Air Heavy, Heart Full: Paula Hartmann Live
On Saturday,
Paula Hartmann played an open-air show at the Citadelle in Mainz. It was hot. Like people-passing-out-in-the-crowd hot. And somehow, still, it ended up being one of the most emotionally precise, beautifully chaotic, and flat-out impressive concerts I’ve seen in a long time.
No one knew who was going to open the show, and suddenly Jassin was just there. And then he went on stage and gave a set that felt thoughtful and intentional and left everyone exactly where they needed to be before Paula walked on.
Hartmann sang every song on her setlist, despite having to pause the show several times to make sure people were okay. The moment something felt off in the crowd, she stopped. No dramatic exit, no waiting for someone else to act; she’d check in, call security herself, and only keep going once things were safe. And then she kept going. She wasn’t even sure she’d make it through the whole set, because of all the interruptions, but she did. Every. Single. Song.
Live. Raw. Exact. 3 Sekunden was a standout, haunting and huge in all the right ways. DLIT (Die Liebe ist tot), Nie verliebt and schwarze SUVs had the crowd in this weird mix of collective softness and tension. The kind of moment you don’t plan but hope music will lead you to. There’s something rare about artists who manage to make a space feel different. Safer. Softer. Not in the sanitized way, but in a way that acknowledges what the night demands and rises to meet it. That’s what this show was. It was everything a summer concert should be: loud, warm (literally), and full of feeling. But more than that, it was careful. Intimate. And most of all? It was Real.
If you get the chance to see Paula Hartmann live this summer, go. Bring water. Bring a loved one. And let it all wash over you.
WANT TO SEE MORE OF PAULA HARTMAN? HERE ARE ALL THE PICTURES OF HER PERFORMANCE:
WRITTEN BY
Ilayda
For as long as I can remember, the question of belonging has lingered in the back of my mind. As a diaspora child, I carry the weight of leaving and the longing to find home in every place I go. So, I like to write about things that move me - music that lingers, films that haunt, words that stay long after the page is turned. I love to chase the moments that make me feel something.
