“Why is it still Rothenburg? You guys have been there since 1996, right?” Sometimes we get this question from people who have followed Emergenza throughout the years. Why not change the location of the Festival’s grand finale? The answer is simple – we can’t think of a better environment for this big event! The Taubertal Open Air Festival and Rothenburg really have everything that an event like the Emergenza International Final needs. The location makes it both useful and delightful, like an intense cocktail of loud music and relaxation all at the same time… It’s a combination that leaves both the Finalists and Emergenza staff flutter in anticipation! Let’s stop off first at Rothenburg, which is not your average run-of-the-mill charming and picturesque small German town. It sees a good two million tourists a year pass through, a figure that says a lot about the beauty of the place. This also includes some 27,000 rockers, a crowd quite different from the common tourist, but they warmly welcomed by the locals all the same. If on the one hand it may seem that we are second rank, banished out to the valley, it is really only out in the Tauber valley that you get the stupendous view of the city as night falls, when the sky turns awesome shades of pink and the various lights begin to illuminate the historical walls of the city. Furthermore, there are excellent services provided: shuttle busses connect the valley and the city almost non-stop for the three days of the festival. Geographically speaking, Rothenburg is on the western side of Bavaria, at the intersection of the Burgerstrasse and the Romantischer Strasse, 175 km from Frankfurt and 90 km from Nuremberg. Obviously the hotel establishments and such are excellent. For information on the city, hotels, restaurants, how to get there, etc., you can go to www.rothenburg.de KARO Veranstaltungen has been organizing the Taubertal Open Air Festival since 1996, and with the precision of a Swiss watch, they attract 27,000 spectators every year – in fact, most of the time the Festival is sold out months in advance. At the beginning of August, the green-covered Tauber valley will be transformed into an enormous campsite (to accommodate those who are staying the whole weekend) and a really unique concert hall. This special “concert hall” is situated on a large grassy field surrounded by uncountable stands with every sort of gadget and food you can imagine with fruit hanging from the trees on the hills, open to the public…You can just imagine what condition they will be in after three days of uninhibited all-out celebrating… A huge stage will host the performances of bands like THE CARDIGANS, EVAN DANDO, BLACKMAIL, SUCH A SURGE. This year, Emergenza’s own SINCERE, the up-and-coming Belgian band that took second place at the final right here in Rothenburg in 2002, will now be playing on the main stage! The stage they leave behind is the Emergenza stage, where this year’s Finalists will battle it out. This stage is a little smaller and exactly opposite the main stage, and is where the competition between the Emergenza bands will take place, taking full advantage of the large crowd. KARO very heartily welcomes the Emergenza Festival for a number of reasons. It’s an organization that works hard, just like Emergenza, says Florian, one of the organizers of the festival. This makes for a good match. Moreover, in Florian’s opinion, “Emergenza really helps out the emerging bands, giving them a unique opportunity to play!” No other partner is capable of bringing together so many excellent emerging bands from all over the world. The Taubertal & Rothenburg are awesome - the support, the number of spectators, the technical materials made available to the bands (backline and PA-system). And if the food “backstage” leaves a few of the emerging bands coming from more traditional culinary cultures a bit perplexed, the dri