“Nuremberg Pop” has been a festival since 2011 that has an impact beyond Nuremberg. And beyond pop. “We see our political responsibility,” says David Lodhi, operator of the local renowned club Stereo and, together with Thomas Wurm, organizer of “NBG Pop”, which holds the record “largest showcase festival in southern Germany”. Lodhi’s heart and brain are rooted in the local scene, he is involved in city and association politics, and at the same time he travels the world as a kind of Franconian pop ambassador to similar festivals. For example, he gets inspiration every year at “Airwaves” in Iceland, where he met two delegates from the Faroe Islands, whose festival “G!” he then described as “the most beautiful in the world” and now three rather idiosyncratic ones through the music export office there led bands to Nuremberg.
But he can also build “cross-genre bridges” as Lodhi intends to do in the immediate vicinity. A year ago he became aware that other major Bavarian cities had also developed ambitious festival formats of this kind, both in terms of location and time: “Stadt nach Acht” in Augsburg (October 24th and 25th this year) and “Listen To Munich” in Munich (November 15th and 16th). “We’ve been talking to each other for a year now,” says Lodhi, and as a great connector, he has suggested a common focus at the pop conferences integrated into the festivals. This year, Nuremberg, Augsburg and Munich will deal with a blazing topic: pop culture as a firewall against right-wing extremism.

Each festival has its own perspective on it and different speakers in the discussion groups. In Nuremberg it’s about “right-wing extremism in live music”. “The issue of right-wing rock is also more acute in Nuremberg than we think,” says David Lodhi, just because such concerts are hidden and not in your own bubble, you shouldn’t ignore the problem. Spotify playlists with neo-Nazi bands and the shift to the right in elections in three federal states showed “where the route is heading”. Pop and populism – what influence connects the two? How should organizers, musicians, media and experts deal with the musical heroes of the right-wing extremist scene – this is what Markus Schwarz from the Mobile Advice Against Right-Wing Extremism, the “rock sociologist” Rainer Sontheimer, and Sara Lohr from the band will talk about Acne Kid Joe and Tony Brehm from the giant heavy metal festival “Summerbreeze”. Cultural politicians from the city council have announced their coming. Anyone interested can take part free of charge in the networking conference in the Künstlerhaus, which also deals with topics such as “mental health” in pop or in which director Jan Bratenstein presents his film about “folk punk” (Registration: www.nuernberg-pop.com/pop-conference).

But a pop festival without music would of course just be talk. With an incredible 80 concerts on three evenings at 15 locations in Nuremberg’s old town, the expected 5,000 visitors should simply let themselves go – or, like the talent scouts from the record companies (which such a showcase festival attracts), come up with a very good plan. “Entry to the small venues will be free,” promises the organizer. Of course there are also the big star guest performances for an entrance fee: for example the Essen indie darlings International Music (“Endless Rüttenscheid”) Friday midnight in the Heilig-Geist-Saal. Or the Hamburg sour-soul up-and-comer Berq, who performs his operetta-like songs like “Tourette” in the atmospheric Katharinenruine, sometimes together with a 35-member choir. The choirs in general: That’s where he sings Indie pub choir in the Marthakirche as well Tiny Wolvesa children’s choir with hits from Tom Petty to AnnenMayKantereit from Lower Saxony on his first big trip. David Lodhi met its director, a “genuinely likeable elementary school teacher,” late at night at the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg.

The Faroe Islands showcase their down-to-earth quirkiness in the cultural garden Koboykex (between White Stripes and Ennio Morricone), Aggrasoppar (Flowerpunk) and Elinborg (Nordic Noir Pop). And Austria’s scene is also strong and well represented, for example with AZE (dream pop), Kleinabaoho (“Gen Z whisper pop”) or Yukno. The latter will be staged by video artists at their Austropop rave, as will all eight music acts in the Future Museum, from the Neue Neue Deutsche Welle ironist Streichelt to the new Nuremberg soul sensation Ki’Luanda.

This time the local scene is particularly well represented in the smaller venues, such as jazz quartets from the music college in the Original Bar; or the Franconian restaurant Brotzeit serves old-school hip-hop.
The honor of the final concert in the ballroom of the Künstlerhaus belongs to Avaion, and rightly so: As a teenager, the Fürth native dreamed of a gold record, now the multi-instrumentalist and electro songwriter has long since won several gold awards and even a platinum one (in Switzerland). his debut “Pieces” and above all international success. “It’s totally okay to be from Franconia,” says Lodhi about this shining example, “we have a lot to offer, but not many stay here.”

Last but not least, the Nuremberg Pop Culture Prize Gunda, which is part of the festival, should be an encouragement for everyone to live out and get involved. The awards ceremony in four categories will be celebrated on Thursday evening in the Future Museum (free participation upon registration). A Gunda for social commitment does not go to musicians, but to the women’s soccer team of 1. FC Nuremberg. Lodhi explains that although she has been relegated to sports, she encourages girls, fights for LGBTQ people and takes part in demonstrations against the right. This is also a kind of pop culture that the organizer has in mind: “Get out of the niche and into social life.”
Nuremberg Pop Festival, Thursday to Saturday, October 10th to 12th, www.nuernberg-pop.com