Others about us

„Rudolstadt (...) reset the bar as far as expectations of what a folk-slash-world music festival could and should do. (...) one of the finest music festivals on the planet.“
fRoots, Ken Hunt

„Thank you Rudolstadt-Festival! It was a real highlight of my summer to play at such a beautiful festival.“
Emily Portman, BBC nominee „Folk Singer of the Year“

„Rudolstadt was a blast!“
Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard, stars of the Danish folk scene

„Your audience is superb!“
Seán Purser, BBC Scotland

„Thank you Rudolstadt-Festival, it was truely amazing!“
Dobranotch, one of the most sought-after bands of fresh Russian ethno music

„Best Folk-Festival of the World!“
April Verch, celebrated fiddler, step dancer and singer-songwriter from Canada

 

For the last sixteen years I’ve been a TFF rat, meaning, for three days I scurry around the streets, stages, parks, theaters, and cafes ingesting music from every corner of the world. I’m an old pro now, but I still remember my first weekend in July 1997 at the Tanz & Folkfest as it was then called, when I was in shock as I began to experience every aspect of its very existence. Coming from the United States, and being pretty familiar with what a music festival there is like, Rudolstadt was nothing like I could ever have even imagined. It’s simply out of our experience and imaginations.
Over the years, I’ve seen so many artists from all over the world come to Rudolstadt to perform and then, after their work, they leave, fly off, it’s on to the next. They’re just in town to do their show. They have no idea where they are, and what they’re missing. In the brief time I have with some of them, I try to explain what the festival is like, and that they should really try to stay an extra day or two, walk around and take it all in, see how the shows and artists from around the world continuously appear on every corner and in every building of the town, and, in a nal entincement I add, “and you can even eat delicious food, and drink a beer - in a glass!” something that is pretty much unheard of at least at most American festivals.
I’d like to make an open plea to all artists scheduled to perform at Rudolstadt: BOOK an extra night! Stick around! When your own work is done, schedule an extra day in your itinerary to really experience Rudolstadt, its people, and the festival crowd because you’ll never come across anything like it again. At the very least, Rudolstadt sets a standard that all festivals should strive for.
I think the more artists stick around and see how it’s done, the sooner we have the possibility of creating something similar with our festivals all over the world – where music is not only multi-culti, but also multi-generational, multi-class, multi-race, multi-staged, multi-fed and yes, even multi-imbibbed!
Nora Guthrie, Director Woody Guthrie Publications, 2015