Another Hot Melt

Having sold out its 20,000 capacity two months in advance, Germany’s Melt Festival’s 15th anniversary edition was at least on course to be a success in financial terms.

The festival on the old open-cast mine at Gräfenhainichen, eastern Germany, also boosted its international reputation as one-third of the crowd came from abroad.

“We achieved our goal to keep Melt Festival’s high standards throughout the weekend,” said festival chief Stefan Lehmkuhl, adding that the anniversary lineup and international crowd helped the event “break boundaries once again.”

The boundary-breaking included the festival including many non-musical events such as several book readings and film screenings.

The Melt lineup July 13-15 included Plan B, M83, Rufus Wainwright, Two Door Cinema Club, The Whitest Boy Alive and Richie Hawtin.

A week earlier in Cologne, Klaus Maack’s Summerjam had also indicated Germany’s mid-size festival market is in good health by selling out its 28,500 capacity.

Maack told Pollstar that – unlike most of the rest of Europe – the festival defied weather reports by enjoying “four days of summer.”

The acts helping the reggae and dance music event bring out the sunshine July 6-8 included Sean Paul, Burning Spear, Stephen Marley, Beenie Man, Irie Revoltes, and Amadou & Mariam.