Features
Germany: FKP Scorpio Revives Festival Beach, Next Events Premieres San Hejmo
FKP Scorpio Revives Weissenhäuser Strand
After two years of forced downtime, Germany’s Weissenhäuser Strand returned to life as a festival location with FKP Scorpio’s Plage Noire, May 6-7, which kicked off the festival summer in Germany.
3,300 guests saw performances by Subway To Sally, Lord of the Lost, Deine Lakaien, And One, who had replaced Fields of the Nephilim, who had to cancel for health reasons, and more.
Plage Noire is a Gothic-themed event, and offers a wide variety of side programming aside from music. Readings, fashion walks, live make-up sessions, a shopping district including a medieval market, parties and autograph signings.
FKP Scorpio CEO Stephan Thanscheidt said he was very satisfied with the way the third edition of Plage Noire went, and that couldn’t wait to repeat this success, albeit on a much larger scale, with FKP’s other festivals, including Hurricane, Southside, Tempelhof Sounds, Highfield and M’era Luna.
The dates for Plage Noire 2023 have already been set on April 28-29 next year. Fields of the Nephilim, who couldn’t make it this year, will headline in 2023.
Tickets, including two nights accommodation at the venue, start at €179 ($188). The pre sale is already on.
FKP Scorpio also promotes Metal Hammer Paradise at Weissenhäuser Strand, which just announced the first 19 bands to take the stage, Nov. 18-19.
Primal Fear, J.B.O., Eisbrecher, In Extremo, Clawfinger, Sodom, Sepultura, Tiamat, Crowbar, Temperance, Doro, and more will perform at the ninth edition of Metal Hammer Paradise, which FKP organizes in collaboration with the world-renowned heavy metal and hard rock publication Metal Hammer.
FKP also collaborates with another major music publication, the Rolling Stone, for the Rolling Stone Beach, an event “for music lovers who still feel the fascination of a party-weekend with like minded people, but who have grown out of the tent, air mattress and luke warm beer age,” according to the Weissenhäuser Strand website.
Rolling Stone Beach 2022 is scheduled for Nov. 11-12, no lineup has been announced yet.
New Festival By Next Events
Next Events, the makers of Germany’s mega EDM festival Parookaville, are launching a new festival for live music, art and culture.
It is called San Hejmo, a term borrowed from Esperanto that means “holy home,” and is scheduled to premiere at Weeze Airport, Aug. 20, the same site as Parookaville.
The premiere will have a capacity of 25,000, since it’s a one-day event, there will be no camping available. German rap starts Marteria and Loredana have been confirmed as headliners, with more artists to be announced soon.
Next Events is the company by Norbert Bergers, Bernd Dicks, and Georg van Wickeren, who, together with their team conceive, plan, and realize the festivals from their headquarters in Weeze, a few kilometers from the former military airport of the British Royal Airforce.
Regular tickets for the premiere of San Hejmo start at €89 ($94).