Stoppok & Artgenossen

Under the motto "Listen globally - dance locally", singer and guitarist Stoppok organizes unique concert evenings where he brings together musicians from all over the world and from the most diverse musical genres on one stage. This year at Zollverein he will be joined by Carl Carlton & Melanie Wiegmann, Jon Flemming Olsen, Sonja Glass and Wambui Kamande with the Mandjao Fati Trio.

The number of participants that Stoppok invites to the concerts in the "Stoppok & Artgenossen" series varies between 5 and 50. However, when the musicians are invited by the singer/songwriter legend from the Ruhr region to join forces or play their instruments, the effect is always the same: when they play together, energetic and highly emotional evenings develop in which all those responsible are on stage together at the end, the audience cheers and nobody wants to stop playing.

Stoppok

Stoppok is a German singer/songwriter and a great guitarist. His music captivates with its unique blend of folk, rock, rhythm'n'blues and country. What began with street music in the early 80s led to over 20 albums in the course of his career, which made him famous throughout the German-speaking world and won him numerous awards (including the annual Liederbestenliste prize and the Deutscher Kleinkunstpreis). Stoppok sings with subtle humor about the adversities of everyday life and constantly distinguishes himself as a critical observer of his environment. The perfect rhythmic combination of language and music has always been just as important to him as the lyrics. Whether with his rock band, as a duo, solo or with his fellow artists: Stoppok always strikes the right note and fascinates his audience as a brilliant entertainer.

Carl Carlton & Melanie Wiegmann

Carl Carlton has already worked with artists such as Robert Palmer, Eric Burdon, Joe Cocker and Paul Young. In Germany, Peter Maffay, Udo Lindenberg and Marius Müller Westernhagen rely on his guitar skills. Melanie Wiegmann is best known to most as Natascha Schweitzer on "Sturm der Liebe". However, the trained singer also wowed her audience in the musical production of Mama Mia, among others. Inspired by the creativity and love of music of Carl Carlton, they have now found a match that should have been made long ago: Melanie Wiegmann & Carl Carlton.

Jon Flemming Olsen

As "Ingo", he was the congenial counterpart to Olli Dittrich's "Dittsche" behind the TV snack counter. With his band "Texas Lightning", he represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest and went gold and platinum with the No. 1 hit "No No Never". However, the musician and actor has long since put away his cowboy hat and turned to the German language. Even the great Reinhard Mey said of his songs: "I wish there were still radio stations that played songs like this." No question: Olsen is not only an excellent singer and multi-instrumentalist, he also writes beguilingly beautiful songs.

Sonja Glass

Before the Hamburg musician Sonja Glass and Valeska Steiner fulfilled their dream of forming their own band in 2009, they had already spent many years touring Germany's clubs alongside a wide variety of artists. As the folk-pop duo "BOY", they have performed numerous concerts and tours throughout Europe, America and Japan. In addition to her own projects, Sonja Glass also plays bass for other artists such as Bosse, Pete Doherty and Michel van Dyke. In Essen, she can be seen and heard solo and on bass.

Wambui Kamande and the Mandjao Fati Trio

The singer and trainer for racism-critical children's literature Wambui Kamande sings in Kishuaheli and German. The "Mandjao Fati Trio" consists of Mandjao Fati (Congo guitar and vocals), Seydina Ndoye (percussion, electronic music and vocals) and Bernd Keul (bass guitar and vocals). Both Mandjao Fati and Bernd Keul have performed on stage with STOPPOK on several occasions.