Three guys had a crazy idea 5 years ago. Their mission was to bring an electro-music festival to their little hometown, which was supposed to be taking place on the former British Royal Air Force-Base. In July 2015, it was time to open the Parookaville City for the first time for 25.000 visitors. Today, the numbers went from 80.000 in 2018 to an incredible 210.000 visitors in 2019.
Daily hitchhiking to the event and back to the hotel, gave us also a better understanding of what people thought of this grand event in the area. We were positively surprised as people seemed to not only support the idea of the festival but also how many were open to going out of their way to ensure we had a good time. Part of the reason for this is the local approach to the festival. Every household in the immediate surroundings gets free tickets send to their address and local businesses are still present on the festival site.
The theme of this vibrating event is based on a fictional city called Parookaville City making you, the participants, their citizens for the course of the festival. Understanding this will help you get around the festival and understand. The info-point is therefore called Townhall but the story goes on. Every stage has a little background to its well thought off décor. The 2nd biggest stage after mainstage is Bill’s Factory, a castle inspired stage that will let you dream of other times. The legend says this is where Bill, the founder of Parookaville had his first visions of the city. Other places such as a Church, Post Office, and a Jail may seem self-explanatory but you might have to visit Parookaville yourself to find out more about their meaning.
A total of 9 stages make this event unique of its kind. It has something for everyone’s taste when it comes to electronic music. The two biggest outdoor stages Bill’s Factory and the Mainstage include more popular mainstream music. The two indoor stages such as the Power Plant and the Cloud Factory range from a more darker and serious techno music type to some melodic atmospheres. The Cloud Factory is especially mesmerizing with its amazing light show and moving ceiling. Superkühl Haus, Wacky Shack, and Casa Bacardí are the 3 smaller indoor party places. If the sun is too strong for you, they are the perfect place to keep on shaking and get the energy out of your system. It is easy to just keep on having fun in here. The Time Lab and Desert Valley Stage play some more underground music for real techno lovers. However, you can also find a more easy-going vibe there such as house music or even psytrance.
All this sets the place for an amazing weekend where you can be sure to have fun and get the long-buried energy out of your system.
The Tandem Ramble took on the challenge to see some of the well-known acts within the scene of techno, minimal and tech-house, mainly staying off the mainstage and Bill’s factory, therefore giving you an insight into some first-class music sets that let you dream of other days. Here the list of 2019 sets that we enjoyed:
Alison Wonderland – Aka Aka – Astrix – Boris Brejcha – Charlotte de Witte – Claptone – Karotte – Klaudia Gawlas – Marek Hemmann – Monika Kruse – Moonbootica – Ofenbach – Pan-Pot – Richie Hawtin – Stephan Bodzin – Sven Väth – Tube & Berger – Felix Kröcher
Parookaville offers a wide range of music from Psytrance to that guy you are used to listening to on the Radio. The organizers do their best to make the festival fun and pleasing by creating a thought out plan and design of the entire festival area. Finally, if you want to have a more relaxed evening and sleep in we recommend the World House in Wetten for your stay. The owner provides a shuttle taxi that gets you on the sight and home safely and you will be sure to relax after a long day of dancing and shaking. Read more here about our stay in Wetten.
If you do love electronic music. You have to take part in the Parokaville festival. Join the family.
