Party DJ Gelsenkirchen · Events since 2004
Your party DJ for celebrations between Schalke, Buer and the canal bank.
I am Michael Zimmermann and I mix your birthday in Gelsenkirchen live, from the first guest to the last song. From over 1,450 events in 25 years I know when a party takes off and when it stalls. You celebrate, I take care of the sound and stay in the background. beats per micha: Michael Zimmermann, party DJ, available in Gelsenkirchen and the surrounding area.
“We couldn't have wished for a better DJ.”
– Ben Kampen · Google reviewThe locations. The moments. My music.
You get exactly one shot. I had 1,450 to practise.
Kept the dance floor going until the very end - a great evening.
Stefanie Grübl
Party · Google review
Celebrating in Gelsenkirchen
A Ruhr-area pub in Buer, a garden party in Resse or a hall by the Emscher: every place sounds different, and I shape my proposal for your party accordingly. Five addresses show how different your birthday in Gelsenkirchen can look: arena, zoo, castle courtyard, canal stage and observation tower. Each one notes what I keep in mind for the technical side.
A party in a corner pub, near the zoo or in a castle courtyard each calls for different equipment, and that decides how big my setup will be. First tell me the venue and the approximate number of your guests.
If your party is at home, I need little space: a compact set that I carry in myself and a socket nearby. I am ready about 40 minutes before the first guest.
The arena opened on 13 August 2001 and stands on the Berger Feld in the Erle district. For a Schalke fan it is the natural thought when it comes to celebrating. You can find out there whether the operator hosts private birthdays; after that we talk about power and routes.
The zoo has existed since 1949, formerly under the name Ruhr-Zoo, and today has the worlds of Alaska, Africa and Asia on about 31 hectares. It is run by the Stadtwerke Gelsenkirchen. Whether rooms are open there for a children's or family party only the venue can say.
The Renaissance castle from the 16th century has a covered inner courtyard for events and a restaurant in the cellar. You settle with the city, as the owner, whether a birthday is possible there. After that I plan space and power for the sound system.
According to Wikipedia, the open-air stage by the canal is used mainly in spring and summer. For an outdoor birthday party we need a rain plan before the invitations go out. The operator can say whether the space is available for private parties.
The 103-metre tower carries the Herkules by Markus Lüpertz. The website lists a panoramic terrace with a view; whether it can be hired you settle with the operator. For a small group above the rooftops, that would be a special setting.
I looked up construction years, rooms and occasions on Wikipedia and on the operators' websites (as of October 2026). Whether your date is free and how many guests fit in can only be answered by the venue itself.
Who I am
You invite in Gelsenkirchen, I take care of the sound. I learned my craft in the nightclub, later private and corporate parties were added, until over 1450 events had come together. A party does not work with a rigid list, but when someone watches the room.
From classics and fresh tracks I cut edits so that friends, family and colleagues are on the dance floor at the same time. You send me requests and no-gos beforehand, so you can party along yourself on the night. If you like, I will explain beforehand how the evening runs in phases.
How it works
Send me the date and venue, and I will get back to you within a day. Then follow the video call, arrangements and the setup before the party.
Request a dateI reply to your enquiry within a day. In a short video call you tell me about your birthday, then you receive your quote.
With the booking you receive my mobile number, because WhatsApp is the quickest way to sort out most things. About a week before the party we discuss favourite songs, no-gos and the schedule.
I am in the room before the first guests arrive: setup takes about 40 minutes, then a sound check. Whatever the venue still needs to know, I sort out with you or the staff, so nobody has to search on the night.
Calm lounge music plays as guests arrive, so that they find their way into conversation. For you as the birthday guest of honour I choose a track of your own, and likewise for special moments.
Programme items get their music too: quiet during the meal, a microphone for speeches, fitting pieces for games, surprises and the cake cutting, so every moment has its own sound.
As soon as people start dancing, I take over completely, watch the guests and keep adjusting the set until the last song has faded.
My services
I mix your birthday in Gelsenkirchen entirely live, whether for ten friends or the whole family.
01
What gets played is only decided on the night, for you and your guests, and it grows with the mood. Tracks from several decades bring even those who start out on the sidelines onto the floor. Whether it's a living room, a garden house or a club hall, I carry my compact setup in myself. When a speech or slideshow starts, I turn the music down right away.
Request a date →
02Safeguard If I fall ill, a colleague from my network steps in, on the terms we have agreed.
More occasionsWedding in Gelsenkirchen →Corporate event in Gelsenkirchen →
Voices from real events
60 Google reviews. 100% recommendation. Here is a small selection.
5.0
Your service package
At your party a disco classic can sit next to a current hit. My planning begins with your first message and ends with the last track.
I stay in the background, shape the set according to the mood and only pick up the microphone for speeches and parts of the programme.
Add-on
LED uplights colour your room in the colour you like, and on request run in time with the music.
