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Whether Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin: In Mike Kuhlmann’s studio they await their return to the Jahrhunderthalle. Mike Kuhlmann © Mike Kuhlmann
Whether Scorpions, Judas Priest, Simple Minds, James Blunt or Nina Chuba: concerts for every taste are on the agenda again in 2024. An exhibition in the Century Hall looks back into the history of rock’n’roll
The past two years have been catastrophic in many respects, given wars, crises, the shift to the right, climate change and the aftermath of Corona. But musically they could be heard. 2022 in particular was a fantastic year for concerts, as a number of bands made up for tours that were canceled due to the pandemic. After the long virus-induced silence, the music world seemed to literally explode on stages everywhere.
After that, things continued a few steps less brilliantly, but 2023 was also peppered with highlights and surprises. Greats and legends from rock, pop, punk, metal, hip-hop and alternative filled the region’s concert halls and arenas: The great Peter Gabriel graced Frankfurt with old and new songs, Elton John sang Farewell, Depeche Mode brought the Waldstadion to the Waldstadion on two evenings in a rush, Harry Styles too. Iron Maiden raged in the festival hall, Robbie Williams entertained the audience, Anastacia and Patti Smith no less, and Guns n’ Roses emerged very abruptly from obscurity. Not to forget Herbert Grönemeyer with a new album and Peter Maffay at the Hessentag.
This year it hums and rumbles even more gently, at least when it comes to the density of superstars and veterans – some of whom still stop off in and around Hesse. The 80s synth-pop band OMD, for example (January 30th), singer-songwriter James Blunt (March 14th), the cult metallers Judas Priest together with Uriah Heep and Saxon (March 24th), Manfred Mann’s Earthband (March 26th), the Simple Minds (April 12th), shock rockers Alice Cooper (July 4th), The Hooters (July 15th), New Model Army (July 21st), the Italian rock bard Zucchero (July 24th ), the project The Smile by Radiohead leader Thom Yorke (August 20th), the Hanoverian hard rock masters the Scorpions (September 20th) and ex-Eurythmics half Dave Stewart (November 26th).
All in all, the 2024 concert year is definitely going well, but seems to be returning to pre-Corona normal levels. Or? Moritz Jaeschke, managing director of the Frankfurter Jahrhunderthalle, sums up that the concert landscape will have largely recovered from the pandemic as early as 2023. “2022 was of course the big catch-up year.” Namely for concerts for which tickets had already been purchased in 2019. “There were people who still had ten tickets hanging on the fridge when it started again.” Therefore, only a few new tickets were bought in 2022.
In addition, the audience was initially reserved; several concerts had around a third fewer guests than usual. However, concerns that this trend would continue have not been confirmed. Ticket business has been going well again since Christmas 2022. Now that the big ones have finished their tours, the Jahrhunderthalle, whose dome hall can accommodate up to 5,000 spectators, is benefiting from the slightly less big ones. “In any case, we expect a fantastic concert year in 2024,” says Jaeschke. “And because everyone started small, we continue to try to give up-and-coming bands a stage.” For example, with formats like the Music Sneak in the cozy Jahrhunderthalle club. From Wednesday onwards, the focus will be on paintings – but they have a lot to do with music.
Only a few houses are as closely intertwined with the history of rock and pop as Frankfurt’s Jahrhunderthalle. Some even celebrate it as the birthplace of rock’n’roll in Germany. Shortly after its opening 61 years ago, in January 1963, the organizer duo Lippmann and Rau founded the first club scene in the west of Frankfurt, and in the following decades the “Who’s Who” of music ennobled the iconic domed building. Janis Joplin gave her only German concert in April 1969, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Ray Charles, James Brown, Frank Zappa, Grateful Dead, Tina Turner, Johnny Cash and many, many more were there.
Concert calendar 2024
From small gigs to stadium concerts, from Wiesbaden to Aschaffenburg, from Marburg to Bensheim: in the center of Hesse and around it, concerts of all genres and for every taste will be offered again in 2024. We have put together a selection in an annual overview.
