Live at the Kaserne 2026
Concerts in the Green
KASALLA
Tour 2026
Not every idea that two guys have late at night at a kitchen table after a long party is really that good. But from what ex-“Peilomat” guitarist and songwriter Flo Peil and singer Bastian Campmann planned, something came about: Kasalla.
Together with old and new companions Ena Schwiers, Sebi Wagner, and Nils Plum, they jumped into the rehearsal room with the plan to combine the music one loves with lyrics in the local dialect. Now, 10 years later, that harebrained idea has truly grown up.
Not least due to the chart success of their album "Mer sin eins", released in 2017. The band's fourth studio album immediately climbed from 0 to number 5 on the German album charts, giving the band not only their first Top Ten placement of their career but also the highest chart entry of a kölsche band since BAP in 1981. The success story of the Cologne band was crowned in 2018 by another mega highlight, as they were nominated for the German music prize ECHO.
A story that appears all the more surreal and at a rapid pace in a city like Cologne. 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 coaster.
"There are dozens of bands in Cologne that play dialect music and can make a living from it; no one believes that elsewhere when you tell them," says singer Bastian Campmann. Such a lively, active dialect scene on the border of rock and pop is hardly imaginable in other major cities in 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 an integral part of the repertoire of the fifth season is hard to imagine elsewhere. "During the carnival season, you play two hundred (!) times in just six weeks, which is about ten performances per day," describes drummer Nils Plum the workload between early January and mid-February. "However, that also means reaching a tremendous number of people."
An initial live event that exceeded all expectations took place on September 9 and 10, 2016, on the occasion of the band's fifth birthday. The first date in the LANXESS Arena, which accommodates 13,000 spectators, sold out in no time, prompting Kasalla to schedule a second date there. Ultimately, 26,000 (!) fans celebrated with the band on both days, along with musical guests Gentleman, Carolin Kebekus, and Von Brücken.
But even across the rest of the country, the quintet has developed into a genuine crowd magnet in the past four years. After the Kölner performed at their first "excursion far away" in 2014 in small clubs and pubs before 100 to 200 spectators, the band has been regularly nearing the thousand capacity limit since their Germany tour in spring 2016.
Tours in autumn 2017 and spring 2019 took the five guys not only into areas they had already played but also for the first time to Switzerland and Austria. Nineteen tour stops, almost all sold out, were on the travel plan. And Kasalla can also handle festival stages. In 2022, they had the opportunity to be guests at PAROOKAVILLE for the first time—but their celebrated performance had to be canceled after just a few songs: too many fans wanted to see the band.
It’s clear that it’s not (just) about scattered ex-Cologne residents anymore. "Of course, there are Rhineland enclaves everywhere," says bassist Sebi Wagner, "but it has developed to the point that now sixty, 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) carried the band even further into the country.
On September 8, 2017, "Mer Sin Eins," the band's fourth studio album, was released. It is the follow-up to the long-player "Stadt met K," which was released in February 2015 and reached number twelve on the Official German Charts. The mission was clear this time too. "We want to show people that dialect doesn't force music into a Ufftata limitation—but rather expands the possibilities of making music," says guitarist Flo Peil, and the plan worked. As with the predecessors, "Mer Sin Eins" once again focuses on musical diversity. The band moves effortlessly and playfully between the genres of chanson, folk, electro, and funk. "Our core business remains rock, even with this album," emphasizes keyboardist Ena Schwiers. And of course, the Kölsch language. The dialect: the common thread that holds everything together.
And this common thread works even in musically unfamiliar, unexpected waters. The band impressively proved this in 2019 with two concerts at the venerable Philharmonie Köln, both of which sold out in record time. With lovingly arranged versions and an orchestra, Kasalla was able to show themselves from a completely different side: "Nit esu laut"
In 2020, the next, greatest, ultimate adventure for the band was supposed to take place after the Cologne Arena: a concert at the RheinEnergieStadion. Over 37,000 tickets had already been sold—then a virus got in the way. Fortunately, a replacement date was found for the time after the silence: on June 17, 2022, they celebrated their 10th anniversary in the sold-out football stadium of FC—with their new studio album, which was released just in time for the band's biggest concert and again entered the Top 10 of the album charts: "Rudeldiere." The songs on "RUDELDIERE" are the result of an even more intensive process than the previous albums. "We had a lot of time during these months to choose songs, refine music and lyrics, and let all ideas flow in," describes bassist Sebi Wagner the creation process. In addition to the title track, which in 80s style addresses the search for the pack, the horde, the crew, KASALLA's new baby again offers the unbridled variety of its predecessors. "It continues to be important for us to have no reluctance musically, with the Kölsch language as a fixed point. But we always sound like Kasalla," says keyboardist Rene Schwiers. Press release: February 2022 Small melancholic moments and memories like "BUNTER HUNGK" alternate with the hopeful rock anthem "LEUCHTRAKETE" or the powerful motivator "MIDDEN EM STURM." Also served are "POMMES & CHAMPAGNER," which popily pays homage to differences, or the folky love declaration "DER RESS VUN DINGEM LEVVE." As the crashing opener loudly proclaims: With their new album, the five remain "IMMER NOCH KASALLA" even after the mandatory break.
A special collaboration came to fruition and celebrated its live premiere at the stadium concert: German rap legend EKO FRESH is featured on the song "JRÖNE PAPAJEIE." A song about diversity. Not only, but especially in Cologne.
This pack met K has a lot ahead!
Location: Saarburg, Kaserne OPEN AIR
Copyright Photo: Kasalla
Entry: 7:00 PM
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
