From 6 to 9 July 2023, Stars Of Sounds took place in the picturesque town of Murten in the canton of Fribourg. With its idyllic location on the shores of Lake Morat and breathtaking sunsets, it promised to be a hot and summery festival weekend.
The first day was characterized by musical time travel and missions: Kunz, Tim Bendzko and Peter Maffay created enthusiasm among the festival visitors.
Festival atmosphere and culinary variety
It’s been a while since I last attended Stars Of Sounds in Murten in 2018 (read the reviews here). But the Stars Of Sounds in Murten was again a unique mixture of music and street food festival. Next to the stage area there was a small “food mile” where visitors could enjoy a variety of delicacies.
My favorites? The Pommesatelier’s fries (Mexican style or with mushroom cream sauce), the Momo stand, and the two ice cream stands (must-have in this heat). The Village also featured a covered outdoor bar where DJs performed and newcomer artists showcased their talents on Sunday.
A special atmosphere was offered to concertgoers who watched the shows on the lake from their ships and boats. This perspective, of course, added an extra magic to the performances.
Kunz kicked off the Stars Of Sounds in Murten
It was shortly after admission, and the first row was already take by enthusiastic Peter Maffay fans. Some of them had come especially from Germany, from cities like Munich or Chemnitz. After the show, some traveled directly on to Luxembourg, where Maffay played the next show the following day. But among the Maffay supporters there was also a Kunz fan. The Lucerne musician Kunz namely kicked off the Stars Of Sounds here in Murten.
Complete photo gallery: Kunz at Stars Of Sounds Murten
The concert began with a quiet brass intro, went over into “s Gröschte” and started the KUNZert powerful and energetic. Kunz conjured up his folky and rousing sounds on stage again today with his 8-members band. The Swiss musician once again proved to be a charming and warm artist, who knows how to inspire the audience with his cheerful and humorous manner.
Funny dances and new hits
Kunz and his band once again provided the perfect summer party with a mixture of folk, pop and rock, topped with sometimes funny, sometimes romantic and also profound dialect lyrics. The mood continued to rise when Kunz performed the rousing song “Tanzbär.” The audience laughed and clapped along, while some even dared to do the “crab dance”, which came across as particularly funny because of the proximity to the lake.
Kunz also presented his latest work, the single “Sing Sing,” which was released just two weeks ago. The song will be featured on Kunz’s sixth album, “Proviant,” which will be released in November.
Stories from life
With a lot of humor Kunz told his stories from everyday life and life during the one-hour set. He encouraged the audience to enjoy life to the fullest (“sLäbe isch gföhrlich”) and fretted about exhausting neighbors (“Blablabla”). The question whether one was allowed to use “Sunne usem Arsch” (sun out of ass) at all with so many children or not, he answered directly himself with the latter song.
With “Räubertochter” it got really wild again at the end and Kunz convinced not only the Swiss audience finally, but also various German visitors – despite the fact that they could hardly understand the lyrics or not at all.
Tim Bendzko’s musical mission
“..No problem if the world ends…” Because the second act of the evening was Tim Bendzko on stage for us. Together with his band he presented his catchy repertoire. Tim Bendzko, known for his catchy melodies and emotional lyrics, also conveyed a positive message in Murten.
Complete photo gallery: Tim Bendzko at Stars Of Sounds Murten
His new album “April”, released at the end of March, continues his mission to save the world, like his hit “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten” (Just save the world). Launched in 2011 with the song on his debut album “Wenn Worte meine Sprache wären” (If words were my language), the father of a two-year-old son nowadays, however, doesn’t just want to save the world for himself, but especially for his offspring.
Between heartache and humor
I mean to remember Tim Bendzko being more talkative from previous concerts. But with songs like “Das Leben wieder lieben” (To love life again) and “Unter die Haut” (under the skin) he touched the hearts of the audience, while with hits like “Magneten” and a new, synth-heavy version of “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten” he created a rollicking atmosphere. To the latter, he joked right after the song “Allein in Paris” (Alone in Paris) that it was possibly not his fault to be alone, since SHE might have had something better to do, e.g. save the world.
During “Kein Problem”(no problem) Tim interrupted to encourage the audience to sing along. Together with his pianist Sascha he also presented an intimate version of “Irgendwas mit Liebe” (Something with love). This was followed by a beautiful acoustic duet to “Wenn Worte meine Sprache wären” together with background singer Buket.
Tim Bendzko once again proved his talent as a singer-songwriter and left a lasting impression. After “Sag einfach ja” (Just say yes), he almost ran off stage, but returned for a very last one with “Zu viel” (Too much).
Peter Maffay thrills generations
Peter Maffay set the crowning finale of the evening. It was my very first Peter Maffay concert and my excitement and anticipation had been growing steadily throughout the day. Accompanied by a talented 10-piece band, including his 19-year-old son Yaris, Peter Maffay promised a time travel that thrilled the older generation in particular. But even the younger audience was quickly won over by his music.
Complete photo gallery: Peter Maffay at Stars Of Sounds Murtenn
Peter Maffay was of course a household name to me since my childhood. His songs played regularly at our home and I saw him occasionally on TV shows or documentaries. But to be honest, I only got to know more about him when he took part as a coach in the 12th season of “The Voice of Germany” last year. How incredibly sympathetic and nice he was there was also confirmed at the concert in Murten.
