The first mini-edition of Reeperbahn Festival to make its way to the American west coast – to the City of Angels – was greeted with great enthusiasm by music fans, industry professionals, journalists, and artists. There was the Klaus Voormann art exhibition “It Started In Hamburg”, which premiered this past September at Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg and whose opening in LA included a very personal speech in honour of Voormann given by friend and fellow musician Van Dyke Parks. In addition to Voormann’s famous works for the Beatles, the exhibition displayed, among other items, his album cover designs for the Bee Gees, Stan Getz, Turbonegro, and Jackie Lomax, plus a host of additional sketches and graphic works.

There was also the showcase night at Zebulon, where four acts from the Reeperbahn Festival programme succeeded in setting pulses racing. Along with the superb songwriting styles of Findlay and the Giant Rooks, listeners were treated to the brisk beat wizardry of Linafornia and Mavi Phoenix, whose performances had concertgoers dancing well into the night.

Meanwhile, the two-day Music Matches conference programme welcomed participants from diverse sectors of the music industry. Speakers from Europe and the United States provided valuable insights into the idiosyncrasies of their respective markets. Music Matches was followed by the similarly-oriented digital conference programme presented by re:publica.

The series of events in LA marked the launch of the Sequencer Tour USA and was organised by Reeperbahn Festival in cooperation with re:publica and next media accelerator.
The Year of German-American Friendship (Deutschlandjahr USA) is a vast year-long programme of transatlantic projects, events, and workshops in the USA. The initiative is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, implemented by the Goethe-Institut, and supported by the Federation of German Industries (BDI).