Bruchhausen Festival
The Bruchhausen Festival is an annual festival held between 1983 and 1988 that always took place at Whitsun in the community of Bruchhausen-Vilsen in Lower Saxony . Almost all variants of rock music were present at the festival.
history
The festival emerged from the Whitsun Festival in Sulingen, which was initiated by the Stadtjugendring in 1980 and 1982 with great success. The idea was to organize the Bruchhausen Festival in alternation with the Sulingen Whitsun Open Air every year. That is why the festival was initially called the Open Air Festival Sulingen / Bruchhausen-Vilsen .
prehistory
In 1980 and 1982 a 3-day open air festival was held in Sulingen at Whitsun, which far exceeded the expected number of visitors. In 1980 there were around 12,000 listeners, in 1982 it was probably about twice as much. There are no reliable numbers. In 1982 there were far more spectators than expected. As a result, the organizers had problems channeling the traffic flows and providing sufficient sanitary facilities. After the event was over, there was opposition to the festival from politics, but also from hunters and nature conservationists. Members of the Sulinger Stadtjugendring met up with some music enthusiasts from Syke and so the idea came up to hold the festival alternately in Bruchhausen-Vilsen and Sulingen. Due to the resistance in Sulingen, the festival remained completely in Bruchhausen. Sulingen disappeared from the name and the festival was called the Bruchhausen Festival. From 1983 to 1987 the organizer was the Syker Festival Initiative (SyFI) and in 1988 the Direct Concerts GmbH.
First successes and growth
Despite good audience numbers in the early years, the festival in Bruchhausen-Vilsen also had to struggle with various problems from the approval authorities, residents and at times the local pastor. But here too there were comrades-in-arms and so the initially only two-day festival could be extended to three days from 1986.
Dates and bands
present
There are no efforts to revive the Bruchhausen Festival.
organization
From 1983 to 1987
The head of the festival was an organization team, which, as a registered association under the name "Syker-Festival Initiative eV" (SyFI for short), took care of the planning of the festival. During the implementation the SyFI u. a. Supported by the Bruchhausen-Vilsen youth fire brigade, the local Red Cross but also by the landowners of the festival areas. Further help came from many other voluntary helpers and associations who took care of all matters that were not outsourced to external service providers. From 1986 there was a marquee with a stage in addition to the main stage, in which concerts were also held.
1988
Direct Concerts GmbH took over the planning for the 1988 festival and the name changed to Bruchhausen Open Air .
Infrastructure
In 1983 and 1984 the Bruchhausen Festival took place in the Bruchhausen-Vilsen drive-in cinema. Sufficient camping and parking space was available on the adjacent meadows. From 1985 the Open Air changed the side of the street and took place entirely on the areas north of the L202 between Bruchhausen-Vilsen and Berxen. In 1987 the festival area moved a little further towards Bruchhöfen and in 1988 the last Bruchhausen Festival was held north of the K129 between Bruchhausen-Vilsen and Bruchhöfen.
medical corps
The local Red Cross and the youth fire brigade supported the festival as much as possible. The Red Cross set up a medical tent and was always on site with several helpers and vehicles.
Highlights, special features and program changes
- 1985
- Wolf Maahn's concert had to be canceled due to a strong thunderstorm combined with squalls
- 1986
- On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred . The open air started on May 17th, almost 4 weeks later, and was almost canceled.
- One of the most noted highlights was certainly James Brown's engagement in 1986. That year it was James Brown's only concert in Germany.
- 1987
- Instead of the announced "The Mission" there was the legendary appearance of "The Pogues". Due to a severe storm with squalls and heavy rain, parts of the main stage were damaged and some concerts had to be canceled.
media
- 1986
- The trade journal "MusikExpress", born in 1986, issue 7, p. 49 reports on the Bruchhausen Festival and the James Brown concert
- The music magazine "Spex", year 1986, issue?, P. 32 ff reports on the Bruchhausen Festival and the James Brown concert
Documentaries
From the Bruchhausen Festival 1986 there is a 2-hour documentary. In this film, however, there is no concert recording of top act James Brown, as he did not grant the organizers the video rights.
Live concerts
- Live albums / recordings from various bands
- 1986 - Rory Gallagher, Bruchhausen Open-Air Festival 1986 concert recording with 12 pieces
- 1987 - Die Toten Hosen, A Colorful Evening for a Black Republic - Tour 1987, approx. 95 min
- 1987 - IQ, concert recording without publication, 9 pieces, approx. 60 min