ANOTHER ZAPPANALE SPECIAL ON THE MUSIC ACROSS RADIO SHOW

The MUSIC ACROSS radio show !
Every first Monday of the month at 21h00 at RADIO ORANGE - ORANGE 94.0 

https://o94.at/de/sendereihe/413/music-across

https://cba.media/podcast/music-across

Produced by Gernot Friedbacher

Episode 141 – Zappanale 2026 – #3 – Music Outside the Norm

Girl Power, France & more – 2 November 2026, 9.00 pm!

From 16 to 19 July 2026, the 35th Zappanale took place in Bad Doberan on the Baltic Sea.
‘Music Across’ was there once again and conducted interviews with all the musicians; these can be heard in four ‘Music Across’ shows, alongside live recordings from the concerts.

In this third of four shows on the 2026 Zappanale, you can once again hear interviews and live recordings from two bands, ‘Brique’ from France and ‘HALA’ from the Netherlands, in which fantastic female frontwomen once again wowed the audience. Also noteworthy were the performance and interview with the French band ‘Mentat Routage’, featuring jazz musician and vocal artist Médéric Collignon, who won over the audience with their infectious enthusiasm and plenty of humour. This show also features the ‘Filthy Brillos’, comprising musicians from Germany, the UK and Chile. 

FYI, the first two MUSIC ACROSS radio specials on the Zappanale 2026, broadcast on 7 September and 5 October 2026, can be listened to in the Cultural Broadcasting Archive at cba.media under the ‘Music Across’ series.

Gestaltung, Am Mikrofon, Tontechnik & Produktion: Gernot Friedbacher

https://o94.at/de/sendereihe/413/music-across/sendung/58638/zappanale-2026-3-music-outside-the-norm-frauenpower-frankreich-more

ORANGE 94.0 dem Freien Radio in Wien:
im Radio: Frequenz UKW 94.0 MHz – im gesamten Großraum Wien
über Telekabel: Frequenz 92.7 MHz – in Wien
über Internet Live Stream: http://o94.at (oben auf Live Stream (grünes Dreieck) klicken) – weltweit

Sendungen können nach der Erstausstrahlung auch im Cultural Broadcasting Archive des Verbandes Freier Radios Österreich nachgehört werden unter
https://cba.media/podcast/music-across

ZAPPANALE SPECIAL ON THE MUSIC ACROSS RADIO SHOW

MUSIC ACROSS
Every first Monday of the month, at 21h00
RADIO ORANGE - ORANGE 94.0
https://o94.at/de/sendereihe/413/music-across
https://cba.media/podcast/music-across

by Gernot Friedbacher

Folge 140 – Zappanale 2026 – #2 – Music Outside the Norm – Die Warm-Up Party – 05.10.2026, 21 Uhr

In this second of four programmes on the Zappanale 2026, you can hear interviews and live recordings of the German bands ‘Superthousand’, ‘Smalltape’, ‘Ikarus Burns’ and ‘Blanck Zappath’, who wowed the audience at the warm-up party on 16 July. Amongst others, Peter Görs, the guitarist with “Blanck Zappath” who founded the Zappanale in 1990, also has his say.

https://o94.at/de/sendereihe/413/music-across/sendung/58637/zappanale-2026-2-music-outside-the-norm-die-warm-up-party

ZAPPANALE SPECIAL ON THE MUSIC ACROSS RADIO SHOW ON SEPTEMBER 7

 September 7 will see another Zappanale special on the "Music Across" radio show.

