Nr. 21: 30 June - 3 July 2011

We barely survived the Big Jubilee – and already it’s the 21st TFF!

It was the first time we celebrated from Thursday evening over four days and instead of a pre-concert in the castle courtyard, usually with about 2,500 guests, there were four bands on three stages in Heinepark where 10,000 visitors were counted. The latest being at midnight with the cracking songs of Zaz proving that the earlier start of the festival was the right decision.

Even before the opening of TFF there was an unprecedented "season tickets sold out!" The desire to preserve the relaxed informal atmosphere and to ensure the safety of visitors at all times, left the TFF team with no choice but to freeze the 4-day ticket sales at the booth.

Switzerland was presented as the country in focus and the Experiment, here after a long time, were successful at closing the evening’s program.

Christine Lauterburg conducted an extremely entertaining revue, in which the confederate was more than brave, preserving Alpine tradition’s, it was as loving as it was refreshing. A powerfully colorful Alpine also received the Ruth award: The Austrian Hubert von Goisern (German RUTH) sparked a veritably large migration to the castle and many visitors could not be admitted because of overcrowding. The Hamburg vocal duo Fjarill had their audience enchanted and Klaus Geiger created euphoria for the masses.

The visual design of the festival was enriched by witty kinetic objects in the farmhouses in the park and up to the well-frequented Weinschänke (Wine Bar). The Harp, a heavenly instrument since ancient times, now was also the Magic instrument of TFF. Late cancellations of some firmly planted artists gave concerns to coordinator and arranger Wolfgang Meyering but the "Harp-Allstars" nevertheless retained the high level of previous projects to an enthusiastic audience.

The Waltz, king of the ballroom dances, was dance of the year and through the Rudolstadt  cultural flagships -Thüringer Folklore Dance Ensemble and Thüringer Symphonic Orchestra -made its debut under the Heidecksburg courtyard. Large concerts also came from Dr. John, Kraja, Madison Violet, Que Strada, Daniel Kahn, Roy Paci, Yemen Blues and - finally - the Treacherous Orchestra who after a furious appearance on the largest park stage, continued the TFF showdown in the Castle courtyard, as you might imagine.