Everyone dances along! In pairs, in circles, in chains, in groups of multiple people or alone. Live music, fun, joy of movement, and sociability in a special atmosphere. This doesn’t sound like a dusty and rigid dance event – and it isn’t. It is BAL FOLK!

BAL FOLK is one of the forms of participatory dance evenings in Germany that are becoming increasingly popular. At BAL FOLK, the dances of the French regions are usually danced to live music, with the composition of the dance mix depending on what the band plays. It’s not about perfection, but about the joy of dancing – the dance of the day is practiced by everyone at the beginning. Dancing provides a good balance to everyday school, study, or work life. 

The dances are suitable for everyone, whether with or without dance experience and completely free of competition or performance pressure, as we know it from sports, for example. During the balls, dance partners are playfully exchanged so that no one needs a fixed dance partner. People of different ages, social, and geographical-cultural backgrounds come together casually and dance – completely without a dress code. Everyone is invited to join in!

Current live band will follow here soon …

Instruction: There will be an instruction for some dances between 4 and 5 PM. No prior knowledge is required. 

Bring-along buffet – everyone is cordially invited to bring something simple finger food. Drinks will be sold by the team of Luther Church, as at any event. 

A project by Südstadtleben e. V. in collaboration with BalFolk Köln

Important information for people with disabilities
The main entrance has a step. On the opposite side of the main entrance, there is a barrier-free back entrance. Please use the route via the parking lot for this. The church is then completely accessible. Unfortunately, a wheelchair-accessible toilet is not available. We are happy to reserve a corresponding place for you and your companion in the church. Please inform us in advance about your visit. Thank you.

Everyone dances along! In pairs, in circles, in chains, in groups of multiple people or alone. Live music, fun, joy of movement, and sociability in a special atmosphere. This doesn’t sound like a dusty and rigid dance event – and it isn’t. It is BAL FOLK!

BAL FOLK is one of the forms of participatory dance evenings in Germany that are becoming increasingly popular. At BAL FOLK, the dances of the French regions are usually danced to live music, with the composition of the dance mix depending on what the band plays. It’s not about perfection, but about the joy of dancing – the dance of the day is practiced by everyone at the beginning. Dancing provides a good balance to everyday school, study, or work life. 

The dances are suitable for everyone, whether with or without dance experience and completely free of competition or performance pressure, as we know it from sports, for example. During the balls, dance partners are playfully exchanged so that no one needs a fixed dance partner. People of different ages, social, and geographical-cultural backgrounds come together casually and dance – completely without a dress code. Everyone is invited to join in!

Current live band will follow here soon …

Instruction: There will be an instruction for some dances between 4 and 5 PM. No prior knowledge is required. 

Bring-along buffet – everyone is cordially invited to bring something simple finger food. Drinks will be sold by the team of Luther Church, as at any event. 

A project by Südstadtleben e. V. in collaboration with BalFolk Köln

Important information for people with disabilities
The main entrance has a step. On the opposite side of the main entrance, there is a barrier-free back entrance. Please use the route via the parking lot for this. The church is then completely accessible. Unfortunately, a wheelchair-accessible toilet is not available. We are happy to reserve a corresponding place for you and your companion in the church. Please inform us in advance about your visit. Thank you.

Everyone dances along! In pairs, in circles, in chains, in groups of multiple people or alone. Live music, fun, joy of movement, and sociability in a special atmosphere. This doesn’t sound like a dusty and rigid dance event – and it isn’t. It is BAL FOLK!

BAL FOLK is one of the forms of participatory dance evenings in Germany that are becoming increasingly popular. At BAL FOLK, the dances of the French regions are usually danced to live music, with the composition of the dance mix depending on what the band plays. It’s not about perfection, but about the joy of dancing – the dance of the day is practiced by everyone at the beginning. Dancing provides a good balance to everyday school, study, or work life. 

The dances are suitable for everyone, whether with or without dance experience and completely free of competition or performance pressure, as we know it from sports, for example. During the balls, dance partners are playfully exchanged so that no one needs a fixed dance partner. People of different ages, social, and geographical-cultural backgrounds come together casually and dance – completely without a dress code. Everyone is invited to join in!

Current live band will follow here soon …

Instruction: There will be an instruction for some dances between 4 and 5 PM. No prior knowledge is required. 

Bring-along buffet – everyone is cordially invited to bring something simple finger food. Drinks will be sold by the team of Luther Church, as at any event. 

A project by Südstadtleben e. V. in collaboration with BalFolk Köln

Important information for people with disabilities
The main entrance has a step. On the opposite side of the main entrance, there is a barrier-free back entrance. Please use the route via the parking lot for this. The church is then completely accessible. Unfortunately, a wheelchair-accessible toilet is not available. We are happy to reserve a corresponding place for you and your companion in the church. Please inform us in advance about your visit. Thank you.