MUSIC ACROSS

Jeden 1. Montag im Monat um 21 Uhr
RADIO ORANGE - ORANGE 94.0

https://o94.at/de/sendereihe/413/music-across

https://cba.media/podcast/music-across

Folge 139 – Zappanale 2026 – #1
Frauenpower im Zappa-Universum
Pamela des Barres, Tante Tofu & VKB
07.09.2026, 21 Uhr

Eine detaillierte Inhaltsbeschreibung mit Playlist ist hier zu finden:

https://o94.at/shows/413/music-across/episode/58636/zappanale-2026-1-frauenpower-im-zappa-universum-pamela-des-barres-tante-tofu-vkb

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 18 - - - SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

I enjoyed the four days of music by making choices. I picked out the bands that I really wanted to see and I deliberately stayed away from other ones.
Not because they did not sound interesting but only to avoid an overload.

Also, with Rockradio streaming the concerts on YouTube, I was hoping to catch up with some of the concerts I missed at a later stage.

Zappanale's Sunday morning started with Dutch band HALA.

I skipped seeing them live, but looking at the video, they sure sounded fine.
Contrary to Friday and Saturday, where we had high energy bands kicking off (respectively Doom Gong and Octafish), Sunday went for a softer approach.

Here's HALA, performing at the smaller Arf Stage.

If you want more HALA, check out their Bandcamp page:
https://halabandpage.bandcamp.com/

At 14h00, the Hilo Jazz Orchestra took the main stage.
This was something I really wanted to experience live and I enjoyed it a lot !
The band played a very long set but it felt like it was over in a flash.
Great vocals, excellent solos and superb musicianship.
Happiness all around. Both on stage and in the audience.
Top !!

After the Hilo Jazz, it was time for the Miserablen Husos on the Arf Stage.
Zappa in Hessisch (German).
We had already seen most of the bandmembers on Saturday as part of the Filthy Brillos band.
I only caught part of this concert as we also mixed and mingled (and got something to eat) but what I heard and saw sounded great.
With Chato Segerer on bass !

Great fun. And these guys can play !!

And then, it started raining again. It wasn’t raining as heavily as we’d seen earlier but it did mean that we had to watch the Mahavishnu Project show from in the big tent.
Still a nice view and excellent sound.
Having seen a large part of the amazing Mahavinshnu Project's Saturday show, where they performed the music of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, I guess my expectations were set a bit too high.
Sure, an excellent performance, but I would have preferred a bit less Jan Hammer & Jeff Beck and some more fusion Zappa, although the rendition of 'Cause We've Ended As Lovers' brought tears to my eyes...

Anyway, the nitpicking aside, it was great to see this live.

The YouTube broadcast got cut halfway through the show, which is a pity, but it will give you a taste of what it was like:

The Mahavishnu gig was followed by the Goodbye Session.
Gregg Bendian (Mahavishnu Project) who was asked to lead the session, mentioned that the wanted to avoid having forty musicians on the stage.
He also would like to know in advance who would be participating so that he could discuss the pieces that he would like to perform, for which he would prefer a piece by Jeff Beck, one by Mahavishnu and one by Frank Zappa.
I guess not all musicians were that familiar with the music that Gregg proposed, so he switched it to an improvisation, leading into a FZ guitar piece.
An excellent decision.
Next to the Mahavishnu Project, we recognized members of the Hilo Jazz Orchestra, and Fred Händl.

Completely saturated, we did not stay for Putan Club.

Nevertheless, happy.
Very happy.
Glad to have seen these beautiful concerts live.
And to have shared this experience with some fine people from around the world.

Zappanale rules !

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 17 - - - HAPPY TOGETHER

 Saturday, July 18, 2026,

Dear diary,
I enjoyed another episode of "Peter's Adventures in Zappanaleland".

The Yo Cats trio started the festivities over at Café Zikke.
Keyboards, guitar and drums.
Playful and funny.
Fred (on keyboards) had brought along a new album. Sort of a bootleg. Solo piano performing Zappa. More on this later.

The second morning event saw Pamela Des Barres reading from her "I'm With The Band" book.
I've read the book and I expected translations into German (which is nice but also very time consuming), so we skipped this.

