I am the first person in my immediate family to travel abroad. When friends invited me to fly with them to Germany’s Loud and Proud Festival this year, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to take my first trip overseas, and was even happier to find out that we would stay a few extra days for sightseeing. I took on a part time job earlier this year and set aside the $2,000 that the trip would cost me- this covered everything from transportation to souvenirs (which included lots and lots of chocolate that I am still enjoying!).
The flight, time change, and initial few hours of being in Germany were rough for me; I wound up getting sick the moment we checked into our hotel. Thankfully, this was short-lived and I was able to sleep it off before the festival started the next day. Upon arriving at the festival in Wissen, I ran into several friends from bands like The Protest and Chaotic Resemblance, and, of course, Cindy “Mothership” Blankenship. Festival coordinators Fabian, Hardy, and Tanya were also eager to welcome us. This immediately put me more at ease and made the venue feel like a familiar home.
The main stage and merch were inside a building, and the side stage was outside in a large white tent, next to a couple food vendors (I had my first bratwurst!). Although it was rather cold- around 55 degrees Fahrenheit- and rainy during the festival, this did not impact it in any way. The mainstage featured full band performances, while the side stage featured acoustic performances and artist Q&A sessions. One of my favorite things is seeing some of my favorite heavy bands perform acoustically, so this side stage provided a real treat for me. If you ever get the chance to see Chaotic Resemblance acoustically, I highly recommend it, as I was absolutely enamored and blown away by their sound in an entirely new way.
Another side stage highlight included a Q&A with Andrew Schwab of Project86, as he shared about recent health victories and his new music as P86:OMNI. Mainstage highlights included Petra and Kevin Young (Disciple, Honor & Glory) singing “Beyond Belief” together, and Trevor Tyson (Heal the Hurt) as a guest vocalist for HolyName and The Protest.) Similar to me, this was Trevor’s first out-of-the-country experience, and he says that “performing with HolyName was surreal, [and] performing a song with The Protest guys whom are great friends was a gift…I left encouraged, inspired, and hope to visit again soon.”
I was also able to chat with Nick Detty from Wolves at the Gate, one of the headlining bands at the festival. He shared that “coming to Germany every year just seems to be getting better and better, and each year it seems like more and more fans are coming out.” He continued to praise the festival, calling it a great environment and “opportunity for bands to come and share the gospel with people that might not have the chance to come to a Christian or- or come to a metal show- so it’s been a great opportunity to help foster that community here. And the energy of the crowd is always top-notch…so it’s always a good time!” And he isn’t joking when he mentions crowd energy- there were some big mosh pits, circle pits, walls of death, and crowd surfing going on! Not to mention, Germany-based boy band/hip hop artists O’Bros really got an epic dance party started during their set!
Disciple closed out the festival with 1….2….maybe 3 encores altogether?! The crowd never tired of chanting for more, and the Disciple guys never stopped giving it to them! They played their brand new single “If You Say So” mid-set, and saved “Dead Militia”, one of the crowd’s favorites, for an encore. Kevin also handed down his Chi Rho flag to the enthusiastic crowd, and they carried it within a circle pit. This set was very special to experience as a long time Disciple fan and friend of the band.
Something noteworthy about this festival is that they really do run it in a way that encourages fans to meet and interact with the bands, and for fellowship and community to be shared amongst all. Jennifer Benson (Ignescent) shared with me that this was her band’s first year playing at Loud and Proud, and the highlight of the festival for her was “seeing Petra and Disciple, and meeting Les Carlsen of Bloodgood and his wife. They came to see our set. I was so blown away that they would take the time to see us.”
The festival coordinators hosted two church services in neighboring towns as well. Saturday morning’s featured Behold the Beloved for worship and Steve Cobucci (Wolves at the Gate) for the message. Sunday evening’s featured Honor & Glory for worship, with Kevin Young giving the message. Both Steve and Kevin had translators, which was a neat (and sometimes amusing) thing to experience.
After the festival, my group went to the Schloss Drachenburg castle, Beethoven’s Haus, and Cologne Cathedral, then took a day to go to “as many countries as we can”, which included stopping at the Kasteel Hoensbroek in the Netherlands, the Grand-Place in Belgium, and Fortress of Charlemont in France. Needless to say, I came home very tired and very content. If you have the resources to attend Loud and Proud 2025, I recommend it. Like mine, it will be an experience you will never forget!
Rock On Purpose 