Enquire →
Add-on
At the photo station everyone helps themselves, props are ready, all pictures end up in an online gallery, and on request it prints copies on the spot too.
Enquire →
Recommendation
You collect your guests' phone photos conveniently through Feierblick, an external service that you book yourself.
View Feierblick →
I bring lighting, two wireless microphones, a controller from Pioneer or Denon and speakers from RCF or Electro-Voice.
Add-on
The greetings your guests speak into the retro telephone I later turn into an audio file for you.
Enquire →You will hear from me the same day or the next, and I am personally available right up to the celebration.
We go through your music requests beforehand, and I take care of everything that needs to be settled with the venue.
Open Format
Current hits and classics from many decades sit side by side in my sets, and we go through your requested tracks together beforehand.
Setup takes about 40 minutes, the system needs roughly 2.5 by 1.5 metres, and I clear up myself after the party. About 2.5 m of width and 1.5 m of depth are enough, and under normal conditions (car close to the setup spot, no stairs or lifts) setup takes around 40 minutes.
You can add lighting, a photo station, live music and an audio guest book if you need them, and I take care of the coordination.
Request a date →Frequently asked questions
This is what hosts ask me most often, and if your question isn't among them, just give me a call.
+49 176 700 580 27Yes, on request one or two fan songs to sing along to, which you choose beforehand. I tune the rest of the evening to your whole group, so guests with no club ties stay on the floor too.
A table of about 2.5 by 1.5 meters and one socket are enough for me. Tell me beforehand where the bar and the entrance are, so the way stays clear for your guests.
That works if I separate the sections. Calm songs for the older guests play at the start, later the young people's music takes over, and you decide beforehand what should not be played.
Send me the schedule, I turn the music down when the show begins, and afterwards I bring the mood back with a well-known song.
Let me know as soon as you have set the date. Spring Saturdays go quickly, and on the day of your message you will hear from me whether I am free.
Listen & Watch
Even more options
If you want the evening to offer more than a DJ set, saxophone, vocals, violin or percussion add live to my mix.
01
Live over the mix.
On request, a saxophonist from my network joins the sound at a moment of your choosing and plays over my mix.
Available on request
02
Live band feeling.
On request, a singer can perform a track of your choice over my mix, for example as a surprise for the birthday guest of honor.
Available on request
03
Pure energy.
On request, percussion gives the set a boost that a playlist can't deliver and gets even quiet guests moving.
Available on request
04
Classical meets beat.
On request, a violinist plays a quiet passage between two songs, matched to your party and to the mood in the room.
Available on request
05
An evening without a break.
For the reception or dinner, an ensemble can play lounge, jazz or pop, from a duo to a quartet. Afterwards I start my set without a break, so the live part and the DJ part add up to one evening.
Duo to quartet · Available on request
Tap ▶ once more: your browser needs a direct tap for the first sound.
Clicking here or on a mix loads the player; data is transferred to Mixcloud (UK) in the process. Details in the privacy policy. Mixes are streamed via Mixcloud · Mixcloud is GEMA- and GVL-licensed
More sets on MixcloudHave a listen
Instead of long explanations, you can listen in on three live recordings of real parties, unpolished and with my own edits, only this is not a sample evening, because your set comes from your guests.
Setlists
Not a request list, but real set lists from past birthday parties - song by song, in the order they were actually played.
Real set list
An excerpt from a real evening, from the opening to the wind-down. The time jumps in between are intentional; you will find the complete setlist on the detail page.
@beats_per_michabeats per micha on Instagram
Service area
I also plan birthdays with you in Gladbeck, Herten and Bottrop, and more places in the northern Ruhr area are listed below.
You tell me the date, venue and approximate number of guests, and we find out which music is yours: favorite albums, hits from your youth, tracks that should never play. If spontaneous requests come up during the evening, I decide when they fit.
Map section around Gelsenkirchen showing Essen, Bochum, Oberhausen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Herne, Bottrop, Recklinghausen, Witten, Gladbeck, Castrop-Rauxel, Herten, Hattingen. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Transparency
Hours of nothing but Ballermann and schlager? A few hits of that kind can work well at a birthday party when the mood is right, which is why they have their place with me too. Building a whole evening on them is not my line, though. I'm also not your DJ for techno with no connection to the crowd, for a list ticked off title by title, or for festivals with several stages. There are colleagues who are really good at that and love it; nothing against them, it's simply not my territory.
What I do is live mixing for guests who want an evening with feeling: clean transitions, the right title at the right moment, more than letting a playlist run. That is why I tell you openly beforehand what doesn't suit me, so that you aren't disappointed on the night.
If that doesn't suit your party, I'm not the right DJ, and that's fine. If it does, let's talk.
Contact
Write to me about what you have in mind, and it becomes an evening your guests will remember. For a milestone birthday, ask early; for a small party, a few weeks are often enough.
How would you like to enquire?
Both are non-binding – you can add more at any time.
From the blog
Honest answers about party, planning and music - from over 1,450 events I've been part of.