In all, the Café Zikke location was very nice. It's sort of a pedestrian passageway to a parallel street where the Café Zikke terrace and some additional benches give room to the audience and the band is staged on the other side of the passageway.
Lovely.

Our afternoon started with Octafish on the Arf Stage on the festival ground.
An energetic and powerful opener. Exactly what a festival needs.

Next, the Hilo Jazz Orchestra brought the energy level down again with their Hawaiian reggae, only to revive it with some Frank Zappa tunes. Nice.

At 16h30, the highlight of the day: Tante Tofu performed their rock opera.
We've seen Tante Tofu in several incarnations but this new band is the best we've seen so far.
Great vocals, two guitars, a great sounding electric wind instrument,...
Loved it.
Being all mesmerized, I forgot to take a picture but I'm sure some will turn up soon. 

Also right up my alley was Mentat Routage.
Vocal artist (and jazz cornet player) Médéric Collignon lifted the performance to an extra level.
I loved their improvisation and the way that they approached the Zappa compositions. My only remark would be that they shouldn't have used the lyrics of the Zappa songs. It sounded a bit sloppy (and even onomatopoeic most of the time).
But as I said, I did like their improvisations and the way the approached the compositions. A lot.

And then, the Filthy Brillos took over the Arf Stage.
Energetic, chaotic, funny, and musically brilliant.
Born out of necessity at a previous gig, the band featured members of Yo Cats & the Husos (MSRBLN HRNSN).

This was FUN (in capitals).
There were too many great moments: Christian's guest appearance on vocals, the a cappella version of 'Happy Together', the switching of instruments, the amazing guitar solos,...

Our day finished with The Mahavishnu Project, performing Mahavishnu.
Amazing.
What a day.

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 16 - - - THIS IS WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR

Friday morning felt like Saturday morning. But that was because of the extended pre-party on Thursday.
It was an additional day to the festival that took place at the Arf Stage, a very nice gift from the Arf Society.

Friday morning started with two concerts in the center of Bad Doberan, at Café Zikke.
Smalltape was the first one to take the proverbial stage. Performing a solo set, we heard more intimate versions of some of the songs that had been performed by the larger band on Thursday.
I really like it.
Philipp (Nespital) made great use of his loop station, resulting in optimal use of guitar, keyboards and vocals. Progressive rock in a solo setting. Very nice.

Smalltape performed at 11h00.
At 12h00, the (Petit) Halo Jazz Orchestra was up.
Lounge jazz, a couple of Frank Zappa tunes ('I'm The Slime' and 'Road Ladies'), and a handful of Hawaiian reggae tunes.
A fine start of the day.

And, yes, the Mexican Pope was there as well :-)

(Mick, Angel & yours truly)

Around 14h00 Doom Gong set things in motion on the festival ground.

We walked in just in time to hear a snippet from "200 Motels" after which they switched to an exhilarating version of 'King Kong'. Goosebumps.
Doom Gong's original material is pretty high-energy. Great to listen to and great to watch as well.
I'll be on the lookout for some video snippets...

"VKB Plays Tom Waits" was nice. Great voices, lovely harmonies, surprising instruments and sounds.

Lovely. And they performed a Zappa tune. I can't stress enough how much I like that bands do the effort to add a Frank Zappa tune to their setlist when performing at Zappanale. That's what makes the Zappanale experience even more special.

And the expos, of course. Here's Angel with the expo on his latest project, which started as a t-shirt design.

At 18h00, from London, UK: The Lovers Of Invention.
An amazing show !!
Trombone, saxophone, marimba, guitar (x 2), bass, drums, keyboards,...
What a sound. And Jonah Hitchens, what a voice.

And shortly after the concert had finished, we were informed of the upcoming storm. It would be short and powerful, but it would also be gone within an hour, so everybody was advised to leave the festival ground and to take shelter.

The schedule was moved back with one hour.
We didn't stay and drove back to the hotel.

So we missed Agitation Free and their video show, but that's OK as we were more than happy with what we had seen and heard.