January
Wizo on January 20th, Wiesbaden slaughterhouse
Ian Paice on January 28th, Colos Hall Aschaffenburg
James Arthur on January 30th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
Heinz Rudolf Kunze on January 30th, Alte Oper Frankfurt
OMD on January 30th, Offenbach town hall
February
Dirty Sound Magnet on February 7th, Colos Hall Aschaffenburg
Wishbone Ash on February 8th, Colos Hall Aschaffenburg
Giant Rooks on February 11th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
Nelson Müller and band on February 17th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
Luciano on February 23rd, Festhalle Frankfurt
David Coverdale on February 23rd, Colos Hall Aschaffenburg
March
Barclay James Harvest on March 2nd, Rheingoldhalle Mainz
Strong am 8.3., Zoom Frankfurt
James Blunt on March 14th, Festhalle Frankfurt
Hans Zimmer on March 15th, Festhalle Frankfurt
Judas Priest on March 24th (sold out), Festhalle Frankfurt
Bushido on March 25th, Festhalle Frankfurt
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band on March 26th, Colos Hall Aschaffenburg
Leony am 30.3., Zoom Frankfurt
Underworld on March 30th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
April
Tom Odell on April 1st, Festhalle Frankfurt
Scooter on April 4th, Festhalle Frankfurt
Andreas Kümmert on April 5th, Scheuer Idstein
Fletcher on April 7th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
Montez on April 10th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
Fiddler’s Green on April 11th, Wiesbaden slaughterhouse
Simple Minds on April 12th, Festhalle Frankfurt
Constantine Wecker am 13.4., Congress-Park Hanau
Santiano on April 23rd, Festhalle Frankfurt
Rea Garvey on April 25th, Festhalle Frankfurt
Max Mutzke on April 26th, Batschkapp Frankfurt
Rodgau Monotones on April 26th, Scheuer Idstein
Mark Forster on April 28th, Festhalle Frankfurt
May
Fischer-Z on May 3rd, Colos Hall Aschaffenburg
You are Chuba on May 10th (sold out), Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
Crane on May 17th, Rind Rüsselsheim
Sasha on May 17th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
Marius Müller-Westernhagen on May 20th, Festhalle Frankfurt
Apache 207 on May 26th and 27th, Festhalle Frankfurt
Nickelback on May 28th, Festhalle Frankfurt
Mythical on May 28th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
June
Troye Sivan on June 17th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
Five Finger Death Punch on June 18th, Festhalle Frankfurt
Cluseo on June 28th, Mainz Citadel
July
Nile Rodgers & Chic on July 2nd, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt (summer meadow)
Alice Cooper on July 4th, Landgrave’s Castle Butzbach
Silvermoon on July 13th, Mainz Citadel
The Hooters on July 15th, Colos Hall Aschaffenburg
Ronan Keating on July 16th, Mainz Citadel
Peter Maffay am 18.7., Waldstadion Frankfurt
Roland Kaiser am 20.7., Waldstadion Frankfurt
New Model Army on July 21st, Marburg Castle Park
Max Giesinger on July 23rd, Kurhaus Wiesbaden
Alvaro Soler on July 24th, Kurhaus Wiesbaden
Sugar on July 24th, Mainz Citadel
The BossHoss on July 26th, Mainz Citadel
Constantine Wecker on July 28th, Hayn Castle, Dreieich
August
The Smile on August 20th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
September
Götz Wiedmann on September 4th, Wiesbaden slaughterhouse
Lea on September 10th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
Ayliva on September 18th, Festhalle Frankfurt
July on September 15th, Batschkapp Frankfurt
Scorpions on September 20th, Festhalle Frankfurt
October
Chris de Burgh on October 19th, Kurhaus Wiesbaden
Mighty Oaks on October 19th, Darmstadt State Theater
Max Mutzke am 20.10., Central station Darmstadt
Nico Santos on October 28th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
November
Guano Apes on October 8th, Batschkapp Frankfurt
Paddy Goes to Holyhead on November 8th, Scheuer Idstein
Dave Stewart on November 26th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
BAP on November 28th, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
Selig am 28.11., Central station Darmstadt
Spider Murphy Gang on November 30th, Batschkapp Frankfurt
December
