ROCKHARZ

When a small one-day indoor festival under the motto “Rock Against the Right” took place in Osterode am Harz in 1993, nobody knew that this would lay the foundation for the success story of the ROCKHARZ Festival. In 2023, the 30th anniversary of what has become the largest music event in the Harz region and one of the most important metal festivals in Germany was celebrated at Ballenstedt Airfield.

Today, around 25,000 metalheads make their way to the festival site below the Harz Teufelsmauer. Despite its growth, the festival has kept its particularly familiar atmosphere and presents around 60 top acts on two equal stages, which are played alternately without any overlap between the bands.

Rockharz Festival Ballenstedt — fotoweberei | Luca Weber | CC-BY-SA

Impressions from the festival

Nelly Gauert | CC-BY-SA
fotoweberei | Luca Weber | CC-BY-SA
fotoweberei | Luca Weber | CC-BY-SA
fotoweberei | Luca Weber | CC-BY-SA
fotoweberei | Luca Weber | CC-BY-SA
Nelly Gauert | CC-BY-SA

Kai Wilhelm | Rockharz Festival | Part 1

Episode #66 (in German only)

Kai Wilhelm, Organisator und Pressesprecher des Rockharz-Festivals — HTV / L. Weber | CC-BY-SA

Since 1993, there has been an event in the Harz region that excites rock and metal fans from all over Germany (and far beyond). Originally started as a small concert series against right-wing extremism, Rockharz Open Air is now the biggest festival in the Harz.

So let’s take a look behind the scenes of the event and join you in three podcast episodes – from planning and setup all the way to the festival weekend. In this episode, Luca meets up with Kai Wilhelm. Kai is the press officer and part of the Rockharz organising team. He tells us when the team starts planning, how the event moved from Osterode to Ballenstedt, and what the highlights in Rockharz’s history have been so far.

Moritz “Mutz” Hempel | Rockharz Festival | Part 2

Episode #68 (in German only)

Moritz "Mutz" Hempel Head of Stage beim RockHarz-Festival — HTV / L. Weber | CC-BY-SA

Let’s continue with the second episode about the Rockharz Festival in Ballenstedt!
Luca was on site at the festival grounds and met with Moritz Hempel aka `Mutz`. He’s the “Head of Stage” at Rockharz and responsible for ensuring the smooth setup and running of the event.

Mutz talks about what it takes to set up such a huge festival, how the stages are brought onto the site, and what makes Rockharz special to him personally.

Live report | Rockharz Festival | Part 3

Episode #69 (in German only)

Rockharz Festival in Ballenstedt — fotoweberei | Luca Weber | CC-BY-SA

In the third and final episode about the Rockharz Festival, we're reporting LIVE on site!

Luca, Tobi and Maddie spent a whole day on the festival grounds in Ballenstedt for you. They talked to a wide range of guests, security staff and volunteers!

Here’s the donation page for the campaign CULTURE FOR EVERYONE:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/kultur-fur-alle