Wacken Stories
Almost 30 years of W:O:A lead to many, many great stories – crazy, heart-warming, revealing, or just plain funny. To collect those stories, we have talked to the people that live, work or party around the „Wacken Holy Ground“. Their experience illustrate the festival’s extraordinary spirit, so have fun with special anecdotes which you won’t find everywhere else: Here are the „Wacken Stories“!
![](/fileadmin/_processed_/5/3/csm_Jensen_Thomas_019-1-Bearbeitet_84e0e437ef.jpg)
Wacken Stories: Thomas Jensen
Not many bands are as close to the hearts of the two Wacken bosses like Motörhead. In 1997, Lemmy and his gang played their first show at the…
![](/fileadmin/_processed_/1/5/csm_holger1_ab24966805.jpg)
Wacken Stories: Holger Hübner
After 30 years as one of the two organizers behind the Wacken Open Air, Holger Hübner is still looking forward to the festival every time. Of course…
![](/typo3conf/ext/tnt_template_bs4/Resources/Public/2025/Images/news_list_dummy%401x.png)
Wacken Stories: Scott Ian
As the guitarist for Anthrax, Scott Ian has seen many festivals. There are two things he likes at Wacken, and they have to do with the Ritz-Carlton…
![](/fileadmin/_processed_/4/2/csm_sam_dunn_8d3f8b9500.jpg)
Wacken Stories: Sam Dunn
Every metal fan knows documentaries like „Metal Evolution“ and „Iron Maiden: Flight 666“. These productions are the work of Canada-based director Sam…
![](/fileadmin/_processed_/c/e/csm_01_Salman_UJR_Priest_5e2856db44.jpg)
Wacken Stories: Salman U. Syed
Salman U. Syed from Bangalore represents Wacken in India, promoting Bangalore Open Air and being in charge of Metal Battle India. In today’s story he…
![](/fileadmin/_processed_/9/2/csm_01_Birute_WOA_2011_2_4dba7f9610.jpg)
Wacken Stories: Birutė Surinenaite
For Birutė Surinenaite, music journalist for www.ferrum.lt from Lithuania, trips to Wacken often turn into adventures. Here are some of her wildest…
![](/fileadmin/_processed_/d/4/csm_01_Hakon_mit_Dimmu_Torte_bc4347c034.jpg)
Wacken Stories: Håkon Grav
Motörhead and Rage with Orchestra were two of the headliners, when Håkon Grav came to Wacken for the first time in 1997. The Norwegian band manager…
![](/fileadmin/_processed_/2/b/csm_03_Mit_Jesper_Binzer_8d1232c8d0.jpg)
Wacken Stories: Andreas „Maschine“ Pooch
His first visit to the „Holy Ground“ happened as a fan. Later Andreas Pooch worked for Wacken Radio, using his knowledge and voice for years. That…
![](/fileadmin/_processed_/f/5/csm_01_Emy_Flagge_MOP_-_HEADER_-_image005_479502344b.jpg)
Wacken Stories: Emy Bernhard
For someone born in Transylvania it’s probably only natural to get into Metal. Like Emy Bernhard: The IT specialist is living in Germany nowadays, but…
![](/fileadmin/_processed_/a/1/csm_Sonja_Lattwesen_FOTTO_4afc116ffd.jpg)
Wacken Stories: Sonja Lattwesen
For almost one and a half decades Sonja Lattwesen has been part of the Artist Production, coordinating all aspects of the artists’ shows. For today’s…