The fantastic Four on December 2nd, Festhalle Frankfurt
Extrabreit on December 6th, Colos Hall Aschaffenburg
Deichkind on December 9th, Festhalle Frankfurt
Cro on December 13th, Festhalle Frankfurt
Rodgau Monotones on December 14th, Colos Hall Aschaffenburg
Trettmann on December 16th, Century Hall
Now an exhibition is putting this glorious era in the spotlight and bringing numerous legends back to the Centennial Hall – even if only on screens. Under the title “We are Rock’n’Soul”, paintings by the Frankfurt artist Mike Kuhlmann will pay homage to the stars and idols, those living and those who died far too early, until mid-March. 18 original images are presented, four portraits, namely those of Janis Joplin, Stones guitarist Keith Richards, Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, come from the collection of the Frankfurter Kunsthalle Ludwig. “I have painted the 14 other paintings since the summer for the ‘We are Rock’-n’Soul’ exhibition,” answers Kuhlmann when asked by FR. Apart from Mick Jagger and John Lennon, almost all of the more than 30 musicians depicted would have once played in the Jahrhunderthalle.
The exhibition
“We are Rock’n’Soul” with 18 pictures by Mike Kuhlmann will open with a vernissage on Wednesday, January 24th, 7 p.m., in the Frankfurter Jahrhunderthalle club, Pfaffenwiese 301. The curator of the show is Klaus Reichert from the Kunsthalle Ludwig.
The exhibition can be visited until mid-March during events in the Centennial Hall Club. It will also be open and accessible free of charge on Sunday, January 28th and Sunday, March 10th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. myk
Kuhlmann’s favorite image from the show is Jethro Tull bandleader Ian Anderson playing the flute with the Jahrhunderthalle in the background. “It was particularly successful for me.” The picture also tells a special story: “On February 21, 1970, young people smashed the windows of the Centennial Hall with paving stones in order to take part in the Jethro Tull concert.” Only when the damage amounted to around 40,000 Mark was paid by the organizer Lippman+Rau and the band, the owner of the hall, then Hoechst AG, continued to allow rock concerts.
As an artist, he loves painting portraits and people, faces that are sometimes known all over the world. Through his long involvement with these “iconic role models,” he developed his “style that can be described as the loving destruction of the perfect,” says Kuhlmann. As part of the exhibition, he will combine an original painting with a composition by his friend Sherry Ansari and convert them into a digital format.
For Kuhlmann, music and visual art are often “fused together”. When painting the “Rock’n’Soul” pictures, he always listened to the respective songs and noticed that “it was much more intense” than when he silently portrayed Hermann Hesse, for example. And he is sure: “For many people, looking at these pictures brings back beautiful memories.”
In the concert year 2024, many more memories can be added, whether in the Jahrhunderthalle, the Festhalle, the Waldstadion, the Batschkapp, the Darmstadt Central Station, the Scheuer in Idstein, the Schlachthof in Wiesbaden or the Colos Hall in Aschaffenburg. In addition to international stars, many German musicians are touring the region, from local bands Rodgau Monotones (April and December), Juli (September 15th) and Paddy Goes to Holyhead (November 8th) to Mark Forster (April 28th), Sasha (May 17th), Götz Widmann (September 4th) and the Neue Deutsche Welle waves Spider Murphy Gang (November 30th) and Extrabreit (December 6th), up to the greats Marius Müller-Westernhagen (20th. May), Peter Maffay (July 18), Konstantin Wecker (July 28), BAP (November 28) and the Fantastischen Vier (December 2). There should be something for every taste.
Special Story: Jethro Tull and the Centennial Hall. mike Kuhlmann © Mike KuhlmannThat’s not Frankfurt in the background, is it? No matter, the Scorpions are coming. Ian Laidlaw © Ian Laidlaw “Perfect Wave” from Giessen: the band Juli with frontwoman Eva Briegel. Michael Schick © Michael Schick
2024-01-18 17:15:06
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