Hallertau Presents: LaBrassBanda
10 Years of LaBrassBanda - Back in 2007, they used to be a real insider's tip: In the Upper Bavarian Chiemgau region, people in well-informed circles would whisper the name ‘LaBrassBanda’ and they would wax enthusiastic about this incredible band with its trademark mixture of Bavarian folk music and ska punk, techno, reggae and brass. The concerts, they said, were an explosion of energy. Anyone lucky enough to see one would feel the ecstasy for days. And they would go on and on about those guys who all entered the stage barefoot. ‘We were fresh out of music college, and we wanted to turn our backs on the concert halls and conquer the clubs instead, play for young people’, says band founder Stefan Dettl. ‘It was so much more fun!’ Perhaps one could have guessed even then that LaBrassBanda would one day play in sold-out halls, perform at international festivals, and make it into the top three of the charts - but then again, who wants to think about the future in a moment as great as that little club gig where the walls are dripping with water and everybody both on- and offstage is wearing an overjoyed grin.
A lot has happened in LaBrassBanda's ten years of existence: a tour through Austria on vintage mopeds and a tractor during the 2008 European Football Championship which culminated in an invitation to play the main stage for the final in Vienna. Concerts in Russia, Zimbabwe, and England, but also at the legendary rock club ‘Whisky a Go Go’ in Los Angeles. Performances at all the major festivals - from Southside and Chiemsee Summer to Sziget. One (of many) highlights: the legendary 2009 Roskilde Festival. Dettl is still gushing about it: ‘When we entered the large stage in that tent and started performing for maybe 100 Danes dressed in full Oktoberfest gear, and when the tent gradually began to fill up, so that we ended up with 6,000 ecstatic festival goers who cheered and celebrated us - that was a truly incredible moment!’
Between gigs, LaBrassBanda performed the occasional beer tent concert every now and then. And in 2013, they came second in the Eurovision Song Contest preliminaries (and it felt like first place), plus the three studio albums (‘Habedieehre’, ‘Übersee’, and ‘Europa’), a normal live album (‘Live Olympiahalle München’), a not-so-normal live album recorded in a cowshed (‘Kiah Royal’), and a dub album (‘Europa in Dub’).
So what else is there to look forward to after ten years of LaBrassBanda' The answer is: A lot! For the band's tenth anniversary, there will be a new album called ‘Around the World’ (release date: 3th March 2017) along with a large-scale release show at the Olympiahalle in Munich - a concert venue which was already once sold out and swept away by LaBrassBanda in 2011. In addition, the guys are working on the finer points of their world tour, which will consist of about 70 shows, including their almost-legendary stopovers in a beer tent or two. Stefan Dettl can hardly wait: ‘As a rock'n'roll live musician, I'm always looking forward to the next tour. We will celebrate it as if it were our last. But no worries: as long as we can stand on our feet, we will continue to play music!’
Members
Stefan Dettl – vocals, trumpet
Manuel Winbeck – trombone
Manuel Da Coll – percussion
Fabian Jungreithmayr – bass
Stefan Huber – tuba
Jörg Hartl – trumpet
Korbinian Weber – trumpet
LaBrassBanda - live at Hallertau, Thursday, January 26, 6pm
