Find the perfect Oktoberfest DJ for your beer festival

The music in a proper Oktoberfest tent follows a strict daily arc, and a DJ who knows it is worth seeking out. In the big Munich tents on the Theresienwiese, only traditional brass band music is allowed during the day, and since the 2005 'quiet Oktoberfest' reform the afternoon volume is capped at 85 decibels to keep the atmosphere family friendly. After 6pm the house bands switch to high-energy party music with electric instruments and the tents erupt into bench-dancing singalongs. A good Oktoberfest DJ mirrors that same build: gentle oompah warmers and schlager earlier on, then a steady climb into party anthems once the evening kicks off. Oompah, by the way, is German Blaskapelle brass band music and not Polka, which is Czech and Polish in origin and leans on the accordion. Brief your DJ on when your crowd peaks so the set lands at full energy at exactly the right moment, not an hour too early.

The heartbeat of any Oktoberfest set is 'Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit', the toasting song that tent bands repeat roughly two to three times an hour to cue the crowd to raise their steins and chant 'Oans, Zwoa, G'suffa'. Around that ritual, the best Oktoberfest DJs weave modern Wiesn hits such as Andreas Gabalier's 'Hulapalu', DONIKKL's 'Fliegerlied (So a schöner Tag)', Die Draufgänger's 'Cordula Grün' and Helene Fischer's 'Atemlos durch die Nacht'. They mix in guaranteed international singalongs like Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline', John Denver's 'Country Roads', Robbie Williams' 'Angels', DJ Ötzi's 'Hey Baby' and Nena's '99 Luftballons', plus Munich classics like the Spider Murphy Gang's 'Skandal im Sperrbezirk'. On the final night, the Hacker-Pschorr tent traditionally closes with 'Sierra Madre' while guests wave sparklers. Because German bands report every track to the rights society GEMA, there is even a published annual Wiesn Hits list, so ask your DJ which current favourites they plan to drop.