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 15 - - - "HEILIGE TAUSEND GRANATEN", WAS FÜR EIN GEWITTER

What a joy it is, to arrive in Bad Doberan.
All friendly faces.

The festival started with Superthousand, a band with a Pink Floyd vibe. They sounded great.

Next up was Smalltape. Melodic progressive rock. Loved it. Perfect festival vibe.

In between, I did have a short chat with Gregg Bendian and Neil Alexander from the Mahavishu Project.
Ben Rubie was still in Hamburg as his violin needed repair, but everything should be fine before they hit the stage on Saturday (and Sunday).
Two different sets. I'm really looking forward to this.

We also ran into Turbulator (who performed at Zappanale last year). After his move from Australia to the UK, he's finished the work on his studio and he's making progress working on original material as well as working on some Zappa material. Sounds promising.

I also talked to Fred Händl who shared the reason for the delay of his "Zappa Album": the artwork is being done by none other than Cal Schenkel (and that takes time). Wowie zowie !

And shortly thereafter, a heavy downpour and accompanying thunderstorm took over the festival.

Despite the changing weather conditions, Icarus Burns had taken the stage. Don't know what happened to Black Zappath...
As the rain didn't stop, we headed back to the hotel. I'm also curious to find out if Chato performed at the Zappateers tent later on...

Anyway, it's Friday now. The weather's looking good and today's line-up is very promising.
To be continued.

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 12 - - - THE SUNDAY PREVIEW

The third day of a festival.
Everyone and everything will move slower.
Even the obsrever.
Especially in the morning.

Looking at the bands, however, Sunday will be far from slow.

There will be no warm-up shows in the village center, but that's OK because the festival ground will start shaking around 12h00 already.

12h00 Hala

Emphasizing on the narrative aspects, Dutch band Hala brings fairy-tale like compositions.
Seems perfect for a Sunday morning.

https://www.zappanale.de/en/artists-z-35/hala-nl

13h30 The Hilo Jazz Orchestra

On Sunday, for their second performance, the Hilo Jazz Orchestra will perform the music of Frank Zappa.
There's an excellent video on YouTube of one of the Zappa concerts. It's the concert they did with Dweezil Zappa and with Ike Willis.
In Bad Doberan, it will be without the special guests, and with a smaller orchestra, but we'll only get one chance to see this (unless we travel to Hawaii, that is).

https://www.zappanale.de/en/artists-z-35/hilo-jazz-orchestra-usa

16h00 Die Miserablen Husos

Zappa in German.
Translated, phonetically reproduced, or re-imagined.
I've seen them a couple of times and this is fun.
It will be an entertaining break between the Hilo Jazz Orchestra and the Mahavishnu Project.
Featuring Chato Segerer (whose Zapped band made a remarkable appearance at Zappanale last year) on bass.

https://www.zappanale.de/en/artists-z-35/die-miserablen-husos-de

17h30 Mahavisnhu Project

For their second Zappanale gig, the Mahavishnu Project will perform the music of Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck and Jan Hammer.
That's a lot of Zappa on Sunday, but probably / hopefully with a different approach by each band.

And this will lead into the Goodbye Session, and then it's finished on the main stage.

https://www.zappanale.de/en/artists-z-35/mahavishnu-project-usa

21h00 Putan Club

The final concert on the Arf Stage will be by the Putan Club, a groovy, energetic duo from France and Italy.

https://www.zappanale.de/en/artists-z-35/putan-club-it-fr

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 10 - - - THE FRIDAY PREVIEW - - - WHEN PLANNING WILL BECOME ESSENTIAL

On Friday, the musical activities will kick off in Bad Doberan town.
Two 'warm-up' events have been scheduled at Café Zikke (at Alexandrinenplatz 2).

11h00 Smalltape

The Thursday gig will be with a larger band, while this more intimate setting will be a solo concert by  Smalltape / Philipp Nespital.

