Reeperbahn Festival – Photo by Lisa Meyer
Germany’s largest club festival, Reeperbahn Festival, has become a fixed date in the calendars of music fans and music professionals from all around the world. Hamburg’s festival is in its ninth year now and will kick off next week (September 17th – 20th 2014). As every year Reeperbahn Festival will feature a comprehensive program of events that will surprise, delight, inform, provoke, pique curiosity, and bring people together for business and celebration. One year ago we talked with the festival’s founder and head Alexander Schulz about the concept and the history of Reeperbahn Festival. This year we met him again to talk about the changes, this year’s concert program.
This year will, for the first time ever, feature a fourth festival day. Last year the Wednesday was ‘tested’ and this year Reeperbahn Festival officially starts one day earlier. After being a sold-out festival over and over again there have been two opportunities: getting more locations on board and sticking with the concept of having three festival days or adding a fourth day. The decision to add Wednesday to the event was a quite easy one, tells Alexander Schulz: ‘It is about the atmosphere of the festival. We didn’t want to add more venues.’ At the same time it is again more. More decisions to make. Which of the many concerts should be visited? A decision every visitor has to make on a daily basis. ‘Of course it is a lot to chose. Since years we have a daily event with Ray Cookes, Ray’s Reeperbahn Revue. At the same time we start off with a daily journalist talk this year, where journalists will name their daily favorites. What we also introduce this year is our recommendation service, which syncs with your Facebook and Spotify likes and recommends what you might like. This hopefully makes it easier for our visitors to decide where they want to go and what they want to see.’
And what about the location changes? Reeperbahn Festival’s heart, the ESSO buildings including the Molotow, can’t be part of the festival anymore. What does this mean for the eventl? ‘Well… this is without any doubt a big loss for our festival. We gave it all to find the best possible solutions and add other good venues that help to keep the festival’s spirit and atmosphere alive. We really do hope that our temporary chance work out in the end.’
How would Alexander Schulz describe the musical program of Reeperbahn Festival to a deaf person? ‘With hands. I would try to explain in sign language that it all is about surprising the visitors with music they don’t know yet. Sadly I don’t speak sign language, but I would give it all.’
And what would be Alexander Schulz’s alternative job if he wouldn’t work in the music industry? ‘We have an exhibition at our festival that shows the artist’s profession they would have gone with if they wouldn’t have become musicians. In my case it would have been something outside… I think in the woods.’
NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION is looking forward to Reeperbahn Festival 2014, including its changes and its massive (positive) overload of everything… and so should you.
NBHAP’s recommendations:
