Reeperbahn Festival has named the shortlist for its 2026 Anchor Award: British soul-pop artist Nectar Woode, Australian artist BIG WETT, French Italo disco duo Dov'e Liana, Ukrainian cross-genre artist GANNA, London duo Just For Fun and Berlin jazz ensemble Sonic Interventions.
Launched in 2016 and marking its tenth anniversary this year, the Anchor Award is Reeperbahn's top honour, decided by a judging panel for the year's most essential new name playing the festival. Past winners include Yard Act, Ichiko Aoba and Mei Semones, and past nominees who went on to wider success include Celeste, Matt Maltese and Parcels.
The shortlist was chosen by a board of international industry figures, including YouTube's Cahleb Derry, Clockenflap's Justin Sweeting, Universal's Laura Minutolo and DIY's own Daisy Carter. The winner will be decided by a separate jury based on the acts' performances at the festival, which runs September 16 to 19 in Hamburg, with the result announced at a ceremony on September 18.
Reeperbahn Festival has already confirmed more than 100 international artists for this year's event, including English Teacher, Keo and Kojaque, and tickets for the festival, spanning genres from R&B and pop to jazz and disco across its Anchor Award nominees alone, are on sale now.
The facts
- Reeperbahn Festival's 2026 Anchor Award shortlisted six acts
- Nectar Woode is a British soul-pop artist
- The prize marks its tenth anniversary this year
- Past Anchor Award winners include Yard Act and Ichiko Aoba
- The winner is decided by a jury judging festival performances
- The ceremony is set for September 18
- Reeperbahn Festival runs September 16-19 in Hamburg
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