17 Hippies

In the organizer's words:

The 17 HIPPIES are a permanent fixture in the German music scene - and far beyond. They have given more than 3000 concerts in 27 countries worldwide, from Japan to Australia and the USA, establishing a specific Berlin style on the stages of Europe. Every child knows by now that the number 17 has nothing to do with the actual number of musicians, but simply sounds good.
The 10 creative heads of the band combine their handmade magic with an irrepressible joy of playing and innovation in an original way. Initially inspired by the catchy melodies and rhythms of traditional music, they soon developed their unmistakable band sound, which is essentially characterized by their own compositions, the skills of the individual musicians and the sound of their acoustic instruments.
Eastern European melodies and rhythms, Americana and chanson merged with the Anglo-American rock/pop/jazz background of the band members to create the exciting mixture that made the 17 HIPPIES a genre in their own right. Their songs in German, English, French and Hessian represent a cosmopolitan repertoire.
Three decades of making music together and 21 released albums have created a musical treasure that can be heard and felt in every note. Their self-developed interactive album app "9,000 Nights" is an impressive demonstration of how curiously they deal with the multifaceted nature of their sound.
The energy and charm of the 17 HIPPIES are infectious. Anyone who experiences them live leaves the concert hall with the feeling of carrying the richness of a hopeful world within them and having made new friends.
The current album "Clowns & Angels" by the 17 HIPPIES stands for the truthfulness and the ordeal in which our world finds itself. Are we being drawn into absurdity and despair by masks and deception or can something higher preserve the authentic? For all of us, it is about regaining the space that is more than mere existence and everyday life with unvarnished honesty.
Musically, the band's many musicians express this in a mesh of groovy rhythms and heartfelt songs. Traditional pieces meet the powerful sounds of their own compositions. A journey that presents the traditional just as promisingly as stories from the here and now.

Christopher Blenkinsop - ukulele, bouzouki, guitar, vocals
Kiki Sauer - accordion, flute, vocals
Kruisko - accordion, marimba
Uwe Langer - trombone, trumpet, horn
Benjamin Ostarek - clarinet
Paul Brody - trumpet
Daniel Cordes - double bass
Dirk Trageser - guitar, percussion, vocals
Koma Lüderitz - drums, percussion
Antje Henkel - clarinet, saxophone