See Rock At Lake Schwarzl

Richard Hoermann is returning to the Austrian festival market with a new event sited on the shores of Lake Schwarzl.

It will be called See Rock and stretch from June 3 to Aug. 6, making it one of the longest concert series-style festivals in Europe.

The site is a 56-acre former gravel-mining area that was turned into parkland in 1984.

Hoermann first used the area for concerts 10 years ago, when he promoted a rock show with Toto and Status Quo.

The site changed hands and the new owner, a property development company, wasn’t keen on having live music events staged there.

The situation changed when it was sold to Klaus Leutgeb, a Graz-based nightclub and peep show entrepreneur, who is keen to see it used for entertainment.

Last year Hoermann used it for one of the Elton John shows he produced in Austria, and now he sees the opportunity to return for a season of summer shows.

“It’s a wonderful location for central Europe as Ljubljana, Budpaest, Zagreb and Vienna are all within a two-hour drive,” he told Pollstar.

The site is on the outskirts of Graz and so close to the Slovenian border that Maribor in Slovenia is the next nearest city to it.
It can easily be configured for use for 10,000-capacity shows, but there is sufficient land to accommodate 50,000.

Hoermann is still booking the 2011 summer lineup but has already confirmed Joe Cocker, Roxette, Shakira, Sting, Zucchero, The Eagles, James Blunt and Bryan Adams.