There’s that moment, usually just after 8pm, when they can catch their breath for the first time, stand in the crowd and let the music flow through their bodies and minds. When it is clear that everything around them is going well, the weather is holding up, people are dancing, the lights are on, the bass is humming. Then, says Leo Rebay with a smile on his lips, there are also a few hugs. For 13 years, Rebay and his colleagues have been creating one day a year for thousands of people that ideally feels like eternal summer. Waves of hip-hop and leg-dance electronic music on a lakeside lawn, surrounded by hammocks, food and drinks, and a light show.
Strictly speaking, there are two days that Rebay and his colleagues Gabriel Schneider and Alexander Hofmann organize every year: the festival in July “Sound in the Reeds” at Garchinger See and in August that “Back to the Woods” on the research site of the Technical University (TU) in Garching. Both are open-air festivals, electronic music is played at both and both are now firmly established for electro fans in the region. Around 10,000 tickets for the “Schall im Schilf” go on sale on February 19th.
Nobody from the team that organized a private graduation party for the graduates of the Werner Heisenberg High School in Garching in 2010 had expected that they would one day be responsible for such large events. “We already liked listening to house and techno back then, but it wasn’t that common,” says Rebay. So the friends organized their parties themselves. And of course, a party was a must for graduation. Because the first big bash on the local fairground was so well received and the music fans noticed how much fun they had organizing, there was a repetition in 2011 – this time on the larger site by the lake, where the “sound in the reeds” is still alive today takes place.
From 300 to 10,000 visitors in ten years
From about 300 visitors back then, the festival grew step by step to its current size. In 2013 the second date, the “Back to the Woods”, was added on a meadow between the research buildings of the TU. At first, the young organizers still had to do some convincing with the city authorities and the university, Rebay recalls. Today they have earned a good reputation, both among music fans and among the employees in Garching’s public order office. A chair at the TU even used the festival as a research object – to examine the flow of people.
With the increasing number of festival visitors, the organizers around Rebay realized that they also had to position themselves more firmly as organizers: in 2015 they founded Kellerkind GmbH. Three of the founders still form the core today; a total of around eight people are part of the festival’s permanent organizational team. Putting together a festival for 10,000 people is no longer that easy, says Rebay. Because none of the Kellerkind members have made event management their main job. But the festivals are more than a hobby. “It’s a matter of the heart, and it’s still fun.” As a civil engineer, the 32-year-old can make full use of his specialist knowledge in the organization.
Kellerkind Managing Director Leo Rebay in action.
(Photo: Ewelina Bialoszewska/Kellerkind GmbH/EWELINA_BIALOSZEWSKA)
The preparations for the next festival actually begin in November with inquiries to the DJs, booking suppliers and designing the homepage. The week before the “Schall im Schilf” the three managing directors take time off from their main jobs to coordinate the set-up. From Monday to Friday, dozens of helpers lend a hand to transform the meadow by the small bathing lake into a festival area with three fully equipped stages, lovingly designed decorations, food stands, toilets and retreats. The technology for the stages alone comprises about three trucks, and two trucks for the sound equipment. The DJs come on Saturday, and the visitors come from midday. “I think the secret recipe is to slowly grow into an organization like this,” says Rebay. “Not to start with a party for 5000 people, but to increase slowly.” Kellerkind did well with this method.
A large crew is needed to set up the technology and decoration for the festivals, as here at “Back to the Woods” 2022.
(Photo: Kellerkind GmbH)
When choosing the music, they pay attention to a mix. “We try to meet everyone’s tastes,” says Rebay. Traditionally, there is no such thing as a big, famous headliner, and according to Rebay, the budget wouldn’t be big enough for that. This year, local stars such as Sophie Pschorr from Munich will appear at “Schall im Schilf”, DJs from other German cities such as Fadi Mohem from Berlin, who plays in the “Berghain” club, among other places, and international names such as Job Jobse from Amsterdam. He is curious to see how visitors will react to the increased prices, says Rebay. The organizers are also feeling the cost increases due to inflation, war and the pandemic. A festival ticket now costs just under 40 euros. But that shouldn’t spoil the atmosphere, the organizers hope. “Our audience is pretty mixed, there are also people who wouldn’t necessarily go to a techno club,” says Rebay. But just want to have a nice summer day.
We will present the candidates for the Tassilo Culture Prize 2023 by mid-February. You can find all the nominees below sz.de/tassilo.