Gankino Circus

The year is 2018 AD. Germany is entirely dominated by undaring pop starlets and uninspired comedians. Well, not entirely… One village of indomitable Franconians still holds out against cultural conformism. The name of that village is Dietenhofen and the resistance movement is led by the group Gankino Circus – four quirky characters who are not only musical virtuosos, but also gifted storytellers.

Being “The Last Of Their Kind”, the outstanding artists from Western Central Franconia present a mind-boggling, unparalleled stage show that is truly unique. Its main ingredients are high-speed melodies, whimsical humour and delightful nonsense. Let’s be honest: handmade music, a charmingly odd stage performance and loads of rural madness – hasn’t that become very rare?

The astonished audience is entertained by four inimitable individuals: The handsome Dr. Simon Schorndanner Jr. is the singer and saxophone player of the group – and Dietenhofen’s most sought after bachelor. Maximilian Eder, aka The Bonecrusher, always does the dirty work. Yet he is second to none when it comes to making his accordion utter the most gentle and tender sounds. Johannes Sens, son of a baker and precocious percussionist, sends the crowd into raptures with his acrobatic way of drumming. The only one who seems to keep a mysterious secret is Ralf Wieland, guitarist, kapellmeister and chronicler of Dietenhofen.

These four Franconian musicians (who have been playing together since the early days of their youth) have created a musical style that is at the same time virtuosic and melancholic, avant-garde and radically non-conformist. Through their music, they express their love for their native Franconia – and for folk music around the globe, far beyond the borders of Germany. Gankino Circus have played countless shows on stages across Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. In 2015, this Franconian export hit was even chosen to represent German musical culture at the EXPO in Milan.

Expect to enjoy a very special evening – extraordinary, inventive and weird! In the words of a Munich newspaper: “Crazy. Amazingly crazy”.