Landstreicher revives picnic concerts for summer 2021

Landstreicher Konzerte’s popular ‘picnic concert’ series, which combines open-air live performances with an audience seated on picnic blankets, is making a comeback in Germany this summer.

With the summer festival calendar looking increasingly sparse, Picknick-Konzerte – which attracted over 30,000 people to its 2020 events – will reprise the formula throughout June, July and August 2021 with concerts in cities including Berlin, Rostock, Leipzig, Dresden, Hamburg and Cologne.

Priced from €36.70, the concerts feature domestic acts including Meute, Lotte, Provinz, Antilopen Gang, Giant Rooks, Clueso, Bosse and Alvaro Soler, with one Provinz show, held at open-air Rinne venue in Dresden on 20 June, already sold out.

As in 2020, fans will sit in on picnic blankets with a minimum space between household bubbles, while masks are compulsory on arrival, exit and when leaving the arena (for example, to use the toilet), though not while sitting on the blanket.

In spite of these hygiene measures, Landstreicher – which is putting on the shows with the backing of public Neustart Kultur funding – says some shows may still not go ahead, in reflection of the ever-changing coronavirus situation.

“In order to counteract the dynamic spread of the coronavirus, the federal states have issued various requirements for events, which we will of course comply with,” read the Picknick-Konzerte FAQs. “The health and safety of all guests, artists and employees are our highest priority.”

This article forms part of IQ’s Covid-19 resource centre – a knowledge hub of essential guidance and updating resources for uncertain times.

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Germany’s picnic concert series draws 30k visitors

Germany’s picnic concert series (Picknick Konzerte), which took place throughout the summer across multiple cities, has attracted more than 30,000 visitors.

The series, which was organised by Landstreicher Booking in cooperation with Kingstar, Prime Entertainment and Vagrant Cultural Productions, took place in Berlin, Dresden, Cologne, Leipzig and Münster between July to September.

The 30-show series saw visitors sit on assigned, socially distanced blankets to watch performances from artists including Milky Chance, LEA, Faber, Joris, Helge Schneider, MoTrip, Giant Rooks, Provinz, Meute, Kasalla, Mine, Die Höchst Eisenbahn, Dota, Antje Schomaker and Mia Morgan.

Despite many sell-out shows in the series, the organisers stressed that the concerts are not economically viable and that picnic concerts are not a substitute for concerts with regular conditions.

“Nevertheless, the shows in this series offered an unforgettable, relaxed and beautiful live experience for the first time in months, whether in front of, on or behind the stage,” Landstreicher told MusikWoche.

“The shows in this series offered an unforgettable, relaxed and beautiful live experience for the first time in months”

Martin Vejmelka, managing director at Vagrant cultural productions (Dresden and Leipzig) said: “We are proud that our teams in Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin, in cooperation with the colleagues from Kingstar in Münster and Prime Entertainment in Cologne, were able to develop attractive venues in a very short time, have developed hygienic concepts that can be approved and have created impressive productions.”

“Together with our tour partners, we were able to put a diverse program on the stage and, contrary to expectations, enable many people to have a few touching live music experiences in summer 2020.

“We are particularly pleased that with the picnic concerts we were able to provide our long-term production partners with a tiny ray of hope in a time full of rejections.”

Picknick Konzerte is one of many innovative, socially distanced concert formats trialled by German organisers, along with the deck chair concert series, Strandkorb Open Air, and Back to Live, which launched earlier this month and will run until 2 October.

Last month, the German government announced that all major events that don’t adhere to social distancing measures and hygiene protocol will now be banned until at least the end of the year.

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