Superbloom Festival Munich
Munich, the City of Beer & Brezeln
Green hills, soft meadows, geometric glass structures, and charming 70’s blocks - Munich’s Olympiapark is an iconic part of the city. Built for the ’72 Olympic games, the city officials and organizers' intention was to integrate the different stadiums into the landscape, the pointy roofs a mirror image of Munich’s famous alpine panorama. The heart of the park, the Olympiastadion, has since been a prime location for the biggest artists and concerts in the world. Notable examples from recent years include some highly controversial Rammstein shows, Metallica and AC/DC. Softer tones like Coldplay or Pink also found their way into the Weltdorf, and who could forget about Taylor Swift's performances that drew tens of thousands of fans to the nearby Olympia Hill to get a glimpse of this pop monolith. The finishing touch for 2024's concert season was the Superbloom festival, which took place in Olympiapark on the 7th and 8th of October.
Ever since its creation in 2022, the organizers of Superbloom seemed to have an easy time getting big names to perform in Munich, the city of Beer and Brezeln. The lineup for the 2022 edition featured a wild mix of popstars like David Guetta, Calvin Harris, Jason Derulo, Years & Years, Rita Ora, and Stromae next to rappers such as Skepta, Megan Thee Stallion and Saint Jhn and German fan favorites AnnenMayKantereit, BHZ, Schmyt and 01099. These trends from 2022s booking carried over into 2023, with Imagine Dragons, Martin Garrix, and Ava Max filling the slots for pop, Kontra K, Aitch, and Ski Aggu holding down the Hip Hop side of things while Peter Fox, Trettmann and Jeremias would make sure German artists would not go underrepresented. While both iterations were generally well-liked, some visitors would complain about poor organization and high prices.
Superbloom, like most festivals these days, aims to transport its visitors into a more carefree, joyful, and colorful world through sophisticated design choices all throughout the promotion material and festival setup. As one could guess by the name, flowers were omnipresent on the signs, barriers, and even on the lanyards of the staff. No black and white, no shades of grey, even the concrete arrow that is Munich’s Olympiaturm was lit up in rainbow colors after dark. Performers in bright costumes, more likely to be seen at Rio De Janeiro’s carnival procession, roamed the festival area, dancing, spreading their great mood, and posing for pictures with fans. The organizers also invited a plethora of influencers to draw in more attention for their event, and they could often be seen interviewing fans or creating content on the main plaza at Olympiahalle.
A Saturday ranging from German Punk to Gen-Z Pop
But how did some of the most anticipated acts do on the two main stages of the Olympiastadion? Tokio Hotel, the German punk band that saw a massive influx of new fans after a successful Netflix documentary, played a mix of classics and new songs suited to both young and old. The most exciting part of their show was singer Tom Kaulitz’s multiple androgynous outfits, from a suit covered in mirrors to a black latex and leather look more suited for a Berlin Sunday morning rave. Indie-Pop band “Provinz” certainly knew how to draw in a crowd, which in turn revealed one of Superbloom’s biggest organization issues. The two-stage setup ensured that the breaks between the big acts were as short as possible, as one stage could be set up while an artist was performing on the other. However, this led to many awkward situations where the front row was still filled with fans from a previous performer while the next set had long begun. This was very clearly noticeable with Provinz’s follow-up, Loyle Carner, who virtuously performed his jazzy Hip Hop and R’n’B with a live band and no playback, sadly a rare sight for today's rappers. On the smaller NeoNeo-stage, Domiziana performed out of her arsenal of viral Gen-Z hits – a grimy, sexy, and provocative show that brought a refreshing touch of Berlin to Bavaria's capital. RIN, over on the main stage, sent his young and energetic crowd into a frenzy when performing relics of his 2017 glory days, though some youth and energy could certainly have improved his performance.
An early highlight was Cro’s set. Many visitors stated him as one of the main reasons for buying festival tickets, and his performance did not disappoint. The panda-faced former teen darling packed Olympiastadion, less than ten minutes away from the sight of his first triumphant concert in Munich over in Olympiahalle. His crowd, easily matching Provinz in size and RIN in energy, sent continuous roars through the stadium every time he reached into his deep bag of cult classics. The beauty of the interplay between location, weather, time, and music was on full display during Sam Smith’s grand performance. Their set started off with melodic ballads accompanied by the lush summer sunset shining through the glass roof, creating an unparalleled atmosphere. As evening turned to night, the songs got clubbier, more electro and Smith’s grand sense of showmanship was allowed to shine. He changed from an all-black outfit with a turtleneck collar into a black, then an opulent rainbow evening gown more reminiscent of the proverbial singing lady in the opera, then back into a black everyday look. This alone would have been enough to get the crowd on their feet. Still, his unbelievably skilled set of dancers, multiple twerking intermissions, a giant woman's body smeared with paroles in the back of the stage, and Sam Smith’s reliably angelic voice turned their set into the festival's highlight and a testament to the potential of its booking and location. The Chainsmokers show, while still bombastic, with hammering bass and an elaborate light show, sadly failed to match the quality of Smith’s performance but served as a nice palate cleanser for Sunday's sets.
