She’s an icon: Patti Smith! We celebrate the double jubilee of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) and Arena Vienna, 75 and 50 years old respectively, with a concert by the ‘godmother of punk’ and her current band. Patti Smith has been an inspiration across generations, as a cult figure of punk, as a rock poet and as a fighter for justice. Her legendary concerts, during which she becomes as one with her fans, are an expression of her unbridled passion. She almost seems like a preacher, a shaman, but instead of making promises of salvation, she is providing food for thought – as well as the necessary spark of anger. Patti Smith – poetic, powerful, punk – serves up more than just her greatest hits at her concerts, giving deeper insights into her artistic oeuvre and her impressive diversity. With her songs’ timeless themes of life and death, spirituality and justice, as well as her fascinating stage persona, Patti Smith is – at over 75 years old – still one of the most remarkable voices of our time.

A joint project of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna and Arena Wien