Photo: Ulrike Haage © Thomas Nitz, KF © Michael O’Ryan, Beckmann © Martin Steffen, Rodrigo Gonzalez © Jörg Steinmetz, Wolfgang Glum © Michael O’Ryan, Dominique Gaga Ehlert © Sandra Ludewig, Werner Neumann © Gustav Torkos, Collage © micosy.com
Rainbirds: „Through The Web Of Time - 40 Years, One Voice”
Even four decades after the band was formed, the same principle still applies: when pop music is done well, it goes straight to the heart. The Rainbirds' songs have lost none of their relevance.
In 1986, the Rainbirds turned a plan into a hit: with “Blueprint,” they created not just a song, but a real blueprint for sophisticated pop music. Four decades after its formation, the sound of the Berlin band led by singer and songwriter Katharina Franck proves that when pop is done well, it strikes a chord. The Rainbirds’ songs have lost none of their relevance. They are delicate, playful, expansive, and minimalistic. And they always have an inherent urge to be heard. For the band’s 40th anniversary, they are returning to the stage with their (expanded) original line-up: founding members Katharina Franck and bassist Michael Beckmann, pianist, composer and long-time “Rainbird” Ulrike Haage, electric guitarist Werner Neumann and drummer Dominique “Gaga” Ehlert will all be on stage. The anniversary concert series focuses on all seven of their albums – from their acclaimed debut “Rainbirds” to “Yonder,” released in 2014. Rodrigo González (Die Ärzte) and founding member Wolfgang Glum will also be making guest appearances. “This will be the best Rainbirds there ever was,” promises Katharina Franck, the lead singer with her still clear and versatile voice. She is the only constant in the band, which has been constantly changing since 1986.
“In the spring of 1986, I met Katharina Franck and Beckmann in a rehearsal basement deep in Kreuzberg, and the three of us, all very different characters, began working intensively on Katharina’s songs. (…) Despite the split of the original band members in 1989, the song ‘Blueprint’ in particular has remained popular on the radio to this day, and I am always happy when I meet people who associate beautiful, valuable experiences or formative events with our music and ‘Blueprint’. The fact that we achieved something very special together and are now reuniting on stage for the first time in 40 years is truly a reason to celebrate with our fans!”
“It means a lot to me to be back on stage with the Rainbirds after 40 years… Since my last concert with the Rainbirds in London in 1989, this story has never really felt complete to me. Now the circle is complete, and I’m thrilled to be able to fly with the band once again, to stand on stage together and share these songs with everyone who has accompanied us all these years.”
“To this day, I still have only negative memories of the breakup 36 years ago. With my performance in the original line-up, I want to put this dark phase behind me and replace it with fun and joy in music. It is my wish to come full circle and leave the past behind me so that I can celebrate music with the Rainbirds.”
“I am delighted to be reviving this chapter with the Rainbirds. Playing this music live again is like entering into a dialogue with my former self, full of emotion and joy, and with all the musical experience I have gained to date. Everything falls into place.”
“From the very beginning, Rainbirds was a highly heterogeneous group, driven by a young woman, myself, who was searching for her allies. Without knowing it at the time, this was the blueprint for my life. So when, 40 years after our first performances together, we make music again for a few magnificent moments and an audience of old and new fans can experience that live with us, it will certainly bring a little peace to this world shaken by many internal and external conflicts. Let’s be allies!”
Dates & Tickets
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Fri 15.5.26 8 pm
- Schauspielhaus
- 15.5.2026