BEN FROST, BLAENAVON, BLAUE BLUME, DRY THE RIVER, FERAL & STRAY, FJØRT, INTERGALACTIC LOVERS, JAAKKO EINO KALEVI, KADEBOSTANY, LAMBERT, MATULA, NAOMI PILGRIM, NEOV, NOVEMBER DECEMBER, OSCAR & THE WOLF, PHORIA, PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING, SEA CHANGE, SINKANE, TALISCO, TEARS & MARBLE, THE WHITE ALBUM, THE WYTCHES, TIGER AND WOODS, TRULS, XUL ZOLAR, YOUNG FATHERS
Line-Up:
257ERS, AISHA BURNS, AKU NARU, AKUA NARU, ALCOHOLIC FAITH MISSION, ALL THE LUCK IN THE WORLD, AMBER RUN, ÂME, ANGEL OLSEN, ANNA F., ANNENMAYKANTEREIT, ANTHONY CHORALE UND OLIVIA ANNA LIVKI, ARON PFEIL, ASTAIRRE, AUDIENCE KILLERS, BALBINA, BAZZOOKAS, BEN FROST, BENJAMIN NICKEL, BERNDSEN, BIG CHARLIE, BILDERBUCH, BLACK EYED DOG, BLAENAVON, BLAUE BLUME, BLONDE REDHEAD, BLOOD RED SHOES, BOKKA, BORED NOTHING, BRING THE MOURNING ON, BUTTERING TRIO, CARNIVAL YOUTH, CARSON MCHONE, CATS ON TREES, CHARLIE BOYER & THE VOYEURS, CHARLIE CUNNINGHAM, CHILDHOOD, CLAIRE, COLD SPECKS, COUSINS, DANIEL JAMES, DARK HORSES, DAVID DOUGLAS, DEARLY BELOVED, DEWOLFF, DIE HÖCHSTE EISENBAHN, DIE NERVEN, DJEDJOTRONIC, DOC DANEEKA, DRY THE RIVER, DYSE, EAVES, EGOTRONIC, EH440, EINAR STRAY ORCHESTRA, EINE WAND ZWEI ZEICHNER, ELIT SUMNER, ESBEN AND THE WITCH, EXCLUSIVE, EZRA FURMAN & THE BOYFRIENDS, FAMY, FAT WHITE FAMILY, FERAL & STRAY, FJØRT, FLOAT FALL, FLOOD OF RED, FRANCESCO YATES, GENGAHR, GINGERPIG, GOLDEN KANINE, GOSSLING, GROENLAND, HANNAH LOU CLARK, HEINRICH, HEISSKALT, HOLLY COOK, HOZIER, HUDSON TAYLOR, I AM GIANT, I HAVE A TRIBE, INDIANA, INTERGALACTIC LOVERS, INVSN, ISAIAH, JAAKKO EINO KALEVI, JACK GARRATT, JACKSON DYER, JAMES HERESEY, JARA, JENNIE ABRAHAMSON, JENS FRIEBE, JESPER MUNK, JESSE DAVIDSON, JF ROBITAILLE, JOHN COFFEY, JUDITH HOLOFERNES, JULES WENZEL & PAU QUINTANAJORNET, JULY TALK, KADAVAR, KADEBOSTANY, KAMP, KID SIMIUS, KILL IT KID, KIM CHURCHILL, KLAUS JOHANN GROBE, KLÔ PELGAG, KLUBS, KWABS, LAMBERT, LAY LOW, LEONIDEN, LIAM FINN, LONELY THE BRAVE, LOVE A, LUCA VASTA, MADS LANGER, MADSEN, MAHOGANY FROG, MALKY, MALLORY KNOX, MANOU, MANTAR, MANU DELAGO HANDMADE, MATULA, MAX JURY, MAXIM, MELANIE DE BIASIO, MINE, MO KENNEY, MONOMYTH, MONT OLIVER, MR. GALLE & JOSH, NAOMI PILGRIM, NATAS LOVES YOU, NAVARONE, NEOV, NICK HAKIM, NOVEMBER DECEMBER, OH BRIGHT SPARKS, OLIVER TANK, OLÖF ARNALDS, OSCAR & THE WOLF, OUM SHATT, PABLO NOUVELLE, PALE GREY, PARASITE SINGLE, PAULA & KAROL, PHOEBE KIDDO, PHORIA, PLAYGROUND ZER0, PRINS THOMAS, PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING, PURE FRUIT COMIC-BATTLE, PURPLE FERDINAND, RAE MORRIS, RAZZ, RHONDA, ROBIN SCHULZ, ROCOCODE, RODEO, RODRIGO AMARANTE, ROOSEVELT, RUSHDEN & DIAMOND, RÜFÜS, SAMARIS, SCHAFE & WÖLFE, SCNTNST, SEA CHANGE, SHAKING GOODSPEED, SIDNEY YORK, SINKANE, SKINNY LISTER, SKIP THE USE, SLOW ROLLING CAMERA, SPRING KING, STILL PARADE, SUPERFOOD, SWAY CLARKE II, SYLVAN ESSO, TALISCO, TALKING TO TURTLES, TAMAR ANTLER, TAYMIR, TEAM ME, TEARS & MARBLE, THE ANGELCY, THE BOHICAS, THE DEAF, THE DO, THE DURANGO RIOT, THE FABULOUS BIRD, THE JESSICA STUART FEW, THE JOHN STEEL SINGERS, THE MAJORITY SAYS, THE MISPERS, THE PEPPER POTS, THE RED HORSE REVELATION, THE SHANKS, THE SOUND POETS, THE SUBWAYS, THE WHITE ALBUM, THE WILD FEATHERS, THE WYTCHES, TIGER AND WOODS, TIM AKKERMAN, TINA DICO, TRAUMAHELIKOPTER, TRIANA PARK, TRIGGERFINGER, TRUCKFIGHTERS, TRULS, TÜSN, U3000, VIN BLANC / WHITE WINE, VISUAL SKIPPERS, WATSKY, WE ARE THE CITY, WE HAVE BAND, WILD SMILES, WOLF IN LOVELAND, WOODEN ARMS, WUNDERKINDER, XUL ZOLAR, YALTA CLUB, YEARS & YEARS, YOUNG FATHERS, YOUR FAVORITE ENEMIES