Behind the scenes: The Heart and Soul of the Static Roots Festival 2025

Behind the Scenes: The Heart and Soul of Static Roots Festival 2025

A personal reflection

The last note has faded, the venue has been cleared, and the echoes of applause still ring in my ears. As I sit here reflecting on Static Roots Festival 2025, I'm overwhelmed by a mix of exhaustion, pride, and that familiar tingle of excitement that comes with knowing we've created something special together.

The Journey

This year demanded everything from our festival family. For ten weeks leading up to the event, every spare moment was devoted to bringing this vision to life. My usual reading ritual (one book per week) became a distant memory as I poured my heart into creating something special for our roots music community.

When our early-bird tickets sold out in ten minutes, followed by the remaining tickets within four weeks (all before announcing a single artist), we faced a beautiful dilemma. Do we celebrate this incredible vote of confidence, or do we push on? True to our festival's spirit of growth and connection, we decided to expand to a bigger venue, adding 150 more tickets to welcome even more souls into our Static Roots family.

Beyond the Main Stage: Expanding Our Roots

Sometimes the best ideas come during quiet moments on a bike ride or a hike. This year, four ambitious side projects grew from those inspired moments:

• Static Roots Welcome Night at Restaurant Gdanska
• Women of Americana Talk at Walzenlager Kino
• Static Roots Sessions in partnership with Tresohr Studios in Oberhausen
• Our new Cooperation with Proust wörter + schönes  bringing literary art into our musical world

Each project brought its own challenges and rewards, expanding our festival's reach beyond a single weekend and deeper into the fabric of our local community.

The Static Ruhr Tour: Music Beyond the Festival

Alongside the festival weekend, we continued our Static Ruhr Tour, expertly organized by my wife Marion Leibecke and Robert Gerlings. This year's tour brought our visitors to the historic Lichtburg in Essen. After a guided tour through this magnificent venue, our travel group continued to the LeseRaum in Essen, where they experienced the beautiful sounds of the brilliant David Ford (supported by Michele Stodart and Emma Holbrook) while enjoying culinary Turkish delights created by Essen's MitMach Agentur. These experiences extend our festival's spirit throughout the year, creating lasting connections within our community.

When Magic Happens

Festival weekends are built on countless small moments that create something larger than the sum of their parts. Let me share some that will stay with me forever:

The Moment It All Made Sense

During The Southern Fold's soundcheck, I was juggling phone calls, food truck logistics, band arrivals, and backstage coordination. But for two precious minutes, I stopped and simply listened as they played Wilco's "Passenger Side". Goosebumps instantly set in, and I had a tear in my eye realizing that all those endless hours of work were about to bloom into something beautiful.

Our Festival Family in Action

The atmosphere this year was nothing short of magical. Picture this: bar staff greeting you with hugs, telling you they've been looking forward to seeing our amazing audience again. The first thing they do when the merch table opens? They buy our merchandise and proudly wear it throughout the weekend. This is what genuine community looks like.

Watching my daughter Johanna Leibecke dance behind the merch table to Pert Near Sandstone and Pearl Charles, buying merchandise from the artists she'd fallen in love with, reminded me why we do this. She's now totally a part of the Static Roots family, and seeing her transformation over the years fills my heart with pride and love.

The Power of Music

Those spine-tingling moments when the room falls silent during quieter performances, followed by explosive energy when acts like Pert Near Sandstone, Bywater Call, Uncle Lucius, and The Godfathers had the crowd dancing, singing, and clapping along. This is the soul of roots music in action.

Our Extended Family

One particularly heartwarming moment was seeing our Ukrainian "son" Vova traveling all the way from Magdeburg to support us on this important weekend. These connections transcend geography and circumstances, proving that music truly brings people together in the most beautiful ways.

Discovering New Favorites

One of our greatest joys is introducing our audience to incredible artists they might never have encountered otherwise. This year, most attendees had never heard of Pearl Charles (USA), Embla & The Karidotters (Norway), or The Southern Fold (Ireland). Yet for many, both The Southern Fold and Embla became the weekend's highlights (and they were our opening acts)! Our beautiful audience's ability to recognize and celebrate quality never ceases to amaze me.

Making a Difference Together

Our Static Roots Family donated an additional 3,755 EUR (which we rounded up to 4,000 EUR) to Doctors Without Borders this year, bringing our total contributions since 2016 to 27,795 EUR. This represents more than just fundraising; it's our community's shared commitment to making the world a better place through the power of music and connection.

The Team Behind the Magic

None of this would be possible without our incredible team:

My wife Marion Leibecke and Nicole Robson calmly managing the merch table, even when artists like Todd Day Wait arrive with two world-travel-sized suitcases full of merchandise

Our merch team: Marion, Johanna, Nicole Robson, Vova Kornev, Frank Stellmacher, and newcomers Daniel Bartnik and Roland Heinrich

Michael Langewender, our stage manager, smoothly handling any challenge with grace

Alex Schulte, our sound engineer, who was so inspired by the festival that he started his own country band! His team of Beagle and Joel.

Our backstage heroes Susanne Fünderich and newcomer Ute plus Sabine Hempel.

And I'm still amazed that Jeff and Nicole Robson travel all the way from Winnipeg, Canada, to be part of our festival family. That's the kind of dedication that makes this community truly special.

The Quiet Moments That Matter

Sometimes the most profound moments happen between the big performances. When The Godfathers' drummer Billy Duncanson gave his drumsticks and an AAA pass to our little stage helper Emil, or when our sound engineer Alex shared how working with us inspired him to start his own Country band, these personal connections are what transform a festival into a family.

Getting goosebumps during The Southern Fold's performance, watching BOBBIE sing her heart out, or experiencing Hayley Reardon during songs like "Little Sadness," "Bethany," and "Awake in Berlin" are the moments that remind us why we do what we do.

Grateful for Support

For the third year in a row, our festival has been supported by the Stiftung für Bildung und Kultur. This festival wouldn't be possible without the help of the fund, so we are grateful for this amazing support that allows us to continue bringing world-class Americana music to Germany.

Looking Forward

Two weeks before every festival, I ask myself: "Is it really worth it? Will the work ever stop?" But when I'm there, surrounded by happy faces, feeling the love of our community, I know I'm being totally paid in emotions. I am so proud of my team, I could burst, and I am endlessly grateful for these music enthusiasts and their energy wanting to make this festival such a brilliant event!

Today, I opened Google Drive and created a new folder: "SRF 2026." The journey begins again, and I couldn't be more excited to see where our roots will take us next.

Thank you to every single person who made Static Roots Festival 2025 unforgettable. You are the heart and soul of this festival, and together, we're building something that will resonate for years to come.

Until next time, keep those roots strong and that music alive.

Dietmar Leibecke