Gregory Porter is the big name act added to this year’s Musikmesse Festival, performing at the Grand Finale with the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt orchestra on 6 April.
For the first time, the events are spread over five days, from Tuesday to Saturday, 2 to 6 April 2019. Around 80 clubs and locations throughout Frankfurt are involved in addition to many evening events at the Exhibition Centre.
The highlight events include the MTV Unplugged Show with Samy Deluxe, ‘15 Jahre BigCityBeats’ with Timmy Trumpet, DJ set by Mousse T & Glasperlenspiel and the final concert with Gregory Porter and the ‘Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt’. A cooperative arrangement with the Frankfurt Hotel Alliance also adds to the spectrum.
“With new and intensified partnerships, the Musikmesse Festival is even more firmly anchored in the city. For five days, Musikmesse visitors and all music lovers in the region can experience Frankfurt’s varied and multi-faceted cultural landscape to the full”, says Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt. In this connection, Musikmesse Festival Director Wolfgang Weyand, adds: “At the same time, we are positioning Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre more than ever before as the epicentre of this holistic musical experience – with unique concerts in the Festhalle, the Congress Centre Messe Frankfurt and the Festival Arena”.
The Festhalle Frankfurt is the setting for three evenings of the Musikmesse Festival. One of Germany’s most successful rappers is doing the honours on 4 April: Samy Deluxe is a great hit on the SaMTV Unplugged Show with completely new arrangements of classic songs and gems that he had never sung before live. On 5 April, BigCityBeats, one of Germany’s most successful entertainment brands, celebrates its 15th anniversary in the Festhalle. At the turntables, the DJs catering for great club sounds until the early hours include Australia’s cult DJ Timmy Trumpet, as well as ‘Alle Farben’ and ‘Le Shuuk’. The grand finale of the Musikmesse Festival is the gala concert by Gregory Porter with the ‘Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt’ orchestra on 6 April. Born in Sacramento, California, Gregory Porter is one of the most distinctive voices in jazz and will be presenting his Nat ‘King’ Cole programme for the first and only time in Germany.
The ‘Festival Arena’ – a circus tent in the heart of the Exhibition Centre – is also the venue for a number of events, including a DJ set by Mousse T. and Glasperlenspiel on Friday (5 April). Friends of hand-made music can look forward to a special treat on the first day of the fair. The Musikmesse Ultimate Jam presents a genuine all-star band with, inter alia, Jan Delay drummer Jost Nickel, ex-Prince bass player Ida Nielsen and keyboarder John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick, known for his work with The Who and Bob Marley. 
Numerous organisations from the culture, creative and tourism sector are pulling together for Musikmesse Festival. Messe Frankfurt is cooperating with the ‘Frankfurt Hotel Alliance’ interest group.15 city-centre hotels will be event locations of the Musikmesse Festival and host a variety of musical events in different settings. The spectrum ranges from Berlin’s indie rock band The Flavians at 25hours The Goldman (2 April), via DJ Sherry & Darnell The Artists at Sofitel Frankfurt Opera (3 April), to Israeli jazz pianist Omer Klein and his trio at the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof (4 April) and SoundBites@GrandSeven with gospel and jazz singer Alfred McCrary (4 April).
Musikmesse Festival is also working with partners from the musical-education sector to spotlight up-and-coming talents. Accordingly, award-winner concerts of the ‘Young People Make Music’ initiative will be held in different churches in Frankfurt on four evenings. Additionally, four classical concerts will also be held as part of the Festival at ‘Dr. Hoch’s Conservatory’. As in the past, the grand finale of the ‘International German Piano Award’ will form the official overture to the Musikmesse Festivals (1 April). Accompanied by the ‘Philharmonie Baden-Baden’ orchestra conducted by Douglas Bostock, highly talented young pianists will give demonstrations of their musicianship.
The supporters of the Musikmesse Festival also include the Frankfurt Jazz Initiative, LiveKomm e.V. venue association, the Clubs am Main regional network, the Backstage Pro musicians’ network and around 80 event locations in Frankfurt including Batschkapp, Das Bett, Gibson Club, Nachtleben, Palmengarten, Silbergold and Zoom. Highlight events of the Musikmesse Festivals in Frankfurt’s clubs will be announced shortly.
The Festival ticket costs € 15 and offers cheaper or even free admission to events of the Musikmesse Festival.
Further information about Musikmesse and the Musikmesse Festival can be found at www.musikmesse.com and www.musikmesse-festival.com.
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