Expected timing (subject to change).
- From 06:30 pm: Doors open
- 07:30 pm: Start Support Ami Warning
- followed by AnnenMayKantereit
- 10:10 pm: Expected end
“Nothing Concrete”: That was the title of AnnenMayKantereit’s first album, released in 2016. There could hardly have been a more fitting title. Because back then, there really was no career plan. The motto was more along the lines of: just get started, follow the vibe, and see what happens.
That was the approach Christopher Annen (guitar), Henning May (vocals) and Severin Kantereit (drums) had already taken when they met at school and began performing together as street musicians. It remained their philosophy when they uploaded their early songs to YouTube, self-produced a first album that has long since sold out, and eventually released a debut EP in 2015 under the equally telling title “It’ll Somehow Work Out.”
And somehow, it did: What has happened since then has been nothing short of extraordinary — and has ultimately become one of the most remarkable careers in German pop music of the past few decades. Since the band was founded in 2011, AnnenMayKantereit have steadily evolved from a Cologne insider tip into one of the most successful bands in Germany, without ever losing their sense of groundedness.
Their five albums to date have achieved Gold and Platinum status, and they have performed at the biggest festivals. Their videos for songs such as “Barfuß am Klavier,” “3 Tage am Meer” and “Oft gefragt” have been viewed more than 1.4 billion times on YouTube. They have 1.9 million followers on TikTok and more than 1.4 million on Instagram, while five million people listen to them on Spotify every month.
AnnenMayKantereit have also built substantial international fan bases in countries such as Mexico, Ukraine and Turkey. Their version of Suzanne Vega’s classic “Tom’s Diner,” recorded together with Giant Rooks, was certified Gold in the United States. The band have played more than 400 shows in total, received numerous awards, and fulfilled a lifelong dream in September 2023 with a sold-out concert at Cologne’s RheinEnergieSTADION.
You could go on listing their achievements, and yet, when talking about AnnenMayKantereit, you would never use a word like “superstars” — even though, in essence, that is exactly what they have long since become.
