Waldbühne

Waldbühne, Berlin

The Waldbühne Berlin is a fantastic open-air stage in the Murellenschlucht valley close to the Olympiastadion of Berlin. More than 22,000 persons can attend concerts and other events there; the biggest outdoor stage I’ve ever seen. It was built in 1936 for the Olympic summer games following the design of a Greek theatre. The creation was initiated by Joseph Goebbels and the layout included a VIP box for Adolf Hitler. You can still today guess in which time it was built by looking at the artworks at the entrance gates.

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Posthalle

The Dropkick Murphys, Posthalle, Würzburg

The Posthalle is an amazing concert venue at the railway station of Würzburg, Germany. It is located in a former postal distribution center next to the railway tracks. The building was in use from 1970 to 1993 and then empty for fifteen years. In 2008 the concert location Posthalle was opened and hosts up to 200 concerts every year. Up to 2,800 visitors can join the many live events with this special industrial flair.

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Wo es beginnt

Madsen, Stadionsporthalle, Hannover

The COVID-19 pandemic created a special situation: for more than two and a half years concerts were shifted continuously into the future. We were always believing that next year everything will be fine and in addition to the concert tickets I had already bought I acquired new ones. In 2022 when everyone had the chance to get vaccinated and many people had already infected with variants of the virus that were at least less harmful, large concerts were possible again. And my calendar was full with concerts; starting with a performance of Madsen at the Stadionsporthalle of Hannover.

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musa

If you’re living in Göttingen it is impossible to not know what the musa is. The biggest sociocultural center of the region has a history already dating back to the year 1977 and it is located since 1990 in the former military bakery at the Hagenweg, west of river Leine. This part of Göttingen is not the most popular one to live at, but the musa was always a good reason to cross the river and enjoy concerts there.

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The MuK

Kettcar, Musik- und Kongresszentrum, Lübeck

If you give a place a name as long as Musik- und Kongresshalle then it’s pretty normal that the locals will start to abbreviate. For them this concert hall and event centre opened in 1994 is simply ‘die MuK‘. Philharmonic concerts use a special room within the building, for other concerts the stage is placed in a giant foyer. A multifunctional building saves money but everything feels a little bit improvised: the windows closed with cloth hanging from the ceiling and mobile barriers (called Hamburger Gitter) needed to ensure a proper entrance check for the crowd.

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Große Freiheit

Große Freiheit 36, Hamburg

The Große Freiheit (lit. ‘large freedom‘) is a side street of the Reeperbahn at Hamburg, Germany. It goes back to the 17th century when a special economic zone (the ‘Freiheit‘) was created here – giving the inhabitants freedom concerning crafts and religion. But the street became much more famous later when being part of the red-light zone with striptease clubs named Safari, Colibri or Salambo. Later it became a place for music; the Beatles played their first concerts at the Star-Club.

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SO36

SO36, Berlin

The SO36 is a legendary club and concert venue in the city quarter Kreuzberg of Berlin, Germany – named after the former postal zone of the area. A place I really like; in some parts to small and narrow, but with good sound and always full of awesome people. The decorations there directly show you that this dark place is a home for left-wing people and it is maybe the only concert hall I know where you get bottled beer during events. It feels a little bit strange to emphasize this – but it feels good and like a travel back in time.

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Schlachthof

Les Barbeaux, Kulturzentrum Schlachthof, Kassel

Within Kassel, Germany, you will find different smaller concert venues which give you the chance to listen to a wide range of bands – newcomers and bands with a smaller audience. One of them is the Schlachthof in the city quarter Nord-Holland close to the university. At this location, there was once the slaughterhouse of the city until it was moved to Waldau in 1973. The buildings have been destructed and the Elisabeth-Knipping-Schule, a school providing vocational education, was built. Only the gatehouses remained and are now the home of the community centre and concert hall.

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