Cologne's largest barge

The Concert Barge set sail for the first time on the 1st of May 2019 with Teesy as "captain". Around 800 guests celebrated the premiere aboard the MS RheinEnergie with Germany's number 1 crooner. Long queues had already formed alongside the jetty hours before admission. Fans travelled from far and wide. "I'm here because of Teesy, of course", explained Julia from Bonn, "but I'm interested in checking out the venue too. A concert on a ship – that alone is pretty unique."

KD's Event Technology Department had just six months to prepare for the first concert, from planning to realisation – making their debut as concert organisers in the process. KD has a strong partner on board with "Rausgegangen", who are responsible for managing the artists and marketing. KD provides the venue and manages the event on site.

How much a concert differs from other events held on board can be seen in the preparation work involved. The stage access and limited stage design possibilities are both a challenge for the artists and a special feature alike. The safety and security concept has to be specified too, of course. Barricades and crush barriers for the stage, security on all stage access points and paramedics for fans that may collapse were needed. Besides the ship's crew, around 15 people are on duty on a concert day, from early morning until midnight. "When the artist steps on stage, everything works as planned and the fans have a good time, the hard work has been worth it. That's the best moment", explains KD Event Manager Michael Baumann.

In any event, the artists enjoyed being on board just as much as the fans. Teesy thanked all the helpers personally and immediately followingthe concert, "Das Lumpenpack" held their album release party on board. Music fans and Rhine lovers can look forward to two more concerts aboard ship in 2019. "The Concert Barge represents the perfect synergy between KD as anexperienced party event organiser and our experience with booking, marketing and attending to musicians", declares Moritz Muggenthaler, Event Organiser at Rausgegangen. "We look forward to musically conquering the Rhine with KD again in 2020 – a must for every concert-goer."