A musical bridge from Southeast Europe across the Mediterranean to Germany

The unique Greek-German band with Kurdish influences promises a concert experience of the highest quality. Gefyra, which means "bridge" in Greek, masterfully connects the Orient with Europe. With their eight talented musicians, they present a diverse repertoire deeply rooted in Greek folk music, but also incorporating influences from the Balkans, Turkey, and Kurdistan. 

Let yourself be enchanted by the captivating sounds that tell stories of social injustice, love, passion, and zest for life. Gefyra's music is more than just entertainment – it is a poetic journey through myths, heroism, melancholy, and romance. The band, which has already thrilled the audience at the Luther Church in Cologne several times, offers a fireworks display of emotions: political, poetic, and with great musical performance.

As guest musicians this time, the singer Sofia Papazoglou and star violinist Kyriakos Gkouventas are invited! Actress Anna Röser will present the concept that connects peoples. 

An evening that builds bridges and touches hearts 

Line-up
Sofia Papazoglou (Vocals) 
Kyriakos Gkouventas (Violin)
Mariastella Tzanoudaki (Vocals), Özgur Murat (Vocals, Kaval), Spiros Patras (Bouzouki, Vocals), Dasho Kourti (Accordion), Vasilis Ketetzonglou (Classical Guitar), Evi Kanelou(Percussion), Spiros Asonitis (Guitar, Vocals), Nikos Tsachtiziris (Double Bass)

New York City, the pulsating metropolis, is a magical magnet for many. “If I Can Make It here, I’m Gonna Make It Anywhere” sang Frank Sinatra about the city on the Hudson River. And even though not everyone dreams of emigrating to NYC, it is hard to find someone who doesn’t dream of being there at least once in their lifetime. For all those who have never been to the "Big Apple", the concert organizer RGV Event GmbH is now bringing a piece of New York to Germany, the gospel from Harlem.

Grammy Award winner Reverend Gregory M. Kelly, who has worked with music legends like Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross, is coming with his choir to Germany for over 40 dates in December 2023 and January 2024. The individual singers of the ensemble read like a Who's Who of the active US gospel scene. Among REV. GREGORY M. KELLY & the BEST OF HARLEM GOSPEL are high-caliber names like Reverend Dr. Charles R. Lyles, Timothy Riley, Steven McCaster, Dorrey Lin Lyles, Segdrick Marsh. In total, nine voices that transport the indescribable atmosphere of Harlem's gospel churches to churches and concert halls in Germany. 

Harlem – the neighborhood in New York's Manhattan – is still famous for the flourishing of African American culture in the 1920s, known as the "Harlem Renaissance," which drew legends like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington to this very neighborhood. And even today, Harlem proudly displays its African American roots, its vibrant culture, its steadfast faith, and musical rhythm.

REV. GREGORY M. KELLY & the BEST OF HARLEM GOSPEL brings pure joy of life, energy, and dynamism, as experienced in every service in the churches of New York's neighborhoods. A two-hour program that offers everything that makes gospel music so unique, captivating, and moving. The choir's repertoire includes both traditional and Christmas-related gospels – ranging from famous and widely loved gospel classics like “Oh happy day” and “Amen” to “Whole world in his hands” and “Go, tell it on the mountain”.

A gospel choir that is unlike any other gospel formation. Here, religion plays as important and fundamental a role as in the lives of the people of Harlem. Because nothing else is the religion lived in Harlem: music and singing in the name of the Lord. But regardless of whether young or old, Catholic or Protestant, non-denominational or still unbelieving, everyone is welcome at the concerts. 

Unmistakable with voice and Cretan lyra 

Georgia Dagaki is a Greek singer who is constantly evolving and captivating her audience with her music, her Cretan lyra, and her unmistakable voice. Her ability to combine traditional Greek music with modern elements makes her a unique figure in the contemporary music scene. Her program is characterized by dynamics, virtuosity, and passion, which stand in perfect balance. Dagakis repertoire includes both her own compositions and cover versions. 

Some of her well-known songs include: “Cloud I will become,” “Same mistake,” “The heart does not say to learn,” “Just me,” “My dance.” These pieces, along with her unique interpretations of popular covers, form the heart of her performances.

Georgia Dagaki was born in 1982 in Athens.  Her musical journey began at the age of 12 when she started playing the piano. Today, after twenty years in the music industry, she has established herself as a remarkable artist and has experienced an impressive rise in the music world over the past two decades. Her latest album “Aperanti Eftihia” (Infinite Happiness) showcases her artistic development and her ability to touch and entertain her audience. In winter 2024, Dagaki released the EP “Short Distance,” which received high praise from critics. The track “Matala” from this EP garnered over a million views on TikTok and Instagram, highlighting her ongoing relevance and popularity in the digital age. 

