Lennestadt.
Popular artists travel to Elspe in September for the third edition of the “Indian Summer”. From chart pop to Rammstein tributes, everything is included.
An eventful three years lie behind the team of the “Indian Summer” festival. The planning for a new multi-day music event in Sauerland originally started in January 2020, a few weeks later many things had to be thrown overboard again due to the onset of the pandemic. However, a hygiene concept for the open-air stage in the Elspe district of Lennestadt was quickly drawn up, well-known acts such as the DJ duo Ge Stört aber geil, ex-luxury noise singer Jini Meyer or the tribute band We Rock Queen were ultimately able to perform.
After another edition (limited to just over 1400 spectators due to Corona regulations) the following year, there was a break in 2022. Now the legendary Karl May Festival (June 17 – September 3) and the “Indian Summer” (September 15 – 23) will follow one another for the first time, without restrictions. The visitor capacity is now 3800 people, including 600 seats. “We observed the market situation last year, negotiated for a long time and decided quite late to revive the ‘Indian Summer’,” says co-organizer Kim Ludwig.
“Indian Summer”: Brass pop to start
Fans of a wide variety of music genres will be addressed again, a stylistically diverse line-up had already proven itself in 2020 and 2021. The third “Indian Summer” was originally supposed to start with the indie poppers Jeremias, but the Hanoverians canceled their show again due to overlaps in the tour schedule. The Bonn brass poppers Querbeat are now opening the festival on September 15 (tickets approx. €49), with rapper Majan on the open-air stage as the opening act.
In the field of pop hits, Ben Zucker (September 16, from around €64) is now one of the most popular performers. The 39-year-old, who launched his debut album “Na und?!” in 2017, promises “the best of five years” for his performance in Elspe.
Clueso has been around much longer. Around the turn of the millennium, the Erfurt native released his first CDs, today he can look back on several top chart positions and hits such as “Chicago” or the Fanta 4 collab “Together”. He comes to Elspe on September 17th (from around €59). Singer/songwriter Johannes Oerding (September 22, from around €69) is still on an indoor tour (we reported) and will be returning to the country’s stages for several open-air shows in the summer.
Dodgeball make for fire
And if all this is too trendy for you, you can look forward to the grand finale with dodgeball on September 23 (from around €39). The sextet was founded in 2008 and has been playing Rammstein songs true to the original ever since. In keeping with the role models, an elaborate stage design and the not exactly economical use of pyrotechnics are part of the performance of the group around singer René started.
In any case, Kim Ludwig speaks of a “good advance sales start that speaks for itself”. If you want to see one or more of the five concerts, you shouldn’t hesitate too long before buying a ticket.
“Indian Summer”, 15.-23.9. Elspe open-air stage, Zur Naturbühne 1, Lennestadt. For more information and tickets, go to indiansummer-elspe.de.
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