While the music, for the most part, did not disappoint, many fans complained about poor organization on day one. The lines at the food trucks, the toilets, and even the entrance cost the festival a lot of sympathy. Some weary visitors took issue with the distances between the different stages, the overcrowded spaces, and the “paywalls” for certain VIP areas. Even considering the location, of Munich, the festivals' prizes were still heavily criticized. A popular index for gauging an event's expensiveness in the Bavarian capital is comparing the cost of half a liter of beer. Superbloom charged 7,50€, right on par with the city’s main attraction, Oktoberfest. Many visitors noted that when factoring in the generously priced food and tickets, Superbloom was quite a costly affair. The atmosphere, while vibrant and joyous, was also noticeably corporate-friendly. The sponsors needed to finance a festival of this size made sure that their presence would be felt from staff and artists constantly wearing the new Bayern München jersey to an IQOS-themed stage with drag shows and an Amorelie pavilion with a giant rodeo-vibrator that visitors could ride to win prizes, the companies marketing was neither shy nor uncreative.
Sunday - fresh Breeze and danceable Beats
Sunday promised an equally enticing lineup of artists, but an early taste of fall. While the simmering heat pressed down on the festival all of Saturday, the second and last day of Superbloom started with a cloudy sky and a fresh breeze. An early fan favorite of day two was Loreen. Her danceable and bombastic music style was well suited for the Olympiastadion's massive speakers. The crowd certainly caught on, and one did not have to wonder much about why she won the Eurovision Song Contest twice.
Sporting a look reminiscent of Edward Scissorhands, she seemed like the polar opposite of Milky Chance’s down-to-earth but facile Folctronica. A collaborative effort with Jordan Miller of The Beaches and a “Tainted Love”-cover got some movement into the crowd, as did their perennial favorite “Stolen Dance.” Still, compared to the force and glamour of Loreen’s show, Milky Chance seemed a little disinterested.
Many younger fans stated Jorja Smith as one of their main reasons for coming to the festival on day two. After scoring a viral hit in “Little Things” last year, the singer seemed eager to prove that she is more than a one-hit wonder when she and her live band entered the stage. Opening the set with a drum- and percussion solo, Smith enchanted the crowd with her soul-infused R’n’B, her charismatic background vocalists, and, of course, her unbelievable voice. As day turned to evening, the sky over Munich slowly started to cloud. Unclouded was the mood of the giant crowd Louis Tomlinson managed to garner for his performance. He appeared in a parka and sunglasses look reminiscent of recently reunited rock legends Oasis. With every new song he played, the former One Direction member poured gasoline on the wildfire his entry on stage lit in the stadium. His fans certainly brought the most energy out of any artist playing during the entire weekend, and their screams and cheers could be heard on the entire premises.
One of the more surprising artists to perform at Superbloom was Nigerian superstar Burna Boy. Dressed like a classic cowboy, he and his band of mesmerizing background dancers soon got some movement into the crowd.
He did not disappoint musically either, as his live band gave new spirit and character to his poppy Afrobeats. He stoked the fire his rhythms lit in the crowd by repeatedly encouraging his fans to dance and have a good time, a call they happily answered. Even the guests in the VIP area, led by Jorja Smith and her team, got on their feet and followed the beat. The sky opened during the set and the rain started pouring onto the crowd in front of the stage.
This, however, did not affect the overall mood in the slightest but set the stage nicely for OneRepublic. Their pop hymns alone would have made their performance worth watching, but they upgraded their sound with a set of life strings that added an unexpectedly orchestral touch. The hooks of their biggest songs were audible on the entire grounds, the lyrics as clear as if one was standing right by the stage. As a bonus, they performed covers of several famous pop songs, to the great pleasure of the crowd. Calvin Harris got to close out the festival, entertaining a mass of soaking-wet fans in pouring rain. Few producers have shaped the sound of modern pop music and written as many songs that have become part of the collective consciousness as the 2024 BRIT-Award winner Harris. Naturally, the fans were on board from the first song on and made sure that the last images of Superbloom were ones of community, color, and joy as the impressive light show illuminated the giant crowd dancing in the rain.
High prices, lackluster organization, and bad weather all failed to dampen the mood of the fans. The booking for 2024’s Superbloom focused heavily on Pop artists, but that gamble paid off, as they were the ones drawing in the biggest crowds and playing the most bombastic sets. Munich’s Olympiapark could well have been the headliner, as it served as a beautiful location for the final highlight of this year's festival season. Before the 2024 iteration, there were some concerns about whether Superbloom would even have a future. Those were quickly silenced, as the 2025 edition has already been announced.
REVIEW BY
Nepomuk
I loved hearing personal stories as long as he could think. My love for culture and my classical education form my writing background.
