Handmade music at the head office in Bremen

Baby, the moon... it's going to be romantic when the full moon rises overhead on December 5and the enchanting scent of vanilla crescents wafts through the head office. In addition to clementines, there will be plenty of cuddles - both good for the immune system in winter!

This 7th Songrider will also feature 3 spectacular acts that are not to be missed:

Weird Youth

A versatile artist from the Dutch independent scene, Ridderbos creates songs that are both intimate and universal. He is best known here for the folk band Town of Saints, with whom he toured Germany for years. His musical journey has also led him to collaborations with German artists such as HONIG and the American Ian Fisher, with whom he founded the joint project Tour of Tours. He is now taking a new, more personal path with his solo project Weird Youth.

On his soon to be released debut album "Season One", Ridderbos delves deep into the complexity of love. He tells the story of two people who let themselves be carried away by their passion. The recordings were made in his own four walls on an 8-track cassette recorder, and he recorded all the instruments himself. The result is a wonderfully edgy sound.

Musically, Weird Youth moves between the honest storytelling of the seventies à la Neil Young and 90s rock. This mixture forms the perfect backdrop for Ridderbos' deeply personal stories. Each song on Season One is like an old Polaroid snapshot - slightly frayed at the edges, but all the more authentic in what it reveals about the human heart. With Weird Youth, he invites the kind of honest, unpolished storytelling that many in the current music scene crave.

We are delighted that he is coming to us from Groningen.

Ameel Hotaky

A self-taught musician, Ameel Hotaky taught herself to play the guitar in 2017 and soon expanded her repertoire to include ukulele, piano, bass and drums. The student has been writing and composing her own songs since 2018. Her musical career took off when she began performing regularly in cultural centers, youth centers and cafés.

She now performs on the stages of well-known festivals and events in Bremen and beyond. The special thing about Ameel's live performances is her creative use of the Loopstation: she records vocals and various instruments live and layers them into soundscapes - giving the impression that a whole band is on stage.

Musically, she moves between singer-songwriter, folk and indie - with a sound that is warm, honest and powerful. In 2023, she released her first EP "Lie To The World", which is available on all major streaming platforms. In 2024, Ameel was also awarded the Weyher Kultur-Nachwuchspreis for her talent and artistic development. In October 2025, the second EP was released under the name "Focus Once More".

We are very excited and looking forward to it!

Karsten Block

Wait a minute, we know him ... isn't that Karsten? Our wonderful and unique sound man? Yes, it's him :)

He has been on the road for many years with Melanie in the duo "Goldilocks and the Nigthingale" and recently joined the band "Jens Finger", but has managed to keep his solo songs from us until now. But that's over now - they have to go out into the world 🙂

Sometimes dreamy, sometimes reflective and thoughtful, sometimes rocking and sometimes with a dose of self-irony, Karsten Block 's songs take us on a journey through his emotional world.

While the multi-instrumentalist arranges himself into a whole band in the studio, he creates an intimate atmosphere on stage with just an acoustic guitar and his velvety tenor voice.

The songs have matured over many years in a quiet little room. Now they are finally ready for their big performance. We are more excited than words can express!