Rotten Stage

ROTTEN STAGE

Live bands on stage & chill lounge in the courtyard

Free admission!

Between grunge, rock, rap and cello-folk-pop, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Bochum Total, the Rottstr5Theater opens its doors and invites you to a somewhat different festival: With a cozy chill lounge in the courtyard, always cold drinks and local artists, the ROTTEN STAGE will take place in the backyard on July 4th.

CHILEK - A soothing contrast to the mainstream

16:30 - 17:15

CHILEK, led by singer and guitarist Matthias Hecht, who is also known as an actor, and drummer Lars Wege, is open to new musical impulses and influences. Together with guitarist Yahwe, CHILEK's music promises variety and an always lively and fresh listening experience. "Staying flexible and changeable" - that's what matters to the trio. The haunting and varied songs are full of new soundscapes, melodic intensity and lightness. CHILEK celebrates melancholy as well as the rhythmically flaring liveliness of being. CHILEK's music cannot be confined to one genre and pushes itself directly into the ear, bypassing many a listening habit.

DrikOne & AdriNalin - Rap from the Ruhr area

18:00 - 18:45

DrikOne & AdriNalin are two rappers from the Ruhr region who have been making music together for some time. On and off stage, they share a common idea of what they want to convey to the outside world with their work: the fears and doubts that always accompany us humans - but which all too often don't get any space in our busy everyday lives. They compress this emotional state in their lyrics, which are set to dark, timeless beats.

After countless performances on small and medium-sized stages and the release of three joint EPs, their first joint album "Kurzgeschichten der Stadt" (Short Stories of the City) followed in spring 2026 - nine songs that seamlessly build on their previous work. It's about intoxication as an escape, the desire to arrive somewhere and the suspicion that this will never happen. About relationships and the oppressive feeling of arbitrariness. About anger at how this world is organized and that we are also part of it.

SEMI WASTED - EST. 2016 - STAY WASTED // BE KIND -

19:30 - 20:15

Semi Wasted from Witten stands for energetic alternative rock with influences from rock, rap and metal. Hard riffs, powerful breakdowns, emotional hooks and explosive live shows make the five-piece band an experience that gets under your skin.

Since 2016, the band has been building a steadily growing community with songs like "Hot 'N' Dirty", "Gettin Wasted" and "Seven Seas". With their debut album "Acrophobia" (2026), Semi Wasted show the full range of their raw, emotional and uncompromising sound.

Anyone looking for real emotion, intense live energy and modern rock with attitude should definitely experience Semi Wasted live.

The Pighounds: That's grunge from Dortmund

21:00 - 21:45

A duo that sounds like five. Energetic, dynamic, loud, quiet, soulful and brute. The two long-time friends and thoroughbred musicians Peter Bering (guitar, vocals) and Alessandro De Luca (drums) bring their passion to the stage.

Lyrics written by life and a wall of music that unites the 90s and modernity in its very own way. Listening, dancing, sweating - there's something for every music lover here.

JAM SESSION & joint finale

22:00 - End

Everyone is welcome on stage!

organized by Franka Siegmund & Rebecca Bednarzyk