Making Theater Attractive For The Young

The picturesque German town of Bad Hersfeld boasts a spectacular concert venue. Every year the city hosts a theater festival amid the ruins of a well-preserved basilica, the Stiftsruine. To attract more young people to the event, promoter Stefan Pruschwitz (City of Bad Hersfeld) brought talent buyer and booking agent Stefan Lohmann on board to turn a beloved event into a hip and beloved event.

For the first time in the festival’s 66-year-long history, Lohmann organized a concert series as part of the theatre festival, called “Festspiele in Concert” (Festspiele being the German term for festival). He was joined by media expert Jörg Mandt (Bild, Bauer Media Group, Conde Nast) in spreading the word. Lohmann booked two famous German acts – Johannes Oerding and Jan Josef Liefers’ Radio Dora – as well as Milow to play four concerts in total.

When all shows quickly sold out all of the 1,250 tickets available for each, Milow decided to play an extra concert on the same date of his original gig, Aug. 29 (announcing it in flawless German on his YouTube channel), bringing the number of gigs up to five. All acts were especially fond of the atmosphere within the walls of the Stiftsruine. Oerding called it “special,” while Milow said it was “unique.”

Lohmann told Pollstar that he’s already been contacted by other cities and events and said, “We’re looking forward to expanding our activities.”

The annual Bad Hersfeld festival attracted some 77,500 people in 2015. This year, it takes place starting June 24 through the end of August, with Milow’s gig officially closing it.