40 years of the Ferryman's Festival

In 1983, the first Ferryman's Festival took place as a small Sunday happening at the confluence of the Leine and Ihme rivers. In 2023, the big 40th birthday party will take place from 4 to 6 August on the Ferryman's Island. On Friday there will once again be the Ferryman's Festival Special with a special concert - who will be performing? Wanda and Das Lumpenpack may heat up the moshpit - or get the crowd swaying. On Saturday, Me First And The Gimme Gimmes and Rogers, among others, will play, while on Sunday, for example, Monsters Of Liedermaching will take over.

From the Danube to the Leine

The secret is out as to who will be performing at this year's Ferryman's Festival Special on 4 August: It's the band Wanda, who have been causing a sensation since their first mega-hit "Bologna". The top act from Austria stands not only for amore, but above all for easygoing rock with a special attitude. Before the festival, the festival clearers Das Lumpenpack will perform with their sarcastic-critical indie rock. Two more bands will take over the warm-up on the Fährmannsinsel from 5:45 pm; admission is already at 5:00 pm. Tickets for the Fährmannsfest Special on Friday are available for 39 euros plus all fees at all advance booking offices and at faehrmannsfest.de. There is also a Ferryman's Festival Combiticket for Friday and Saturday for 55 euros plus all fees.

Full programme on Saturday

Me First And The Gimme Gimmes are an exceptional punk supergroup and cover band. The band consists of Joey Cape (Lagwagon), Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters), Dave Raun (Lagwagon), Fat Mike (NOFX) and rounded off by the incomparable pop singer Spike Slawson. When one of the Gimmes performs with his other band, John Reis (Rocket From The Crypt), Jonny "2 Bags" Wickersham (Social Distortion), Jay Bentley (Bad Religion), CJ Ramone (Ramones) or Pinch (The Damned), for example, step in. You never know what high-calibre line-up you're going to get at a Gimmes show, but you can be sure you won't be disappointed. Motown, country, show tunes, Japanese pop - these seasoned punk rock pros have tackled just about every genre.

Rogers means punk rock, loud music full of heart and right in your face. Against the grain, without censorship or a held-up hand. In this day and age, when many artists just don't want to offend anyone and prefer to be slickly apolitical, Rogers show one very important quality: attitude. Their lyrics don't mince words and relentlessly address issues like nationalism, the surveillance state or social ills. In doing so, they manage without platitudes and cleverly bring other perspectives into play.

The modern punk rock band Indecent Behavior from Saarbrücken is convincing in terms of content and music. The dance leg twitches, adrenalin flows and the songs drill into the nerves like healing acupuncture.

Free admission on Sunday

On the traditionally free Sunday, the duo Raum 27 will be among those on stage. Their energetic hybrid pop with distinctive vocals and catchy melodies hints at references from Kraftklub to Provinz to Von Wegen Lisbeth, but always hits its own hooks.

Brighton-based alternative rock duo ARXX have quickly become one of the most exciting bands on the UK music scene with rousing live shows and multiple singles. Early tracks were angry blasts, with songs becoming poppier as time went on.

Grillmaster Flash is the stadium cup toast personified and the eggy 80s rock record on the vintage record player in the living room from the small town house. With catchy chord progressions and thick guitars, Grilli tanks his way past everyone on a souped-up moped through cleverness and love, showing that emotion and conviction come before skills.

Fresh as a spring detergent advertisement, the Monsters Of Liedermaching invite you to new intoxicating rock evenings. The smart gentlemen celebrate the festive occasion of their 20th stage anniversary with performances that will sparkle with poetic pearls and anthemic hits like the tiara of the loveliest prom night queen. New songs and beloved classics, seat pogo in a festive dinner jacket.

Egon and the tractor drivers make earthy tractor rock for little ones. They have proved often enough that this works very well with dozens of concerts in front of a specialised audience in kindergartens, at festivals and even in clubs. They include real classics like "Wickie" and "Die Pipapo-Piraten", but also their own hit compositions.