Adventure in Murten’s old town
With “Freiheit, die ich meine” Peter Maffay started energetically into his “Stars Of Sounds” concert and continued rousing with “Jetzt!”. The atmosphere was inspiring and captivating right from the start, and the audience was carried away by Maffay’s charisma.
Peter Maffay remarked that it would be hard to even top the atmosphere given the breathtaking view of the lake, and raved about the festival area with its view of Lake Murten and the impressive sunset. He told that they had already arrived the day before and had cycled through the old town of Murten. No one had warned him though, how steep it would go up there. By the way, I stumbled across a proof photo on Instagram of him riding his bike.
Magic duet for a better world
With the song “Eiszeit”, Peter Maffay touched on current topics such as nuclear armament and the Ukraine conflict. He had very much wished that this song from the 80s would not become topical again. Therefore, Peter Maffay appealed to the attitude that weapons cannot solve conflicts. Immediately afterwards, he took us to the “Promised Land” (Gelobtes Land).
Throughout the concert, Peter Maffay repeatedly introduced his band members and let them shine with solo interludes. With this, he also presented the song “Fühlen” by his son Yaris Maffay. Yaris took over the lead vocals and gave a touching performance.
But the most emotional and very special moment, at least for me, came with the following duet “Kingdom of Love” with Linda. “We are looking at the same sun and the same moon. We share the same earth, we’re all in the same boat,” they sang in the song, and tears immediately welled up in my eyes. The incredibly beautiful piano ballad about the dream of a better world gave goosebumps despite the heat. The beautiful visual of the song cover in the background supported them. It was not surprising that the song came from last year’s Tabaluga anniversary album “Die Welt ist wunderbar” (the world is wonderful) By the way, Peter Maffay originally recorded the song together with “our” Steffi Heinzmann.
Over 50 years of Peter Maffay
Yes, this year Peter Maffay can already celebrate the 40th anniversary of his little dragon Tabaluga. In April, there was a TV gala about it on Sat1. Maybe you have watched it too? Tabaluga, the fictional dragon created by Peter Maffay, is the main character of a musical fairy tale. I’m sure you all know him. The story was developed by Maffay in the 1980s. Originally, the story and songs were intended for a concept album, but now there are not only eight Tabaluga albums, but also a musical, an animated series and a cinema movie.
With “Weil es dich gibt” and “Du” more old songs followed. Peter recalled how he first came to Switzerland in 1970 with the song “Du”. Did you know that Peter Maffay originally became famous with Schlager? Yep, both songs are real hit songs. Starting in 1974, Peter and his band moved into the genres of country, rock and rock’n’roll, and finally, at the end of the 1970s, into German rock, making him the force in the music business that he is today.
So Peter Maffay has been in the music business for over 50 years. Among the more than 30 albums released, there are 19 No. 1 albums. With over 50 million records sold, he is one of Germany’s most successful solo artists. In addition to numerous music awards such as the Echo, the goldene Stimmgabel and the Bambi, Peter Maffay received the Federal Cross of Merit in 2021 for his social commitment. In addition to the Peter Maffay Foundation, he founded the Tabaluga Children’s Home to help disadvantaged children.
Timeless classics and unexpected encores
Peter Maffay loves to play “old hats” as he said with a grin, so “Dreams on Fire” could not be missing in the set With this song, however, he already announced that slowly the end of the concert was approaching. At that point, I had no idea that we were still far from the end.
Of course, “Über sieben Brücken musst du gehen” was not to be missed. This song by the band Karat, which Peter Maffay had covered in 1980, brought him huge success. The song shows that you can overcome many obstacles if you only believe. When Peter Maffay asked Karat back then if he could cover it, they just said “Try it!”
So the concert by no means ended with “Believe in me”. Of course, an encore was in order, but Peter Maffay and his band even played a whopping 30 minutes beyond the originally planned playing time. “After all, I’ve been playing the encore game for 55 years,” he laughed.
Emotional fireworks at the end
The first encore was “Und es war Sommer”, where Peter Maffay asked us to sing along with the guitars with “piu”. You’ve probably caught yourself singing along to guitars or other instruments, right? But being asked to do so by the artist was actually new for me.
It was followed first by “Liebe wird verboten”. Subsequently, I marveled at “So bist du.” Oli P. says hello. I knew it was a cover, but I hadn’t realized that the song originally came from Peter Maffay. It was a favorite right away, even though I noticed that Oli P. had slightly rewritten the song at the time. With “Sonne in der Nacht” Peter Maffay finally managed to bring the mood to its peak and thrill the audience with a grand musical finale.
Party in the Village: dancing and celebrating after the concerts
The first evening at Stars of Sounds in Murten was a great success. The top-class performances and the fantastic atmosphere delighted the visitors. Kunz, Tim Bendzko and Peter Maffay offered a varied program that had something for every taste.
My personal highlight was actually the concert by Peter Maffay. His down-to-earth manner, impressive delivery and beautiful, timeless hits just blew me away.
After the concert we went to the Village to dance and party before it was time for bed. After all, I wanted to be fit for the next three days to enjoy more unforgettable moments. In separate reports you can read more about my experiences of the other festival days.
Information about the festival and bands can be found here:
www.starsofsounds.ch
www.kunzmusik.ch
Timbendzko.de
maffay.de
