Preview: Wacken Open Air 2017
Only 14 days are left on the countdown for WACKEN OPEN AIR 2017 – we’re going and we’re so excited!
The new and improved W.O.A.
The first and until now the only time I attended Wacken Open Air was in 2011 and in addition to the years that have passed apparently, there have been several improvements to the festival in preparation for its 28th edition.
Wacken’s Beer pipeline:
On the fourth episode of the Metal & High Heels Podcast, we talked about the alleged Wacken Beer Pipeline that will supposedly deliver the metalheads’ favorite drink to the whole festival. I am still not 100% convinced, but if this works it might indeed mean a faster delivery of the 400.000 liters of beer that are normally consumed on the Metal-Mecca. This would certainly be good for the planet since it would spare the traffic caused by trucks driving in and out of the festival grounds. But… how does pipeline-beer taste?
Wacken’s Main stages: Faster. Harder. Louder!
The former “Black”, “True” and “Party” stages have been renamed according to Wacken Open Air‘s slogan “Faster. Harder. Louder.”, respectively. The former “Party” stage gets a redesign as well and promises to outdo “many other festival stages all around the world” under its new name “Louder”.
And louder it will be! For the W.O.A.-organizers have partnered with a new sound engineering company starting this year and will make the sound of all three “main stages” even louder, especially for the audience in the back. So don’t forget to pack your hearing protection for this festival season!
See you at Wacken Open Air 2017!
Beer: check. Loud music: check. What else do you need to survive Wacken Open Air 2017? Well, rubber boots, sleeping bag, sunscreen, a grill, etc… But to help you with festival maps and running order, Wacken has its own app, which is just as black as the festival’s website and our souls:
Protip: abide by the Wacken Traffic Forecast to avoid getting stuck when driving into the camping site. And don’t forget to get your Full:Metal:Bag 2017, containing a foldable water bottle, a rain poncho, ear plugs, a first aid kit – all in a small back pack that you can carry to the infield:
Also, keep in mind there will be bag checks and that only the Full:Metal:Bag 2017 and belt bags (fanny packs) are allowed within the W.O.A. festival area (UPDATE – July 28th). Calculate your time accordingly, for there might be long lines of people trying to get into the festival site and having to throw their bags into lockers (or trash cans), so plan some extra time before going to see your favorite band.
UPDATE – July 22nd: According to the Wacken App, there will be Metal Yoga at “Welcome To The Jungle” from Wednesday to Saturday at 11:00 am. Yoga is great for the metalhead’s health and probably helps with the neck pain from head banging – sounds like a great way to start the festival days, doesn’t it?
UPDATE (July 28th) – METALHEADS AGAINST BLOOD CANCER:
Take a moment for a very good deed during the festival! The German Marrow Donor Database DKMS will be present at Wacken Open Air 2017 adding metalheads to their database. Visit the DKMS-stands from August 3rd- 5th, between the hours of 12:00-18:00 at the Wacken Foundation Camp or at “Wacken Hilft“, Main Street 58. The registration takes only a few minutes, doesn’t hurt at all and you could really save a life, so make sure to stop by!
Are you going to Wacken this year? What band are you looking forward to seeing the most? Tell us in the comments!