The view over the romantic Main Valley, the good music and the relaxed atmosphere. The open-air concert “Lieder auf Banz 2024” starts again in Bad Staffelstein on July 5th and 6th. As every year, newcomers also appear alongside renowned artists. And that is well received. Around 8,000 spectators regularly make the journey to the Banzberg when the stage is set for the songwriters on the meadow in front of the Banz Monastery Education Center on the first weekend in July.
“The entire ambience is overwhelming. At the edge of the forest, in the background the beautiful monastery – like a postcard landscape. The spectators are either sitting comfortably on blankets or in the stands,” enthuses Ronja Maltzahn, winner of the 2022 award. The performance there is on her musical The singer says it was an absolute mountaintop and a door opener to her audience in the south. What does she particularly appreciate about “Lieder auf Banz”? “I thought it was really nice that there were three prize winners and there were no gradations among each other like in many other competitions. So we met on equal terms.”
In 2024, seven established artists will be featured alongside three newcomers. There’s the Claudia Koreck Duo, for example. The singer-songwriter herself started her career with Bavarian song lyrics. She was last seen on the Helene Fischer Show 2023 on ZDF. Together with the pop star, she sang the song “The Holiest in the World” by the Berlin duo Mountains. “For so many years I have imagined what it would be like if I sang with her,” Fischer said.
Has already worked with Georges Moustaki and Angelo Branduardi: Cantautore Pippo Pollina is a welcome guest at the Banzberg.
(Photo: Manfred Neubauer)
This year the audience can once again expect a mix of pop, rock, folk music and indie with artists such as Alin Coen from Hamburg, Three-quarter blood from Munich, Gisbert zu Knyphausen, Germination time and Pizzera & Jaus from Austria. Cantautore Pippo Pollina – born and raised in Palermo – ensures with his poetic songs that the summer evening in Upper Franconia becomes a serata italiana.
An independent jury of experts is already looking for three new prize winners for 2025. The deadline for entries is October 1, 2024. “The decisive criteria for choosing the winners are high artistic quality, musical diversity, originality and the joy of music,” says foundation chairman Markus Ferber. The flyer on the homepage reveals that we are looking for solo artists, duos and bands who are no older than 35. What awaits the winners is not only a live performance on the Klosterwiese including a radio and TV recording by Bayerischer Rundfunk. There is also 5,000 euros for the winners, because newcomers can always use every cent.
“Songs on Banz”Banz Monastery, July 5th and 6th, 2024, advance sales are already underway