Kasalla

Not every idea that two guys have at 2 a.m. at a kitchen table after a long party is really that good. But from the plans that ex-„Peilomat“ guitarist and songwriter Flo Peil and singer Bastian Campmann came up with, something emerged: Kasalla.

Together with their old and new companions Ena Schwiers, Sebi Wagner, and Nils Plum, they jumped into the rehearsal room with the plan to combine the music people love with lyrics in the local dialect. Now, 10 years later, that crazy idea has truly matured.

Not least due to the chart success of their album "Mer sin eins," released in 2017. The band's fourth studio album skyrocketed from 0 to 5 in the German album charts right away, granting the band not only their first Top Ten placement of their career but also the highest chart entry for a Kölsch band since BAP in 1981. The success story of the Cologne band was crowned in 2018 with another highlight, as they were nominated for the German music award ECHO.

A story that seems even more surreal and accelerates in a city like Cologne. Because there, by the river and the cathedral, the music scene is very intense, diverse, and concentrated. Like the entire German pop landscape – compressed onto a beer mat.

“In Cologne, there are dozens of bands that play local dialect and can make a living from it; no one believes it when you tell them elsewhere,” says singer Bastian Campmann. Such a vibrant, active dialect scene straddling rock and pop is hardly imaginable in other metropolitan areas of Germany. A phenomenon that would not be possible without Carnival, however. What it actually means to be a member of a band whose music is a staple in the repertoire of the fifth season is something that is hard to envision elsewhere. “During Carnival season, you play two hundred (!) times in just six weeks, which is about ten performances a day,” outlines drummer Nils Plum the workload between early January and mid-February, “but you also reach an incredible number of people that way.”

A first live event exceeding all expectations took place on September 9 and 10, 2016, in celebration of the band’s fifth birthday. The first date in the 13,000-capacity LANXESS Arena, the largest hall in the city, sold out in no time, forcing Kasalla to schedule a second date there. Ultimately, 26,000 (!) fans celebrated with the band on both days – alongside musical guest stars Gentleman, Carolin Kebekus, and Von Brücken.

But even in the rest of the country, the quintet has developed into a veritable audience magnet over the past four years. After the Cologne band performed in 2014 during their first “excursion to farther away” in small clubs and pubs before 100 to 200 spectators, they have regularly scratched the thousand capacity limit since their Germany tour in spring 2016. Tours in autumn 2017 and spring 2019 took the five guys beyond their already established territory to Switzerland and Austria for the first time. Overall, nineteen nearly sold-out stops were on the travel itinerary. And they can do festival stages. In 2022, they were invited to PAROOKAVILLE for the first time – and their celebrated performance had to be interrupted after just a few songs: too many fans wanted to see the band.

It is obvious that it cannot (any longer) be solely about scattered expatriate Cologne residents. “Of course, there are Rhenish enclaves everywhere,” says bassist Sebi Wagner, “but it has developed to a point where sixty to seventy percent of the people are not connected to the Rhineland.” Appearances on TV shows like Ina Müller's ARD late-night show “Inas Nacht” (2013), ARD MoMa (2017), and ZDF “Volle Kanne” (2018) have carried the band even further across the country.

A special collaboration also came about and celebrated its live premiere at the stadium concert: German rap legend EKO FRESH is featured in the song “JRÖNE PAPAJEIE.” A song about diversity. Not only, but especially in Cologne.

This pack met K has a lot more planned!

Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Show starts at 8:30 p.m.
Tickets are available for €42.80 at the tourist information centers in Konz and Saarburg!
Children up to 5 years have free entry.