Greta Van Fleet

Presented by Rock Antenne

Special Guest: Black Honey

Support: Hannah Wicklund

The four members of Greta van Fleet are just in their mid-20s, but they rock with such force as if they were already old hands of the business. They describe the pioneering bands of the seventies as their big influences, including Led Zeppelin, The Cream, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors or the acts around Robert Johnson. And you can hear that from the very first riff: the fresh and powerful rocking formation from the small town of Frankenmuth near Detroit, which has since moved to the music mecca of Nashville, captivates listeners after just a few bars. And they've done it worldwide: in the U.S. as well as in many nations in Asia and Europe, including Germany, their two albums to date have climbed into the Top 10 of the charts; worldwide, the band has sold more than 3.4 million records. On July 21, the quartet will release its third long player , "Starcatcher," with which Greta van Fleet will subsequently go on a world tour. On November 6, 2023, they will stop in Hamburg, and on November 28 in Munich.

When the band Greta van Fleet - named after a very nice old lady from the neighborhood of the guys - was formed in 2012, two of the four members were just 12 years young. And the two band heads, twin brothers Josh (vocals) and Sam Kiszka (guitar), were also just 15 years old. Together with their bass-playing little brother Jake and the neighbor buddy Danny Wagner , the band was formed in the family garage, influenced and driven by their father's vinyl records to boot. Despite their youth, the four were completely addicted to the groovy (hard) rock and blues of the seventies. Their first songs sounded accordingly: powerful riffs and shouting that would do Robert Plant credit are joined by a bed of juicy bass and rolling drums.

The guys practiced obsessively during the first years and increased their repertoire. In 2014, during a concert completely live and without overdubs, they recorded their first EP, which was pressed in only a small number of copies and then sold at concerts. But through this EP, record companies and radio stations also became aware of the band. In early 2016, their rousing and highly catchy track "Highway Tune" hit the airwaves for the first time, immediately spreading hysteria around this new band in the Detroit area. In April 2017, the song was released via iTunes, by which time word of Greta van Fleet had already spread across the country - and so "Highway Tune" climbed to the top of the US mainstream rock charts. Since then, the band has been a permanent guest on the charts and has already been honored with several prestigious awards, including a Grammy and a Loudwire Music Award each.

Their two officially released EPs "Black Smoke Rising" and "From the Fires " (both 2017) are considered sensations of modern rock, as are the two long players " Anthem of the Peaceful Army " (2018) and "The Battle at Garden's Gate" (2021). In Europe, they first introduced themselves to a wide audience as the opening band at some of Guns N' Roses' European concerts - it was just the glamorous prelude to an incomparable triumphant march on this continent as well. Now this unique rock rocket ignites the next stage on July 21 with "Starcatcher". The record was produced by Dave Cobb (Rival Sons, Chris Stapleton), who carefully took away some of Greta Van Fleet 's peaks to make her songs sound even rounder and more oppressive. The exuberant joy of playing and compositional quality of the first pre-release single "Meeting The Master", which was released at the beginning of April, proves at its best why Greta van Fleet are one of the most powerful and timelessly rousing bands of the current rock scene.