Carolin Kebekus believes that women are still not only missing on stage, but also behind it. She wants to change that.
Carolin Kebekus organized an open-air music festival with only female acts on Monday. According to the organizers, the “DCKS Festival” included No Angels, Lea, Mine, Annie Chops, Luna, Ebow and the newcomer Donia Touglo.
Comedian Hazel Brugger, singer Leslie Clio and author Auma Obama announced themselves as conversation partners for Kebekus. By the afternoon, thousands of spectators had come to the festival, which is scheduled to last until late in the evening, at the Tanzbrunnen in Cologne.
The idea for the festival was born in the “Carolin Kebekus Show”. There was a focus on the lack of representation of women in the music industry. According to Kebekus, the reasons for this go back to the 19th century: “At that time it was not appropriate for women to earn money,” said Kebekus (42) of the German Press Agency. «Therefore they had to publish their compositions under the names of men. So there were only male composers. To this day, this imbalance runs through all orchestras and pop formations. Because men are often in all the key positions.”
Accordingly, women were missing not only on but also behind the stage. «The excuse that there are no female bands should no longer apply. Because they exist, you just have to give them space. And that’s exactly where our festival comes in: It’s all about visibility. Our acts are role models for women and girls: girls should know that they too can headline festivals.”
It’s not about her preferring women, said Kebekus. “We’re just asking for equal opportunities. We want women to have the same presence at festivals and on the radio as men.”
The WDR accompanies the event with a documentary and festival highlights, which will be shown from June 23 in the ARD Mediathek, on WDR television, on One and on the first.
