In the organizer's words:

From the streets to concert halls: Stadtgeklimper goes on tour with its first "ranTasten" tour

What began as a musical adventure on the streets of Cologne is now becoming a tour in its own right: pianist Thelonious Herrmann, known as Stadtgeklimper, is going on tour for the first time in May 2026. Under the title "ranTasten", he will bring his unmistakable blend of spontaneity and piano playing to five cities - Wuppertal, Koblenz, Oberhausen, Bonn and Düsseldorf.

Thelonious started pushing boundaries at an early age. At the age of 16, he dragged his piano through Cologne's Südstadt district for the first time under the motto "If you love your piano, you push it!", laying the foundation for an artistic career that is still closely linked to urban life today. Whether in the city center among passers-by, in the FC stadium in front of thousands, dressed up as Mozart at carnival or in the streetcar, which he transformed into a concert hall with spontaneous sing-along sessions - Stadtgeklimper has long been an integral part of the Rhineland cultural scene. With his mobile piano in a campervan, Thelonious has now traveled to 36 countries, played in front of international audiences and given concerts with artists such as Cat Ballou and Chefket. In June, he will be playing his own concert in Cologne's Philharmonie. But his musical home remains the street: a place where closeness, authenticity and surprise define every moment.

With "ranTasten", Stadtgeklimper is now bringing precisely this spirit to selected venues. The audience can expect an evening full of stories, Cologne lightness, improvised moments, favorite pieces from his journey so far and new compositions of his own, which will be heard live for the first time.

"I learned on the road what music can really do: Connecting people in the moment. My music lives from encounters in real life. 'ranTasten' is my attempt to transfer the intensity of a street moment into a concert hall - directly, honestly and without distance. I want to bring this energy into every hall, as if we were standing together again in the middle of Cologne. Only this time we're all sitting a little more comfortably."