The indie rock band Madsen ensured the grand finale of the first day of the “Jamel rockt den Förster” festival. Music can be incredibly powerful and evoke both positive and negative reactions, frontman Sebastian Madsen told the German Press Agency on Friday. The band shows how colorful the world is and how tolerant you have to be. For the band, the appearance at the festival – which is committed against right-wing extremism – is a statement of solidarity with those who are holding up the flag of democracy in Jamel.
The band from Lower Saxony has been campaigning against right-wing extremism and for understanding for a long time. This is also evident on their recently released new album “Hollywood”, among other things with the track of the same name. According to Madsen, this tells the story of a refugee boy who befriends a local boy with whom he shares a passion for cinema. From his point of view, this is interesting because children do not know any prejudices.
“Solidarity and being loud against the right”
In addition to Madsen, Juli, Bosse and Sebastian Krumbiegel were on the stage at the Forstrock Festival in the small town near Wismar on Friday. Axel Bosse made it clear on the sidelines of the festival: “The main reason why I’m here is to show solidarity and to be loud against the right.” That is a matter close to his heart. He described the currently high poll numbers for the AfD as “piquant”. “It is becoming even more important at this time that everyone who is in public – but also everyone else – is loud and takes a stand.”
The organizers expected around 3,000 guests on Friday and Saturday in the small town near Wismar, more than twice as many people as in the previous year. The festival, organized by married couple Birgit and Horst Lohmeyer, regularly attracts big names from the German music scene who are committed to a good cause.
The festival first took place in 2007 to draw attention to the strong neo-Nazi scene in the area. So that the village is not overrun by spectators, it is never announced in advance which musicians are expected.
