Reeperbahn Festival puts its faith in the next generation

Lead photo by Robin Schmiedebach Reeperbahn Festival sees a total takeover of the rowdy red-light zone of Hamburg's St. Pauli district, along with annual festivities transforming local nightclubs, churches, and even the quaintest of theatres, into the stages for fresh and upcoming talent across 44 countries. “We are proud to say that from the get-go, no edition has been the same, really,” Frehn Hawel, spokesman for the festival, tells me. Of course, there are recurring formats, like its 70-minute Opening Show at Schmidts Tivoli, or it’s ninth presentation of the International Music Journalism Award (IMJA). Expected conference programming invites global gatherings of the music business kind to inspire new ideas and drive progress. “But as we tend to have an overall theme, since a couple of years, there’s always a new focus in each edition looking into a specific matter in society, or the music industry,” explains Hawel. Last year’s “Imagine Togetherness” centred around a call for a more cooperative industry that protects smaller artists, venues and companies. This year’s “Forever Legit?” is very much about the younger generation, the next in cutting-edge tastemaking. “Not solely as ...