12h00 The Petit Hilo Jazz Orchstra

10 musicians from the Hilo Jazz Orchestra are flying over to Bad Doberan. They'll perform on the main stage twice, but part of the ensemble will also do a 'warm-up' at Café Zikke on Friday.

In the meantime, the Kosmische Brocken documentary is shown at the Kamp Theater, and things will start over at the Rennbahn as well.

12h00 Pamela Des Barres Meets Jim Cohen

At the same time, over at the festival ground, Jim Cohen will invite Pamela Des Barres in his red sofa.

Around 14h00 the actual festival will start, switching between the (smaller) Arf Stage and the (larger) main stage.

14h00 - Doom Gong

This sounds like fun. Lots of energy.

https://www.zappanale.de/en/artists-z-35/doom-gong-usa

16h00 - the VKB band

"Re-inventing the music of Tom Waits."
The VKB Band will be performing at the Arf Stage. Judging by the clips I've seen on YouTube, this seems to be the perfect place for them.
Looking forward to this !

https://www.zappanale.de/en/artists-z-35/vkb-band-usa

18h00 - OFFICIAL OPENING, and concert by The Lovers Of Invention

The London-based Lovers Of Invention.
The band that I definitely want to see. I even considered going to London to see one of their gigs.
It was said that there were plans to get them to perform at the MOSAE Zappa festival last year, but, for some reason, that didn't or couldn't happen.
Very excited to see them.
If you check out some of their YouTube videos, you'll notice that at one time, Emma Rawicz was part of the band. Give her recent projects a listen as well.
Also worth mentioning is guitarist and lead vocalist Jonah Hitchens's "The Snake Boys" project. They have an album out (on Bandcamp) with their version of FZ's 'Cosmik Debris'.

https://www.zappanale.de/en/artists-z-35/the-lovers-of-invention-uk

20h00 - Brique

There will be no cooling down after The Lovers Of Invention when Brique will take the Arf Stage.
Experimental music. Featuring Luc Ex (from The Ex) on bass !

https://www.zappanale.de/en/artists-z-35/brique-fr

22h00 - Agitation Free

German krautrock / space rock pioneers Agitation Free will take the main stage at 22h00.
Founded in Berlin, Germany in 1967 - Disbanded in 1974 - Reunited briefly in 1998, 2007 and 2012, and they're performing again !!
The band has released 10 albums (half of these being live albums) and has another live album scheduled for later this year.
I'm listening to their "Live Kesslhaus Berlin 2013" while I'm typing this !!

https://www.zappanale.de/en/artists-z-35/agitation-free-de

24h00 - W3LTR4UM

German psychedelic improvisation band W3LTR4UM will be the final band on Friday.
Sounds like a fitting finale for Friday.

https://www.zappanale.de/en/artists-z-35/w3ltr4um-de

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 9 - - - UPDATES FOR THURSDAY

In recent years, when arriving in Bad Dobaran on Thursday afternoon, we would usually park the car near the Drümpel Parkplatz and take the short walk to the Zappa statue.
It's the best place to realise that one has entered the Zappa universe as there will be other music freaks checking out the statue, and it's close to the place where those who have arrived by train will get on the Molli (in the Mollistrasse) to go to the festival ground.

Up until a few years ago, upon our arrival, we would also visit the expo at the Zappanale office at the market place (Am Markt). Unfortunately, this space is no longer available but the good news is that the expo has moved to the festival ground.

And we don't want to loose too much time as this year's pre-party has evolved into an entire day of music.

The pre-party will take place on the festival ground, at the "Arf Stage".
Free entrance for those who have a festival ticket !
For those who want to attend but don't have a festival ticket, a contribution of 10 euro will be asked.

