Status: 31.08.2024 08:29 a.m.
The “Jamel rocks the forester” festival in northwest Mecklenburg began on Friday with a performance by Olli Schulz and the Fantastischen Vier. Who would be playing remained a secret until the last moment. 3,500 music fans had traveled to the event.
“Many thanks to the Lohmeyer family for spreading love in times of darkness,” said rapper Michi Beck from the Fantastischen Vier, accompanied by loud applause from the audience. The performance in Jamel had great political significance for them. “It’s about nothing less than the personal freedom that is being lost. You can see that in Jamel.” They thrilled around 3,500 visitors.
Olli Schulz: “You don’t have to fill your life with hate”
3,500 visitors came to the festival “Jamel rocks the forester.
Before the Fantastischen Vier, the Chemnitz pop band Tränen and the Hamburg songwriter Olli Schulz will be on stage. “I hope the children of the guys over there can hear us here too, because you don’t have to fill your life with hate,” said 50-year-old Schulz. The Lohmeyer family hopes to be able to convey their message against xenophobia. They want to set an example for diversity and tolerance. “Thousands of beaming faces in the audience, fantastic music acts on both stages and even the rain from the morning has moved ‘to the right’. It couldn’t be better,” said organizer Birgit Lohmeyer. At midday, Interior Minister Christian Pegel opened the music festival. It lasts two days.
Line-up is always announced at the last moment
The festival against right-wing extremism has been taking place in Jamel since 2007. The organizers are the Lohmeyer couple, who have lived there since 2004. The aim is also to draw attention to the strong neo-Nazi scene in the small district of the municipality of Gägelow. In recent years, music greats such as Herbert Grönemeyer, Fettes Brot, Igor Levit and the Toten Hosen have performed there. This year the festival was sold out after 30 minutes, although the organizers – as always – had not yet revealed who would be attending. They want fans to be particularly interested in the political message of the festival and not to make their attendance dependent on which prominent musician has announced their attendance.
VIDEO: Festival “Jamel rocks the forester” started (1 min)
Political dispute over alleged environmental crimes
At the beginning of the year, there was a local political dispute about the festival. A local representative had reported the couple who organized the festival for alleged environmental offenses. However, the Schwerin public prosecutor’s office refrained from investigating because there was no evidence of a crime. In March, it was decided to conclude a usage agreement for the urgently needed meadow area with the festival organizers.
Birgit Lohmeyer said that they would not allow themselves to be intimidated and would stand together “against fascists and their henchmen here in the region.” Her husband Horst added: “Our festival serves not only us, but everyone involved – volunteers, artists and visitors – as a pleasurable empowerment against the far-right.”
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