In just over two months, Germany’s most famous metal festival will take place again in Wacken – after a two-year corona break. Contrary to what was originally planned, Till Lindemann will not be able to be seen at Wacken Open Air 2022 with his solo projects. Just like the Italian band “Death SS” (whose name has nothing to do with the “Schutzstaffel” of the NSDAP) and the English band “Angel Witch”, who will also not be performing at the festival.
How are the line-up changes coming about? The organizers published a detailed statementin which they emphasize above all the more difficult framework conditions as a result of the corona pandemic and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine:
“In the last few weeks, many bands, concerts and festivals have had to give up because, for example, logistics have become impossible for them, there was a lack of staff or the sales figures cannot cover the costs due to inflation. We have been able to keep this away from you so far. After all, you don’t get to know which bands have to cancel before their announcement due to problems, and neither do you know about budget overruns.
But now, unfortunately, already announced bands are affected. Unfortunately, Till Lindemann, Death SS and Angel Witch cannot perform as planned.
As is known with the cancellation of other performances at other festivals, the reasons are varied – but mostly there is simply a lack of experienced specialist staff. Many experts have migrated to other sectors, companies and the self-employed have filed for bankruptcy. Anyone who is still there is fully booked for a long time. Whether bus driver, backliner or stagehand, the industry has shed its skin. The unplanned absence of individuals, for example due to injury or illness, can ruin entire tours, no matter how well planned they were. In normal years, replacement is not a problem in such cases, but this year the reserve has already been firmly planned.”
In the further course of their statement, the organizers promised that new bands would be announced for Wacken Open Air 2022. And in general, despite all the inconveniences, the organizers seem to be quite keen on the sold-out festival weekend (August 04 – 06, 2022): “We won’t let it get us down and will present you with a fantastic W:O:A 2022.” Very beautiful!