14h00 = opening or the pre-party
14h00 - Superthousand
16h00 - Smalltape
18h00 - Blanck Zappath
20h00 - Icarus Burns

And not at the festival ground, but scheduled to appear at the Zappateers tent at the camping ground:
22h00 - Chato Segerer

Wolfhard Kutz, the main man behind the festival, added that Zappanale is the only festival that can take place at the Rennbahn this year. 
Restrictions and even bans have been imposed on all festivals, but fortunately an exception was made for Zappanale because it has been running for so long.

I'm glad that this exception was made and I'm already looking forward to all of the familiar (and new) faces. And ready to discover some new music.

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 8 - - - SPECIAL GUESTS

This year's Zappanale will feature two Special Guests from the Zappa Universe

Pamela Des Barres

With Pamela Des Barres, we welcome one of the most dazzling personalities in rock history to Zappanale #35.
As a member of the legendary GTO’s, an author, an actress, and a firsthand witness to the era, she was part of Frank Zappa’s creative circle. In the late 1960s, she worked for the Zappa family and later became part of the GTO’s, a band mentored by Frank Zappa. Their album *Permanent Damage* was released in 1969 on his label, Bizarre Records. Pamela also appeared in Zappa’s film *200 Motels*.
At Zappanale, you can meet Pamela in person during a Q&A session. She’ll be signing books and sharing stories about her encounters with Frank Zappa and numerous other legends of rock history.

A very special highlight awaits you on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. on the ARF Stage: Together with Tante Tofu, Pamela will perform the GTOs’ song “I’m in Love with the Ooo-Ooo Man” live for the first time.
56 years after its creation. It will also be featured in the rock opera *SchieLa*.

 

Robert Davidson

We’re also pleased to welcome Robert Davidson as a special guest at Zappanale.
His name may not be immediately familiar to everyone, but his most famous photo certainly is: Robert Davidson photographed Frank Zappa in the bathroom, creating one of the most recognizable and widely circulated images in Zappa history.
For decades, the legendary poster hung in countless teenagers’ bedrooms, shared apartments, music clubs, and record stores. Now you have the rare opportunity to meet the photographer behind this iconic image in person.
At Zappanale, Robert Davidson will talk about how the photo came to be, his encounter with Frank Zappa, and his work as a photographer.

We’re looking forward to a special weekend filled with great music, exciting encounters, and plenty of stories from the Zappa universe.

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 7 - - - AN UPDATE FROM THE ZAPPANALE TEAM

Dear Zappanale visitors,

We’re in the final stretch of preparations and are very much looking forward to welcoming you soon to Zappanale #35.

There are also some changes to the festival grounds: Both stages will be moved closer to the lawn, and the gravel area will be subdivided once again. This will create a closer atmosphere, more energy, and an overall cozier festival grounds.

For all dance enthusiasts, we’re making sure there are no benches directly in front of the stages this year. This will leave plenty of room for dancing and a real party vibe.

We have a request regarding the campsites: Please leave large PA systems at home. We want all visitors to be able to get some rest at night. The particularly loud campers from previous years will be relocated elsewhere this time.

After careful consideration, we’ve decided against switching to Rostocker Pils and thereby lowering the beer price by 50 cents. But there’s other good news: This year, you’ll also be able to pay cashless at the beer stands.

Preparations for 2027 are already underway. At Zappanale, there will once again be a pre-presale at the current ticket price. This will continue for some time after the festival. We’ll simply have to add the applicable sales fees to the price. We’re also offering pre-presale tickets that include a vehicle for the campsites. There will be no additional fees for campers in 2027 either.

Initial talks with bands are already in full swing, and we’re once again receiving many exciting applications.

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 6 - - - THE SCHEDULE

The below schedule will decide what I'll be doing from Thursday to Sunday.

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 5 - - - THE PRE-PARTY PREVIEW

The Zappanale festival lasts three days.
From Friday to Sunday.
On paper, that is, because there has always been a warm-up party with live music.

