KARAT in Berlin

KARAT is a German rock band formed in East Berlin in 1975 by musicians from Panta Rhei. Its melodic Ostrock repertoire includes “Über sieben Brücken musst du gehn,” “Der blaue Planet,” “Schwanenkönig” and “Albatros,” while the album Der blaue Planet became a key work in the band’s catalogue. KARAT marked its 25th anniversary in 2000 with an open-air concert at Wuhlheide in Berlin. The band celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2015 with another major outdoor concert, this time at Waldbühne.

Dirk Michaelis is a German singer, composer and pianist, born in 1961 in Karl-Marx-Stadt, now Chemnitz. He became the lead singer of the rock band Karussell in the 1980s and composed the music for “Als ich fortging,” one of the best-known songs from the final years of East Germany. After leaving the group, he continued as a solo artist, writing and performing German-language rock and ballads. From 1985, Michaelis fronted Karussell in concert before establishing his own live career in the following decade. His performances have ranged from solo appearances at theatres and churches to concerts backed by a band. He has also appeared in the Ost-Rock Klassik concert series, where rock singers perform with the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg.