Reeperbahn Festival at its end: Strongboi awarded | NDR.de – Culture – Music

by Jennifer Philipp

For four days, the Reeperbahn Festival 2024 offered around 800 program items in 80 venues. This includes 480 concerts by 450 acts from over 30 nations, 40 readings, live podcasts and exhibitions. Around 40,000 visitors plus 4,000 trade visitors have been celebrating together here since Thursday. And the highlight comes at the end. After all six acts nominated for the coveted young talent award gave their performances in front of the audience and jury over the last two days of the festival, the jurors Emily Kokal, Julia Stone, Tayla Parx and Tim Bendzko announced Strongboi as the winner at the celebratory Anchor Award Show on Saturday evening.

Diverse shows by newcomers as part of the awards ceremony

Shortly after 6 p.m., the presenter duo Tarik Tesfu and Melissa Khalaj welcomed the invited guests to the St. Pauli Theater. All six nominated newcomers then appeared once again and demonstrated what a difficult task the jury had to face.

Rocker Kässy from Austria creates a new futuristic dark pop sound that she presents authentically. “She knows who she is,” says jury member Emily Kokal, praising the stylish newcomer's performance.

The Mongolian jazz folk singer Enji performs in a chamber ensemble alongside double bass and guitar. She breathes, hums and jazzes into the microphone with emotion. The Munich resident fills the theater with her extraordinary aura.

Pop singer Beth McCarthy delivers a perfect show

British pop singer Beth McCarthy delivers a fantastic show with her catchy tune “Good Bi,” which starts off quietly and then becomes a rocking sensation. The 27-year-olds clearly enjoy having the audience.

The Australian R'n'B musician Milan Ring accompanies her singing with a looper and two guitars. The sound engineer also delivers vocally. A feat of concentration that shows little joy in playing.

Strongboi frontwoman Alice Phoebe Lou lets the music carry her across the stage with ease. “Heavenly dreamy” is how the jury describes the chilled music, which seems to make the audience forget everything. From the audience, it feels a bit like sitting in the hallway at a shared apartment party. This strong “sense of community” within the band has not gone unnoticed by the jury either.

Body positivity with Moonchild

Moonchild Sanelly is committed to body positivity.

At the end of the nominated acts, South African musician Moonchild Sanelly provides a musical bang, dancing to her loud bass in a tight latex suit. As a representative of body positivity, she has become a role model and has 580,000 followers on Instagram.

At 7:30 p.m. the time has come. Tayla Parx reads the laudation and reveals that Strongboi has won the coveted award. The singer staggers to the stage, with the band members behind her. In addition to the trophy, Strongboi receives a voucher worth 20,000 euros for technology. Strongboi will also be able to use a tour bus on their next tour. Lou and keyboardist Ziv Yamin visibly entered the stage. “I'm a little shaky,” says the young singer as she holds the golden trophy in her hands. “It's a great honor!”

The party continues on the Reeperbahn

The Hamburg band Tonbandgerät attracts the audience to the open-air stage at Spielbudenplatz, while a few meters away Wavvyboi performs at Docks.
Meanwhile, a much more intimate situation is developing between hoodies, hats, scarves and other fan articles in the FC St. Pauli fan shop between “Alles deren Schuld” and their spectators. In the sports shop, the audience almost steps on the feet of the band from Hamburg and Lüneburg. “I will break your heart” sings the former lead singer between hoodies. Otherwise you can get closer to the stage. But you can't see much if you're not right at the front.

Bushida raps in Moondoo

German rapper Bushida is on stage at Moondoo. A DJ has set up behind her to provide her with electronic sounds. Bushida greets the audience and is happy that so many have come. It is difficult to spot the rapper in the dark club. In addition, Bushida is on stage in streetwear. She is wearing loose trousers, a top and a vest, her hair up and glasses. More understatement is not possible. “Follow me on platforms,” ​​she asks the crowd and begins her entertaining show. Understatement is cult. She complains about racism, depression and sexism to the very good danceable sounds and dances popping to them.

The young audience celebrates Kasi at Spielbudenplatz

Rapper Kasi especially attracts young audiences.

The next act is scheduled for 10 p.m. on the open-air stage at Spielbudenplatz. Hip-hopper Kasimir Herbst, alias Kasi from Frankfurt, is awaited by his young fans. When he isn't there at two past ten, the first teenagers start calling for him. The crowd roars as the technology responds and music starts playing. False alarm. Kasi is still a long way off. After another three minutes and increasingly loud complaints, the boy with the hat comes out. He started with “Immatriculiert” and the crowd, who know the lyrics by heart, celebrates their idol. It continues with a break-up song. Kasi's lyrics tell of everyday worries and heartbreak. His target group is delighted.

Stereotype at Angie's

There is also pomp in St. Pauli. In Angie's, dark brown reading sofas stand in front of dark blue walls with golden highlights. Heavy velvet curtains provide a noble sense of comfort, chandeliers and mirrors with gold-colored frames underline the atmosphere. The stage, on which another musical highlight will soon be performed, is small. The room in front of it is well filled. When the Iranian duo Stereotype takes its place, metallic electronic sounds reminiscent of horror film music can be heard. The singer Meshcut sings in a deep voice. Blue backlighting prevents the artists' faces from being recognized. Strobe lights flashing into the audience create further discomfort. When the song ends, you can hear Meshcut's soft female voice: “We are so excited. All the way from Tehran we have come… Thank you, Reeperbahn Festival.”

Then the duo's dark techno show continues. In their music, they break with images of female stereotypes, as many artists did this year. The Reeperbahn Festival 2024 was able to build on the debates of recent years, portray diversity and build one or two bridges between genres. It became clear that the new generation of music is rebelling against conformity, boundaries and norms. The result is worthy of all praise.

More information

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