The debut of the new Superbloom Festival arrived to close out the summer season in style with two days of pop, rock, and dance. Taking place at the iconic Munich Olympiastadion in an enchanting park setting, Superbloom promises to be an all new mega-festival experience for Bavaria.
For the last festival of the summer, I am checking out a first-time fest in the south of Germany. Delayed by two years because of the pandemic (a common theme this year), it’s encouraging to see an inaugural fest like Superbloom successfully navigate these difficult times and produce a beautiful event. Let’s take a look I saw at this inaugural mega-festival.
Click here to see Part #1 of our Superbloom artist photos
Click here to see Part #2 of our Superbloom artist photos
Click here to see the vibe of Superbloom photo gallery
Table Of Contents
1. Running the Numbers
2. The Scene
3. Music Highlights
4. Stray Observations
5. Travel Tips
6. Final Thoughts
Running the Numbers
Dates: September 3-4, 2022
Editions: 1
Attendance: 40,000
Artists: 50+
MFW Beer Index: €6.50
Highest/Lowest Temperature: 24C/9C (75F/48F)
Reusable Cups? Yes
Free Water Stations? Yes
The Scene
The Venue
One of the highlights of Superbloom, the Munich Olympic Park is a fantastic spot to throw a festival. Located close to the city center of Munich, Superbloom is centered around a small lake surrounded by performance art and activities. The iconic Olympic Stage featured the major headliners while the Super Stage boasted more of that outdoor festival feeling with plenty of space and the indoor Bloom Stage showed off up-and-coming acts. The half-dozen smaller stages scattered across the park were stuffed with enough programming that you could skip the main acts and still have a full festival experience.
The Music
Superbloom is a genre jumping fest with pop acts like Norwegian singer and songwriter Sigrid mixing it up with indie rock from the pineapple loving Glass Animals and the crowd-pumping Kraftklub. The main stage featured hip-hop from Megan Thee Stallion and Macklemore before closing out each evening with a massive EDM banger – Calvin Harris on Saturday and David Guetta on Sunday. Belgian rap wonder, Stromae, returned to live festival performance after an absence of seven years and Rita Ora delivered one of the most fun sets of the weekend.
The Crowd
Organizers stated that about 50,000 people a day dropped into Superbloom, and I can say, it certainly felt like a mega-festival at times as the walkways could become quite congested. This was a mostly younger crowd, but also quite family-friendly with plenty of open space and activities for youngsters.
What We Loved
After a summer of mostly lackluster festival art, it was wonderful to see Superbloom invest in roving performers and specialty acts. I discovered a number of small surprises across the festival grounds like tiny stages, environmental talks, robots, and acrobats. My only regret is that with only a day and half to explore the festival, I felt like I missed quite a bit focusing my time on trying to catch the major headliners. I definitely recommend if you plan on attending this event, to arrive when the doors open at 10:30 am. There is plenty to keep you occupied.
What We Didn’t Love
A first year fest coming off a pandemic is not a recipe for smooth operations and Superbloom performed admirably – except when it came to the headliners. Thousands of us were locked out Olympic Stadium during Calvin Harris and I had to play my media card just to get into to see Macklemore on Sunday. Another low point was Years & Years being cancelled due to thunderstorms putting most of the festival on hold for nearly two hours on Saturday.
Music Highlights
Acts I Caught and the Unofficial Order in Which I Enjoyed Them
Click here to see Part #1 of our Superbloom artist photos
Click here to see Part #2 of our Superbloom artist photos
- Macklemore
- Rita Ora
- David Guetta
- Glass Animals
- Marc Rebillet
- Megan Thee Stallion
- Kraftklub
- Sigrid
- Tom Grennan
- Willow
Festival MVP: Macklemore
Macklemore came out strong and never let up in Olympic Stadium with the crowd going nuts for Downtown and Thrift Shop. I got to say, I didn’t think I was that much of a Macklemore fan, but dang, if this show wasn’t my favorite of my weekend.
Ready to Party: Rita Ora
Decked out in eye-popping neon Versace, newly married Rita Ora took to the stage in a dance-party storm of flurry.
Most Explosive: David Guetta
Fireballs! Smoke Cannons! Fireworks! Olympic Stadium was packed to the hilt for the final show of the festival and David Guetta delivered.
Keep Your Eye On: Marc Rebillet
The artist known as “Loop Daddy” to his fans exploded in popularity during the pandemic with his lockdown sets. Clad in his traditional short kimono robe, his set was an equal mix of bumping beats and comedic improv. In one Olympic-inspired nod, he invited audience members on stage to participate in “The Ass Olympics” – a backwards race across the stage with the first booty shaking ass winning gold.
German Debut: Megan Thee Stallion
When thunderstorms shut down the festival, it was a close call that we were ever going to see Megan Thee Stallion perform for her first time in Germany, but then the skies cleared into a gorgeous evening.
Stray Observations
Backup Dancers Take Center Stage
Pretty sure Macklemore’s trumpet player might be having more fun than him.
Midday Moon
Look just over the shoulder of the gravity defying woman on the right to catch a glimpse of the moon!
Outfit of the Weekend
Not entirely sure what’s happening here and loving it.
The Hideaway
Tucked away on the backside of the lake under shady trees was this super cool tiny stage.
Superbloom Speaks
I adored how the festival handled kilometers of fencing with these custom quirky messages.
Practical Info
What’s the weather like? After one of the most brutally hot summers, Munich provided welcome relief with chilly nights and pleasantly sunny days. The epic thunderstorms that came through on Saturday were not ideal, but the main stage had plenty of rain coverage and fans were allowed to bring in umbrellas.
What’s the prime hours for music? Like most German festivals, Superbloom kicks off early in the day with music starting around noon and winding down early at about 11:00 pm.
Where did you sleep? I spoke about this last week with Sunny Hill Tirana, but first year fests are a delight when it comes to finding a place to stay. Munich is a massive and popular German city, so lots of hotels, hostels, and apartments to choose from. I found a stellar deal using points at the Hilton Garden Inn, which while not in the most exciting place in the city, still kept me close to the action.
How do you get there? After an entire summer of non-stop festival transportation fails, leave it to the Germans to make travel logistics incredibly easy. For one thing, Superbloom ends when the expansive public transit of Munich is still running (I’m looking at you Madrid and Barcelona). There’s a subway stop about a 10-minute walk from the main gate, and while crowded, the public transit employees did an outstanding job of making sure it was safe and under control. Oh, and your ticket to the festival also included public transit.
Final Thoughts
At times, this almost felt like two festivals in one. You could fist bump your way to the front of a packed crowd at the main stages or just vibe out and spend a relaxing day in the park drinking beer and checking out cool bands. All first year fests have their issues, so if Superbloom can fix the problem with access to the headliners in the Olympic Stadium, I would have no problems recommending this fest to just about everyone. Personally, I’m already in for next year. Superbloom returns to Munich September 2-3, 2023.
