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Festival Alternativa 2026

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 · 12:00 — Fri, 13 Nov 23:59

Various venues in Prague, Prague

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Festival Alternativa 2026 — Various venues in Prague, Prague
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The 34th edition of Festival Alternativa brings four evenings of dense, experimental and unconventional music across generations and genres to Prague. The festival takes place over two weekends - October 30-31 and November 13-14, 2026 - at the Church of St. Simon and Jude, Petrohradská and ARCHA+.

One of the main highlights is the return of Grouper to Prague after 17 years. American composer Liz Harris combines intimate songwriting with ambient and drone; her rare Prague performance takes place on October 30 in the sacred space of the Church of St. Simon and Jude. The evening, organized with Heartnoize Promotion, will be complemented by London-based Alpha Maid, who blends delicate guitars with melancholic electronics.

Another major event will be one of four exclusive performances of the new collaboration Jarboe & Zu. Jarboe, a crucial voice associated with the history of Swans, meets Italian trio Zu, whose radical sound moves between jazz, metal and experimental music.

The main festival weekend at ARCHA+ will also feature the international improvisation quartet Open Family with Tiziana Bertoncini, Thomas Lehn, Alessandra Rombolá and Ingar Zach, the audiovisual project TOE led by Billy Roisz, the collaboration of French trio TOC with saxophonist Sakina Abdou, and a joint set by Viola Yip and Michael Vorfeld, based on light, handmade instruments and machine pulses.

The electronic and electroacoustic section of the festival will be expanded by Ukrainian musician Katarina Gryvul, French composer Hervé Birolini and a quartet specially assembled for Alternativa featuring Ursula Sereghy, Sorbitol Drops, Oï les Ox and Isabella Forciniti. Space will also be given to music at the edge of silence - Prague Quiet Music Collective & Emilio Gordoa will prepare a four-hour LONG programme based on meditative improvisation, while Burkhard Stangl & Andrzej Karałow will connect subtle and unpredictable guitar and piano lines.

Alternativa will also include AltShift - an evening curated by young people who have participated in festival workshops and will present their own perspective.

Line-up

  • Grouper
  • Alpha Maid
  • Jarboe & Zu
  • Open Family
  • TOE
  • Sakina Abdou
  • Viola Yip
  • Michael Vorfeld
  • Katarina Gryvul
  • Hervé Birolini
  • Ursula Sereghy
  • Oï les Ox
  • Isabella Forciniti
  • Prague Quiet Music Collective & Emilio Gordoa
  • Burkhard Stangl & Andrzej Karałow
  • Gertie Adelaido
  • Upground
  • Xdekonstruktorx
  • Tim Dubenchuk
  • Vermilion
  • Smyčcový kvartet
  • Sinnbolic ft. Rozálie Vacková

Trailer