AnnenMayKantereit

What's it about?

"Alles nix Konkretes" (Everything Nothing Concrete): That was the title of the first album by the Cologne band AnnenMayKantereit in 2016. There couldn't have been a better title. Because back then, there really was no career plan; the motto was more: just do it, follow the vibe, see what happens. Christopher Annen (guitar), Henning May (vocals), and Severin Kantereit (drums) had already followed this approach when they met at school and performed together as street musicians, and it remained that way when they released early songs on YouTube, self-produced a first album (now long out of print), and finally released a debut EP in 2015 under the equally telling title "Wird schon irgendwie gehen" (It'll work out somehow). And how it worked out: What has happened since then is quite extraordinary and - now, after all - one of the most impressive careers in German pop of the past decades. Since the band's formation in 2011, AnnenMayKantereit have continuously evolved from a Cologne insider tip to one of the most successful bands in the republic, without ever losing touch with reality. With their five albums to date, AnnenMayKantereit have achieved gold and platinum status, played at the biggest festivals; their videos for songs like "Barfuß am Klavier" (Barefoot at the Piano), "3 Tage am Meer" (3 Days by the Sea), or "Oft gefragt" (Often Asked) have been clicked over 1.4 billion times on YouTube. They have 1.9 million TikTok followers and over 1.4 million on Instagram; on Spotify, five million people listen to them monthly. AnnenMayKantereit have also gained large fan bases internationally in countries like Mexico, Ukraine, and Turkey. Their version of Suzanne Vega's classic "Tom's Diner," recorded with Giant Rooks, was awarded gold in the USA; the band has played over 400 shows in total, received numerous awards, and fulfilled a dream in September 2023 with a sold-out concert at the RheinEnergieSTADION in Cologne. One could continue this list, and yet one would never use a word like superstars in connection with AnnenMayKantereit, although they are, in essence, long since that. In 2026, AnnenMayKantereit will finally return with a new tour: From July, the band will play concerts again in Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, in addition to another show in the Cologne stadium.