might enjoy:

• 18:30: Antje Schomaker (Indie) — Grosse Freiheit 36
• 18:30: loveless (Pop) — Uebel & Gefährlich
• 18:45: Orbit (Electronic/Live) — Mojo Club
• 18:45: Jordan MacKampa (Pop) — Knust
• 19:00: Kasi (Hip-Hop/Rap) — Drafthouse
• 19:00: Ichiko Aoba (Folk) — Gruenspan
• 20:15: Blumengarten (Indie) — 25 Club
• 20:20 Grandbrothers (Classical) — Grosse Freiheit 36
• 20.25: Peace Flag Ensemble (Indie) — Nochtwache
• 20:30: Bob Vylan (Punk) — Knust
• 20.40: The Staves (Folk) — Nochtspeicher
• 20:40: The Last Dinner Party (Indie) — Uebel & Gefährlich
• 20:40: Liraz (PoP) — Mojo Club
• 20:50: waterbaby (Indie) — Gruenspan
• 22:00: Kelsy Karter & The Heroines (Indie) — Headcrash
• 22.20: Skinny Pelembe (Indie), Nochtspeicher
• 22:20: Grandson (Indie) — Grosse Freiheit 36
• 22:20: Becks (Indie) — Knust
• 22:25: Only the Poets (Pop) — Uebel & Gefährlich
• 22:30: Pongo (Pop) — Mojo Club
  

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The Reeperbahn Conference

Amidst the Reeperbahn Festival, the conference attracts creatives from all over the world, in music and other artistic fields. We’ve picked out some of the most interesting events that mesh with the sorts of issues we’ll be exploring on Thursday. Your NEXT ticket also gives you access to all these events — and the rest of the conference programme.

Wednesday

• 19:00: GEMA showcase: Three solo artists — LIN, Joelina and James Hersey — present a diverse mix of electro, rock, pop, and indie. Have a brilliant evening of music and dance – before an early night ready for NEXT!

Friday

• 09.45: AI music tools & services : Ai is rapidly becoming a tool for music creation. A peal of speakers explore how it’s already being used to enhance creativity.
• 10.45: A seat at the table: Driving diversity with data is critical. This session introduces the groundbreaking annual research study conducted by data analyst, renowned music technologist and founder of market research agency A Seat at the Table, Janishia Jones.
• 12:00: Let’s Talk Physical: In a session that nicely complements our own theme of Let’s Get Physical, the speakers will explore why fandom remains physical even in a digital age.
• 13.45: Who owns the truth: Artificial Intelligence & copyright : The use of AI in music raises question about copyright. Is the existing definition fit for purpose? What’s the current situation, legally, around works created with AI assistance?
• 14.15: Boosting artist visibility by training AI: Could training AI on your music help increase your visibility? That’s what this session aims to explore, using the example of Estonian composer Veljo Tormis (1930-2017) and the Veljo Tormis Virtual Centre.
• 14.30: That’s En­ter­tain­ment’s Law / KI-Spe­cial: Hungry for more AI law? A panel of internationally experienced lawyers will present and explain the top issues in the music and entertainment industry. The presentations will be accompanied by practical application examples from the Creative Hub CYDER.
• 15.15: Di­ver­si­ty In Mu­sic + Tech: A talk about the ways we can empower the next generation of creatives inclusively, from digital nomads to Ai-inspired artists.
  

15.15: NEXT Encore Session: Guess who’s coming for a beer – An unvarnished conversation about creativity in the 21st Century with Pelle Almqvist (The Hives) and Fabian Frese (Accenture Song) The Hives Frontman Pelle Almqvist and Accenture Song’s Chief Creative Officer Fabian Frese will chat about creative processes and Rock’n’Roll moments.

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re:publica

re:publica is a long-running European digital society festival. This year. it’s joining NEXT and the Reeperbahn Conference in Hamburg during the Reeperbahn Festival. Again, your NEXT ticket also gives you access to re:publica events.

Friday

• 13:30: ChatGPT Challenge: pitch your favourite Reeperbahn Festival act with the help of AI: a workshop where participate will pair off, and try to persuade each other to attend the concerts they’re most excited by – using ChatGPT to make the argument…
• 16:15: Is enhancing language models with human knowledge a good idea? : Researchers are adding knowledge bases to large language models to make them more accurate. But what sorts of knowledge are being used – and how could it change AI?
• 18:00: Next-Gen Concerts: Using the metaverse, XR, and streaming to engage audiences: Music festival are transforming themselves into phygital experiences with emerging tech – learn how.

Saturday

• 11.15: Freedom: on earth, mars, or microchip: Global freedmen is under threat – and the poly crisis we face challenges our conceptual tools for defending it. Eva von Redecker and Aurelie Herbelot examine the concept of freedom and how the current political and technological developments contribute (or undermine) our lives.
• 13:00: How Tech Shapes Our Future: a workshop exploring how AI might reshape our society, using a combination of speculative scenarios, design and role-play.
• 18:00: Post-digital angst: back in 2012, our theme was “Post Digital”. 11 years later, we’re getting angsty about it… This session will examine digital angst from a philosophical perspective, and how it’s rooted in our fundamental nature.