In the past, this event was often held in the town's park, near the Kamp Theater, but to accommodate the people who are camping near the festival ground, this has moved to Galopp-Rennbahn, the festival ground itself.

On top of that, it's no longer just a 'warm-up party' as it has grown into an additional day of the festival.

Fast forward to July 16 :

Kicking off on Thursday at 14h00 already, Superthousand will take the stage.
Progressive rock from Germany.
As one might guess from the title of their latest release, the band has released four albums so far.
Sounds pretty good to my ears !

At 16h00, smalltape will be up. smalltape is Berlin-based Philipp Nespital's project.
Melodic, atmospheric and theatrical.
He could be performing solo or bring his band... Very keen to find out.

At 18h00, we'll be treated to a mix of Black Sabbath and Frank Zappa songs, delivered by Blanck Zappath.
The band is a regular feature and has performed at several warm-up parties. This will be fun.

And then, at 20h00, it's time for Icarus Burns.
The band released their first album in 2025.
Instrumental heavy psych / stoner / metal.
Looking forward to this.

If you're arriving on Thursday, and even if you're staying in the center of Bad Doberan, or in one of the nearby villages, make sure to visit the festival ground. It's where everybody will be. Reconnecting, meeting people, or just enjoying it all.

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 4 - - - "ARF" SHE SAID

"Arf" she said.
 An iconic part of the lyrics of 'Evelyn, A Modified Dog'.

But the 'Arf' appears everywhere throughout FZ's Project/Object.

And it's also the name of the quarterly magazine that's issued by The Arf Society: "The Arf Dossier".

"The Arf-Dossier" is the official, bilingual (German/English) fanzine of the Arf Society, the international Frank Zappa fan club based in Germany.
The publication, which has been printed continuously since 1994, is generally released four times a year (March, June, September, and December). It contains a mix of festival and concert reviews, album critiques, historical features, and news on musicians connected to Frank Zappa.

So weather you're visiting Zappanale or not, if you want to be posted on what's happening in the Zappa Universe, subscribe to The Arf Dossier. (50 € / year)

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 3 - - - KOSMISCHE BROCKEN

Attending a festival where there's several bands performing the music of Frank Zappa, the greatest inconvenience will be that you will hear 'Cosmik Debris' performed a lot. Perhaps even once too many.

That being said, "Cosmik Debris / Kosmische Brocken" also is the name of the documentary that was made about the Zappanale Festival.

It's about 90 minutes long and it will be shown with English and German subtitles at the Kamp Kino. That's the Kamp Theater Cinema (Severinstrasse 4, Bad Doberan), next to the little park in the center of town.

• Thursday July 17th - 2:00 pm
• Friday July 18th - 1:00 pm
• Saturday July 19th - 1:00 pm
     Kamp Kino, Bad Doberan

And whilst we’re on the subject of subtitles, Bad Doberan is located in former Eastern Germany. Not everybody is fluent in English but that has improved enormously over the last 20 years.
Plus there's always dozens of optional translators around. Easy to spot by their Zappa T-shirts. The friendliest people you could ever meet.

Another nice introduction to the Zappanale Festival is the "We Are The Other People" book, compiled by Dieter Jakob, Burkhard Schempp and Robert Riedt to celebrate 25 years of Zappanale.
It got published in 2014 which seems like ages ago (and, in fact, it is), but it's great reading with lots of superb pictures.
There are also quite a few excerpts from interviews I conducted (as UniMuta) with some of the musicians.

the book, hardbound and 496 pages
cover artwork by Helmut King
(who will have another expo this year)

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 2 - - - TOWN + RACECOURSE = FESTIVAL

All roads lead to Rome, but fans of Frank Zappa's music also know how to find their way to Bad Doberan.

When you go to the Zappanale festival, and you come from a bit further away, you don't have much choice. The final part of the trip to Bad Doberan must be made by train or by car.

