Chiemsee Reggae Summer replaces Capleton with Mr. Vegas after visa issues

Chiemsee Reggae Summer has already sold out, and the festival’s latest twist is a late lineup swap that drops Capleton and puts Mr. Vegas into the Saturday night main-stage slot. The 10,000-ticket batch was gone by late May, but the bigger story for reggae fans is how quickly a sold-out bill can still shift when visa problems hit an international act.

The festival’s official statement did not dress up the change. Capleton cancelled because of what organizers called “self-inflicted visa problems,” and they said he had had “almost a year” to deal with the paperwork. The language was even sharper in German, where the festival called the situation “Maximum Disrespect!” Mr. Vegas was then announced as the short-notice replacement.

That change does not gut the draw. Chiemsee Reggae Summer returns to Übersee am Chiemsee after 10 years away, and the 2026 edition runs June 26-28. The bill still stretches across roots, dancehall and crossover territory, with Friday’s main stage listing Bradley’s H, Macka B & Roots Ragga Band, Burning Spear, Spice and Marteria. Saturday also features Anthony B, Lila Iké, Patrice and Neville Staple from The Specials before Mr. Vegas steps in at 22:30. Sunday closes with Blaskapelle Übersee-Feldwies, Ky-Mani Marley and Dub Invaders among others.

The timetable makes the swap easy to place: Mr. Vegas is set for the main stage on Saturday, June 27, at 22:30, with Neville Staple at 20:30 and Silly Walks Discotheque following at 23:45. Friday runs from Bradley’s H at 16:00 through Marteria at 22:30, while Sunday starts at 10:30 with Blaskapelle Übersee-Feldwies and moves on to Ky-Mani Marley at 12:30 and Dub Invaders at 14:00.

For ticket holders, the practical side of the weekend was already set. The festival said it was “practically sold out” on May 27, when only Sunday day tickets and some Almdorado inventory remained, and by June 6 it had posted the site map, set times and Almdorado program. It also pushed train access from Munich and Salzburg, with hourly daytime service to Übersee, free shuttles from the station and parking included in the ticket price. The venue address is Almfischer 3 in Übersee, with drivers told to use the Grabenstätt exit.

So the festival kept its heavyweight status even while losing Capleton. A sold-out Chiemsee Reggae Summer still has the kind of bill that can absorb a last-minute blow, and Mr. Vegas now carries the Saturday night slot that Capleton left behind.