The Alternative Music Festival
Mainstream music festivals are abundantly strewn over all the lands, but for those with a more alternative music style, Germany has something extra special. . . The Hurricane Festival.
Mainstream music festivals are abundantly strewn over all the lands, but for those with a more alternative music style, Germany has something extra special. . . The Hurricane Festival.
Mainstream music festivals are abundantly strewn over all the lands, but for those with a more alternative music style, Germany has something extra special. . . The Hurricane Festival.
This music festival consistently brings Europe the best of alternative music from rock, to indie, to electronic. Hurricane oozes far-out tunes into your ears while basking you in the sweet, summer sunshine.
Since 1997, this festival has been a whirlwind of impressively alternative lineups, whetting the palates of people with your precise musical taste. In the past, they have hosted headliners such as The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire, David Bowie, and the Foo Fighters.
To continue the raging storm of greatness, they will host their 23th-year anniversary on the glorious countryside of Eichenring in Scheeßel, Germany. During the same days, their “twin” festival, Southside, will be taking place in Tuttlingen, southern Germany.
2 years ago, not only did Hurricane Festival delight you with an unforgettable atmosphere and delicious food, but also with their undeniably attractive lineup of Green Day, Flogging Molly, Blink 182, Frank Turner, Linkin Park, Casper, and nearly 100 others!
Dance in the midst of the most radical storm of the summer, The Hurricane Festival. Feel the sun tingle your skin as you rock your face off to Blink 182 in the alluring German countryside. There really won’t be a better way to spend those 3 precious days of June.
When attending a festival, the common mindset lies somewhere within the lines of “I’m not going to sleep!” And, “I’m going to see all the bands and have all the fun!” Truth is, you can have all the fun, but in order to optimise your fun, sleeping is must.
Plan out who you most want to see and when, then in between sets perhaps find a place to sit in the shade and chill out. Seeing the ‘totally and completely burnt out’ person who fainted on the hill with a snow cone in their hand while missing their favorite band is quite common at summer music festivals- don’t be that guy.
Yes, as silly as it may seem when you are sober at 10 in the morning, mark your tent with something distinctively yours; you will thank yourself when you are stumbling back at 2 in the morning (perhaps drunk) in the dark. Walking into someone else’s tent in the wee hours of the morning isn’t the most popular way to make friends.
At festivals of this magnitude of fun, it can be oh-too-easy to forget about your health; in doing so, the second and third days of the festival can really be a bummer. It is not dorky to wear sunscreen- what’s dorky is having a bright red face.
Don’t be afraid to lather up. As well, hydration is the key to a good time! While you may think that drinking water is less cool than drinking booze, it’s super uncool to pass out face-first during your favorite show.
It is highly recommended to take the time to check out the surrounding areas of Bremen while you attend the Hurricane festival.
Bremen is a beautiful city on the Weser river, and one of it’s most stunning features is the Town Hall; it was eloquently architected in the early 1400’s, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2014.
Another popular attraction in Bremen is their interactive space museum called Universum; with it’s completely unique and quite large architecture, the Universum Space Center hosts 250 exhibits where you can explore mankind, the Earth, and even the cosmos (oou).
If you’re not a die-hard fan of camping, you have a couple alternative choices: you can either stay in the “Hurricane Resort,” which is an area for “glamping” (also known as glamorized camping) provided by the festival, or you can rent a hotel room nearby.
While packing up your own gear and setting up camp at the Hurricane Festival is the most common form of accommodation while you stay, it certainly isn’t the only option.
The surrounding areas include many comfortable hotels such as the spacious Landgut Stemmen for around $100 a night with breakfast included,
Booking.com
or the modern 5 star Landhaus Wachtelhof for around $160 a night.
Booking.com
You can search for and book these and many more on a website like booking.com, for it is recommended to book ahead of time to ensure a room.
If you are traveling alone or with a small group, youth hostels are a great option because they are much more budget friendly (and fun!). You can spend some extra days in the city of Bremen.
The Townside Hostel
Booking.com
is a great option that ranges from about $20 a night for a dorm bed, and about $50 a night for a private room.
Each year, Hurricane Festival prides itself by bringing in some of the best food in Germany for it’s attendee’s. From juicy, beefy hamburgers at Burgerkultour, to 100% vegan burgers at Vincent Vegan, to sweet and refreshing frozen yogurt at Sweet Little Thing, there is sure to be something for every food preference and craving you may acquire.
If you are flying into Germany from out of the country, your closest international airport options are either going to be Frankfurt or Düsseldorf, but you can also fly into the Munich International Airport. For European and domestic flights, the closest airport is going to be City Airport Bremen or the Hamburg Airport.
Costs from $20-$60, and takes about 6 hours. From Amsterdam, you can take the Eurolines Bus to Bremen Hauptbahnhof Train Station, and from there you can take a train into Scheeßel.
Takes about 3 hours and 40 minutes driving. Start off the A10 coming from S100, and then follow A1/A30 to Bremer St in Sottrum, Deutschland. From there, take the exit 50 for Stuckenborstel and continue on B75 to the Eichenring in Scheeßel.
Costs from $100-$136 and takes about 11 hours. From the München Ost Train Station in Munich, you can take a night train to Bremen Hauptbahnhof Train Station, and from that station you can then take a train to Scheeßel.
It takes about 7 hours to drive. From Frauenstraße, get on A9, and follow that to Waller Heerstraße/B215 in Verden, and take the exit 25 for Verden Nord from A27. From there, follow B215 and B75 to Scheeßel.
Costs from $33-$52 and takes about 4 hours and 30 minutes. You can take the Meinfernbus from the Alexanderplatz station in Berlin to the Hamburg Central Bus Station. From Hamburg, you can take a train from the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof Train Station to Scheeßel.
Driving will take about 3 hours and 30 minutes. You are going to want to start off by taking the the A114 to A24 and A1 to Stader Street in Sittensen. From there, get off at exit 47 and continue on Stader Street. From Stader Street, take Scheeßeler Street/L130 to Auf dem Brink in Scheeßel.
Scheeßel first started hosting festivals back in 1973, when it hosted a rock festival called Es Rockt in der Heide (It’s Rocking in the Heath). Ever since, a few festivals have come and gone, but the land remains known for large musical gatherings.
In 1997, the Hurricane Festival took stage on the sand racetracks of Eichenring, bringing in musical sensations such as Daft Punk and Chumbawamba, as well as a crowd of 20,000 rockers. Ever since, it has grown in capacity, fame, and epicness. In 2016, they had reached a maximum capacity of 75,000.
As well, Hurricane Festival goes down in history as being the very last full concert the legendary David Bowie ever performed. He was having chest pain during his show, and was immediately taken to the hospital by helicopter after his performance, where he was then diagnosed with a heart attack.
Recommendations for the Event