Whatever you choose, you will enter the town of Bad Doberan with a view on the Alexandrineplatz and the park, and that's where you'll find the Frank Zappa bust. Created by Václav Česák, the bust was unveiled in 2002.

The festival and the camping site are located at the racecourse, a few kilometers are away from the town's center.
By car, it's a five to ten minute drive, but you can also take the Molli, the famous steam train.

Molli operates between Bad Doberan, Heiligendamm and Kühlungsborn over a total distance of 15.4 km with a running time of 40 minutes. It also makes a stop at the race track (the Galopp Rennbahn) and that's where the festival and the camping site are located.
Within Bad Doberan the line runs through the street, and later along a linden tree-lined avenue. It's like a tram, but much loader. Hard to miss.

Bad Doberan (in the below right corner), the Galopp Rennbahn (center), and Heiligendamm (top left).

ZAPPANALE #35 - - - PART 1 - - - WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT ?

The 35th edition of the Zappanale Festival will kick off in about two weeks.

The Zappanale is the world’s only annual music festival completely dedicated to the legacy and avant-garde music of late American composer and guitarist Frank Zappa. Organized by the Arf Society, the multi-day event takes place every July in the coastal German town of Bad Doberan.

Bad Doberan is a small town in northeastern Germany.
15 km west of Rostok.
150 km east of Hamburg
200 km north of Berlin

Bad Doberan is in the middle of nowhere, but it's a beautiful little town.
Near the Baltic Sea, friendly people, and well-known for its spa / bathing resorts.

And once every year, it brings together a couple of thousand music fans from all around the world to celebrate the music of Frank Zappa.

Don't get me wrong. It's not just Frank Zappa's music that's being performed at the festival.
There's a lot of it, but there's also music that's inspired by FZ, or music by bands that share the same eclectic approach: "Music Outside The Norm".

My wife and I have been going since 2002 and we've heard some wonderful music, discovered some great bands, and made a lot of friends.

If you're still considering going, have a look at the Zappanale website where you can find all the info on how to get to Bad Doberan:
https://www.zappanale.de/en/#anreise

Or join the Zappanale group on Facebook (is that still a thing?).

ANOTHER ZAPPANALE SPECIAL ON THE MUSIC ACROSS RADIO SHOW

Next Monday, June 1, 2026, the Music Across radio show will focus an Zappanale again.

MUSIC ACROSS
Jeden 1. Montag im Monat um 21 Uhr

RADIO ORANGE - ORANGE 94.0
https://o94.at/radio/sendereihe/music-across/

https://cba.media/podcast/music-across

Gestaltung & Produktion:

Gernot Friedbacher

From 17 to 20 July 2025, the 34th Zappanale took place in Bad Doberan on the Baltic Sea. “Music Across” was there once again and interviewed all the musicians; these interviews can be heard in several “Music Across” programmes, alongside live recordings from the concerts.

Among the artists were Zappa alumni Bobby Martin and Ray White, and, believe it or not, 92-year-old Don Preston, who made music history with Frank Zappa’s “Mothers of Invention”, was also there. In this third programme on the Zappanale 2025, you can hear interviews and music from “The Dangerous Kitchen”, “Möwe und die Ölmützen”, “Zappalot” featuring the composer, film director and former guitarist of Helge Schneider, Sandro Giampietro, “The Dorf” and the “Yuval Ron Trio”, all from Germany.
The fourth and final programme on the Zappanale 2025, on 6 July 2026, will feature 92-year-old Don Preston, Finnish conductor, composer and guitarist Jukka Iisakkila, “Tō Yō” from Japan, and Zappanale organiser Wolfhard Kutz.

DOOM GONG

Doom Gong,
one of the bands that recently got added to the Zappanale 2026 line-up. 
From Louisville, Kentucky.

Wow...

Recorded on November 18th, 2023 at DOOM GONG's "Dream Behemoth" album release show at The Whirling Tiger in Louisville, KY.