Wear A Mask! Don’t Dance!
Reeperbahn Festival is the biggest club festival in Europe. From 16th to 19th September, the n°1 showcase for upcoming artists took place under Corona-proof conditions for the first time. Every year, the festival showcases about 600 concerts in over 100 venues, but this year only 20 stages were allowed for only 8,000 visitors instead of the usual 50,000. The pandemic-proof edition of Reeperbahn Festival 2020, in its hybrid form (with live streams, online conference and analogue live shows) required more space per visitor to comply with specific hygiene guideline. The Festival Village on the Heiligengeistfeld which covers 30,000 square metres was open to only 1,300 people at the same time. Dots on the floor and a fenced-off audience in front of the XL stage at Spielbudenplatz marked the fixed standing areas. The staff made sure that there was no dancing and that the audience did only take their masks off when seated. Entry and exit had to be strictly controlled.
A Pandemic-Proof Honeymoon
Such an event was only possible in Hamburg thanks to a subsidy of €1.3 million that the festival received. The aim was to send an extremely important signal – culture is a fundamental part of our society and concerts can still take place! Certainly: a lot was missing. Seated Rock’n’Roll takes some getting used to, and with 80 instead of 1,000 fans in one of the biggest venues, Übel & Gefährlich, the festival atmosphere was slightly “different”. But experiencing live sound again made the audience smile after half a year of silence. The pandemic-proof edition of Reeperbahn Festival was an experiment that can be described as success.
14 gigmit Acts in the Festival Line-up
Playing at Reeperbahn Festival is a milestone for artists. The line-up of this year’s hybrid Reeperbahn Festival 2020 presented 14 gigmit acts: ACUA, Airy, Drens, Elena Rud, Janice Prix, Jinka, LONELY SPRING, Matija, Monako, Novaa, People Club, Tara Nome Doyle, Tuvaband and, of course, ÄTNA, who won the Anchor Award for best newcoming act.
The pandemic-proof festival has a big advantage for festival goers: you can watch the concerts from home via livestreams. And if you missed the livestream? Here are all live highlights of the gigmit acts at Reeperbahn Festival 2020 from the YouTube streams to the ARTE Concerts Mediathek:
ÄTNA & TUVABAND live @ Anchor Award 2020
ACUA live @ popNRW
Acua rented a room in an old boatshed where they invited the audience for a relaxed and psychedelic journey. Click here to see their gigmit Artist Page.
AIRY live @ Korea Spotlight
Psychedelic Britpop from South Korea! Seoul-based AIRY performed via livestream exclusively. Find out more here.
ELENA RUD and LONELY SPRING live @ Bavarian Export Session
Discover the passionate Pop-Punk from Lonely Spring (gigmit Artist Page here) and stunning “Melancholic Love Shit” from songwriter Elena Rud (gigmit Artist Page here) whose unique voice already ranks on world class level.
DRENS live @ Knust
DRENS, the German Wunderkinder Act rocked at Knust in front of a small Corona-compliant audience. Click here for the gigmit Artist Page.
JANICE PRIX live @ This Is: Westside Music Sweden
Independent Music, Major Sounds: the synthpop trio Janice Prix breaks boundaries and presents a true sound innovation from Sweden. Find the gigmit Artist Page here.
MATIJA live @ Festival Village
Standing in sunlight, MATIJA presented on the Fritz stage a touching live performance (even in the livestream). Here you can find the gigmit Artist Page.
MONAKO live @ Molotow Backyard
MONAKO, the quintet from Hamburg now living in Canada, meanders between slow down Indie and Dream-Pop in a mist of ethereal reverbs. Click here for the gigmit Artist Page.
NOVAA live @ Festival Village
Watch the live performance of NOVAA, Electronica Artist from Iceland. You find the corresponding gigmit Artist Page here.
JINKA live @ Knust
JINKA already worked together with BLVTH and describes her music as happy Trip Pop or Cyber Pop. Click here for the gigmit Artist Page.
TARA NOME DOYLE live @ Knust
TARA NOME DOYLE is another German act – this time from the field of Acoustic Pop / Folk. All booking info here on their gigmit Artist Page.
PEOPLE CLUB live @ Molotow Backyard
According to the girls and boys of the club, originally from Australia, USA, UK and New Zealand, it sounds like eating cherry ice cream with Nelson Mandela and Freddie Mercury on the beach of Zanzibar, including menthol cigarettes and starry skies. Click here and find out more on their gigmit Artist Page.
That was the pandemic-proof edition of Reeperbahn Festival 2020 – as a hybrid: live and streamed.
Listen to the gigmit Talents of the Pandemic-proof Reeperbahn Festival 2020 In Our Spotify Playlist
You want to bring your booking in the digital age?
Register as an artist or a promoter with gigmit now for free HERE!
