2025 Impact Intl. UK/Euro Honoree: Jana Posth

JANA POSTH
Director Festivals, PRK Dreamhaus
Festival Director, Rock am Ring

‘NO RISK, NO STORY’ – JANA POSTH IS LOVING IT

If time had no effect on humans, Jana Posth would have probably never ended up on this list.

For most of her life, Posth had a successful career as a dancer, performing the national and international theater as well as on shows and TV productions. “I always knew that, at one point, it would be over,” she says, “and I knew I would not become a ballet teacher or choreographer.”

Posth knew she wanted to make a switch, but into what? Dancing had been an easy career choice, because it had been less of a choice than a calling. So, while she didn’t immediately know what to do next, she was certain of one thing: “I have to love it as much as I love what I do right now.”

As it often happens in life, the solution came in the form of a coincidence. Working in performing arts, event conceptualization and production in her early 30s, she developed the skills of a creative producer and project manager. In 2018, her best friend, who happened to be the project manager for Lollapalooza Berlin, asked her if she wanted to help design the festival’s family and friends area. “I was there for four days and absolutely loved it. I went up to her and said that I’d love to continue working there,” Posth recalls.

The role was a natural fit, and she got to design two of Lollapalooza’s non-music areas the following year, before getting hired as Senior Project Manager Content & Creation for both Lollapalooza Berlin and Superbloom Festival Munich. In 2022, she took on the role of Project Lead for Lollapalooza Berlin and was promoted to Festival Director at Live Nation GSA in 2023.

After two years at Lollapalooza, she moved to PRK-DreamHaus, part of Eventim Live, where she today holds the position of Director Festivals, a role that includes looking after two of Germany’s most prominent music events, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park.

Posth still remembers the “breathtaking” moment during her first Rock am Ring site visit in early 2024, when she stood on Nürburging’s balconies, gazing out over the empty race track in the middle of the Eifel, one of the country’s most beautiful regions.

Today, she is at the heart of the team that ensures Rock am Ring, despite its rich 40-year history, remains relevant, exciting, safe and accessible amidst rising production costs and artist fees, which cannot be offset by continuously raising ticket prices. “Ensuring financial accessibility for all is no small task, but it’s one we’re passionate about tackling. People also expect more, and different things compared to 40, 20 or even 10 years ago. You can’t just put up a stage, sell beer and sausages and be like, ‘Happy festival!’ People want comfort, on the campsite as well as on the infield. As I walk across the site during buildup, during the festival, and during the dismantling of it all, I ask myself: What do I like? What do I need? What could be done differently, and how can we surprise our audience? How can we manage to give them an experience they talk about in five or 10 years? How can we make every minute exciting, but also comfortable at the same time? It’s a constant process that never stops. In many ways, we’re creating a vibrant world of our own. One that offers so much more beyond the stage, while music remains at its heart,“ Posth explains.

Other challenges include extreme weather, and how to prep for it, as well as politics and how to deal with artists making controversial statements on stage. “We’re a music festival, first and foremost. We fully respect artistic freedom and freedom of expression, but any form of hate speech, discrimination, or the use of unconstitutional symbols has no place at our events. The world is changing and it affects everything, including art, which is a language of its own that addresses a lot of people.”

Posth’s first live concert was Body Count, the controversial rap group fronted by American rapper Ice-T, performing at Stadthalle Braunschweig in 1993. “‘Cop Killer’ had just dropped, and they had police coming from everywhere because they were super nervous. I remember standing at that concert, and from one moment to the next I understood the magic of live music.”

Her favorite genres are rock, crossover, a bit of original rap music, and classical. “Nothing beats the energy of a band playing live. It’s real and it moves me in a way that other styles just don’t. Classic rock music just has so much energy. You don’t have to be into the music, but when you see those bands performing live, you get it.”

Posth’s philosophy on life follows Seneca’s musings in “On The Shortness Of Life,” which talks about people wasting much time in meaningless pursuits. “I love life,” she concludes, “I have bad days, don’t get me wrong, but, in general, I love everything that is connected to life, and I love everything that challenges me. I never want to stop learning, and I never want to stop experiencing new things. I couldn’t tell you the specific philosophy or a specific sentence. But one time, at Lowlands Festival (Netherlands), I saw a tattoo on a person saying, ‘no risk, no story.’ That really resonated with me. Take risks, feel uncomfortable, fall, get up, push through. Create your story and love where it takes you.”