Recommendations of the Editorial team
The American singer Mei Semones and her band won the Anchor-Reeperbahn Festival International Music Award 2025 on Friday evening (September 19th).
At the big award show in the St. Pauli Theater, the artist prevailed against five other international acts and convinced the prominent jury with an extraordinary appearance.
“Unique, incomparable and deeply challenging in the best possible way,” said Grammy-nominated songwriter Tayla Parx the decision of the jury. The band was mysterious and irresistible at the same time.
“She left us a feeling of ‘What the hell was that?’, And we liked that very much.”
The jury was convinced that the appearance was not only a strong festival moment, “but also the occurrence of an artistic voice with the strength to redefine what mainstream can mean”.
What the victory means for Mei Semones
The award is connected to a voucher for light and sound equipment worth 20,000 euros, and the band is also available for a month. The anchor was awarded for the tenth time this year.
Anchor Award 2025: The nominees
In addition to Mei Semones, Cara Rose, Carpetman, Rip Magic, Soft Loft and Sorvina were nominated this year. On the festival days on Wednesday and Thursday, the six acts presented themselves in the Mojo Club and tried to convince jury and the audience of themselves and their musical qualities.
The decision finally made the big anchor – The Award Show. All nominees appeared there before the prominent jury gave up their vote. This year it consisted of Tayla Parx, Suzi Quatro, Laurie Anderson, Bazzazian and Max Giesinger.
Awards without algorithm influence
Since its introduction in 2016, the Anchor has been a prize that is deliberately setting up with striking metrics. While many awards appreciate sales and popularity, the anchor primarily characterizes artistic quality and live presence.
With the Anchor, the Reeperbahn Festival also wants to set a statement against the pure algorithm -driven music business. Instead of automated suggestions, this is about authentic experts. As a result, awards are again what you should be: a guide to the must-hears of the international music scene.