Festerfest recap [9 April ’26]
Akelei at Festerfest 2026
Three years ago, during Easter, I went to see my old band Carceri (with Josha on drums) at Festerfest, a one-dayer that prides itself on presenting a varied mix of genres. Carceri plays death metal, for example, but they would be preceded by schlager while a punk rock band performed after them. Josha played Festerfest again last year, this time with his Misfits coverband. The organiser also knew Akelei and asked Josha if we would be interested in playing this year’s edition. We were already working on our special ‘Promo 08’ set so we asked if we could play that to which Frank (the organiser) said yes. He requested that we also played ‘Een van ons’ however, as that’s a song he’s very fond of. This would mean a 50-minute set for us, our longest show yet. It also meant rearranging ‘Een van ons’ into something we could play live. We felt confident and told Frank we would do it.
When Thorben and Dirk joined our ranks, we made quick progress during rehearsals and our confidence grew even more. Now all we needed to work on were the vocal parts which would be shared between me, Aline and Josha. The demo songs are fairly straightforward in this regard, with Josha and Aline basically singing the backing lines from the recordings. The vocal work on ‘Een van ons’ by comparison is a lot more central in the song. We wanted to recreate in particular the powerful verses and chorus in the second half of the song, and that needed some coordinated effort. Josha took a lot of care in this matter actually, by providing vocal demos that he shared with Aline and me, so we could decide what worked for us. Ideally, we probably could have used a few more weeks to tweek and perfect our harmonies, but the show was nearing and we were sounding pretty good already.
So this Easter we find ourselves at Festerfest once again but this time it’s really special for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the location of the festival is the brand new Baroeg building. In the last couple of years, Baroeg has demolished the 40+ years old building to make way for a larger venue. This was a necessity as the old building couldn’t live up to the requirements of modern day cultural facilities. In the meantime, they kept organising gigs but these were hosted by other local venues. Now they are ready to receive audiences on their own grounds again and we were one of the first bands to try out the new stage! The other reason is that Frank has decided this tenth edition will be the last Festerfest. He told me it started to feel like he was repeating himself and that it was better to end on a highlight, something I don’t disagree with.
After setting up a corner for Akelei at the merch tables, it was time to check out the new concert hall. It’s very different to what Baroeg was like, very modern most of all and with a balcony(!), but there are some things that feel familiar. Like the steps to one side of the hall where it’s possible to sit down and watch a gig or to use to get an elevated view of the stage. The stage itself is a LOT bigger than the old one. There’s actually room to move around without accidentally hitting your band mates with a guitar. Plus the venue now has a loading dock behind the stage which makes transitions between sets smoother. Another great upgrade is the addition of actual backstage rooms. Anyone who’s ever played at the old Baroeg (Akelei: 5x) knows that it was pretty much lacking in that department. Artists have their own bathrooms now. And showers. Hallelujah.
When it’s time for us to move our gear to the stage, I notice that some of my cables aren’t long enough to cover the distance from amp to mic. What an amateur! Luckily, the stage crew are super helpful and get me a suitable stand in. There’s only time for a line check so we make our monitor requests and start the set. I screw up a couple of guitar notes in ‘Middag’, which I never do, and I blame that on having so little time in the changeover. I haven’t quite landed yet but we’re already halfway through the first song. It’s going well enough though, and we’ve rehearsed these songs so often that it’s become easier to relax and focus on my own parts, knowing that everyone’s locked in and playing as a unity. The only other problems occur during ‘De zin’, first when Matthijs errs on the part he’s supposed to play and then when I can’t switch to clean. I resort to playing the outro palm muted.
As it turns out, a faulty jack insert is to blame for my channel switching distress. After that’s fixed, we start ‘Een van ons’. This song has the most potential for errors but we make none and it feels great. We’ve worked on it for quite a while and it’s nice to see that work pay off. Then it’s time for the last and longest song of the set, ‘Herfst en de weduwnaar’, and this one also goes without problems. Singing the chorus together with Aline is nice because it allows me to hang on to her voice and I’m less shaky because of that. During the quiet part before the finale, Josha plays a recording of the spoken word part, which means we’re almost there and we’re going to build toward that crescendo now. It’s a great way to end the set and I’m already looking forward to playing it all over again.
After the show and getting something to eat from the Baroeg kitchen, we meet up with friends and fans, sell some CD’s and t-shirts and hang out. The cafe area of the new venue takes perhaps the biggest getting used to, as it still feels ‘sterile’ (how one volunteer put it). The old bar area was drenched in decades of usage (and beer) and every piece of furniture had a story attached to it, so to speak. That feeling was missing here. And that’s to be expected of course. Even the old venue was once new. What’s important is that Baroeg with this new building has secured its future as an independent stage for alternative music from Rotterdam, the Netherlands and beyond. I think they’ve done a marvelous job, also Frank, who as part of management in the last seven years worked toward this goal. Baroeg forever!
Misha
Listening to: Earth – Hex; or Printing in the Infernal Method
PS Cheers to Vitus Frank for the video below!
