4 days the town of Rudolstadt is filled with Folk Rock groups from all over the world and beyond, there is also room for Latin American rhythms, Soul, Indie Rock, Pop, practically there are Folk groups from all over the world and even a some music from around the world: Folk and world music.
So it's easy to see why Rudolstadt Festival has become over the years a point of reference for Folk music in Europe, just get to the small station of this town immersed in the German countryside between Leipzig, Nuremberg and Dresden as they do more than 90000 people every year.
The theme of this year's edition was Iran and consequently numerous Iranian musicians participated in the event, one of all the talented Habib Meftah Boushehri. Just to give you an idea here is a short list of other notable international artists who participated: BbA Folk Big Band (Finland), Hudaki Village Band (Ukraine), symbio (Sweden), Kazachya Sprava (Russia), Small Island Big Song (Pacific and Indian Ocean), Ethnotix (Bulgaria), 4hymns (Korea).
The main area of the Festival is located in the city park heine park, where together with many colorful stalls the Main Stage is set up and also another smaller but still of significant size, another stage is instead located inside a large tent used as a grand folk ballroom and the last one in the back of the Bauern Hauser (a German cottage with exposed timber beams in the typical style of the Thuringia region).
The charming town of Rudolstadt all festively decorated with multicolored flags, refreshment points and musicians' stations, hosts a large stage in the market square and another equally large one in the elevated area of the Heidecksburg castle, inside a beautiful medieval court, after the concerts it is possible to enjoy a breathtaking view over the surrounding countryside.
There are so many large and small concerts at the same time during these 4 days that to facilitate the visit for Festival spectators, the organizers have seen fit to make available a map with locations, times and band names, and they didn't stop at this, a small booklet is even available that illustrates the style and artistic path of each group from all over the world.
Rudolstadt Festival is special because despite the plan of bands to see that you have drawn up for the day almost certainly on the way to the next stage you will come across a soloist or group that you had not considered, and maybe stop there to listen to a great out plan.
Furthermore, although we are talking about a huge festival that counts big names of international artists in the line-up, even small bands or not famous solo musicians are welcomed in the charming town of Rudolstadt: it is enough that there is a small corner of a square or a free street to play and here it is possible to attend the performances of real emerging artists!
The atmosphere at the Festival is as welcoming as Rudolstadt is a festival that welcomes visitors of all ages: there are families, teenagers, thirty-somethings and in general any age group is welcome. What's more, most of the audience is dressed in vintage or ethnic-flavored clothes, some could easily be defined as modern-day hippies.
Due to this relaxed and peaceful atmosphere there is very little rubbish around and i three campsites (where it is possible to stay overnight for 4 days) they are clean and quiet at night, in Freibad it is possible to enjoy a swim in a splendid swimming pool or stop at the bar and drink some excellent beer from the local master brewers.
Reaching Rudolstadt is not difficult, if it is not in your plans to fly via a large backpack armed with a tent and all the trappings of the model camper there are some connections via train from Dresden or Nuremberg, and instead numerous international buses arrive comfortably in the cities previously mentioned.
So without a shadow of a doubt for any lover of Folk music, and beautiful villages surrounded by countryside, Rudolstadt Festival is that cultural event that represents a Unicum of excellence on European territory.
All the photos in this article were taken by Gerardo Iannacci and all rights to the above are reserved to him