Throughout her career, Georgia Dagaki has collaborated with a variety of artists, including Eric Burdon and the Animals, Goran Bregovic, Violent Femmes. These collaborations have undoubtedly broadened her musical horizons and influenced her unique style.

“For me, it has always been a ‘short distance’ to bring together my own musical favorite worlds,” she tells us. “Worlds that reflect yesterday and today, and which ultimately merge so harmoniously in the now, as if they had always existed. The way I perceive Cretan music, and the psychedelia it carries for me, has always been and will always be something special in my ears. I have long searched for a new dimension that brings the Cretan lyre closer to Western forms and sounds and to the sounds of electronic music, the beat, without losing its own, so intense, dynamic, and unchangeable character.”

Cast:
Georgia Dagaki, vocals / P.P. Gorgoorgos – pan / Vangelis Karapetros – vocals, bass / Apostolis Karpontinis – lute, guitar / Panos Georgopoulos – guitar / Yannis Rizopoulos – drums

*This text is written in female pronouns, although the artist identifies with all genders.

Meera Eilabouni is a multitalented, multi-instrumental, and multilingual queer artist who expresses the message of unity and love in each of her works. Through pain, she finds hope again in her lyrics and music.

Meera discovered music as the key to reach the hearts of people where change can take place. Just as the music of Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Metallica, and many other rock bands helped her through difficulties, her music today gives listeners a place to overcome pain, to dare to be who they are, and to celebrate oneness. And just like her inspirations, her music is also a blend of blues, rock, reggae, and new-age sounds that give her musical journey a narrative ambiance.

She grew up in a Christian-Arab family in the small village of Eilaboun in northern Palestine/Israel. The political conflict in the region prompted her to perform her music at many peace events throughout the country, making her an icon for peace.
Since her youth, Meera has collaborated with various artists on different projects to create a better reality. One of her first songs, “Love is the Religion,” she wrote at 16 to find commonalities among the people in her society, which was very polarized and violent. This song, written in Arabic and later translated into Hebrew, helped her bring people from different backgrounds together through music when it was most needed.

One of the first events Meera participated in was a healing singing circle at the old church in Eilaboun, the only Palestinian village that returned after the evacuation during the Nakba in 1948. There she met Diane Kaplan, an American-Jewish musician and daughter of Holocaust survivors. Together, they founded the band “Three Women Three Mother Tongues” in 2014. In 2016, the band opened the “March of Hope for Women Wage Peace,” where Meera continued marching to Jerusalem and met Yael Deckelbaum on the journey, and their voices found a new purpose: empowering women and creating peace.

Meera’s songs are primarily inspired by women she has met on her journey of self-discovery. As a queer child, she repeatedly tried to find a way to fit in without having to change herself. She faced many societal norms and was brave enough to continue following the voice of her heart – on this journey, she takes us with her in her concerts.

Her art shows a path of self-discovery, expression, and embracing darkness as light. Through her career in music, video editing, all the engagements in community building, participatory leadership, and other groups in various countries to promote the creation of a better reality through art.

In 2023 & 2024 & 2025, Meera will also tour with Yael Deckelbaum’s European Prayer of the Mothers & Surrender Tour.

Concert tickets for Lutherkirche: 17.50 – 50.00 euros (via link on the right)

Workshop Meera Eilabouni – Singing in Harmony for Peace
Sunday 14:00 – 16:00 Cologne, Tor 28

Important information for people with disabilities
The main entrance has a step. On the opposite side of the main entrance, there is an accessible back entrance. Please use the path via the parking lot for this. The church can then be accessed completely barrier-free. Unfortunately, there is no wheelchair accessible toilet. We would be happy to reserve a suitable place for you and your companion in the church. Please inform us in advance about your visit. Thank you.

The Brazilian Night 

The artists Vando Oliveira and Mirla Riomar, already known as Local Ambassadors, present a versatile program with music from various regions of Brazil – from Samba to Bossa Nova to traditional rhythms.

Look forward to a musical journey that celebrates the cultural wealth of Brazil in all its facets. Additionally, more special guests are expected (more info to follow). An evening full of music, emotions, and Brazilian joy of life awaits guests in the unique atmosphere of the Luther Church.

The release concert of Mirrors & Windows by MELANE & FRIENDS

Look forward to a very special evening: Local Ambassadrice invites you to the exclusive release concert of “Mirrors & Windows” in the Lutherkirche Cologne Südstadt.

Experience emerging artists from Cologne presenting fascinating sounds with Afro-Rumba, Reggae, New Soul, and Global Pop.

The central theme of the evening, “Free Congo,” will shape the event and set a strong sign for diversity and support for the Congo. Join us as we celebrate this unique musical and cultural journey together!

The final line-up will be published later on this homepage!