Dr. Ring Ding ADD
Gracy's Bash 2025 - Festival Report
07/16/2025 by Gardy Stein
Happy Birthday, Gracy! This Jamaican powerwoman celebrated an incredible six decades on earth last weekend, and for this special occasion, her annual party-turned-concert took place on two evenings (instead of the usual one).
As always, people came from near and far to the small Northern town of Varel, where Diedel Klöver lives and works his scrap metal Yard Art, and where his wife started Gracy’s Bash – possibly Germany’s smallest and most intimate festival. On Friday night, the line-up included gems like Treesha, The Rising Suns and Etana, and we are told that it was a wonderful start into this musical weekend.
The Saturday starts with grey skies and a few drops of rain, but by the time the doors of the venue open, the weather holds and visitors stroll around, get a drink or chat with long-time-no-see friends. Sheriff’s Soundpatrol provides an easy welcome selection, and at 6:30pm, the first act is announced by moderator Karsten aka Cappuccino: Conscious Culture! The three ladies started out on backing vocals but now have asset of their own, played with a band of four. Their soulful jazz and ska vibes find expression in original tunes like I Love You and a few cover versions, of which Ken Boothe’s When I Fall In Love and Toots’ 5446, played as encore, bring most movement to the steadily growing crowd.
On the Bamboo Stage, German singer Dr. Ring Ding is now getting ready to perform. He is one of the constants of this festival, and a lot of people are happy to see, sing and skank along with him to tunes like Doctor’s Darling, Old School Rock or Call Di Dakta. Weaving little jokes into his performance, it becomes comedy and concert, both – a true joy to follow!
Instead of taking a break after his show (next to singing, he also played his signature trombone), he hurries over to the Yard Stage, where a special surprise waits for us: the Dubmones! Born from the idea to re-discover the punk rock of The Ramones through a reggae- and ska-lens, some of the musicians who were part of the DubXanne project in 2007 re-united under the Echo Beach label roof to record a fine album called, obviously, Dubmones.
Today, the instrumentalists André Mayer, Raúl Pfeffer, Manougazou, Marc Steinweg und Joonas Lorenz are joined by vocalists Dr. Ring Ding, Sebastian Sturm, Moses and, straight from the UK, Shniece and Horseman to perform some of the tracks on the album, including Rocksteady High School, Do You Wanna Dance?, Pet Sematary, Black Rabbit or Blitzkrieg Bop. Hey, ho, let’s go!
After all this movement, the following act at the Bamboo Stage promises some repose, as she is known for her beautiful, decelerated songs: Zoe Mazah. Coming straight from Portugal, she and her band arrived in Munich yesterday, but without their luggage. All stage outfits and, worse still, their instruments gone! Luckily they were able to use Samora’s equipment, so after a few minutes of soundcheck, Louie Melody (drums), Nuno Melo (guitar), Pedro da Silva (bass) and Gonçalo Palmas (keys) were good to go. With songs like Black Girl Magic, Paradise Is Calling and Immigrant, Zoe brings her conscious messages across, talking to the audience in between. “May we keep our hearts open!”
More female power then waits for us at the Yard Stage, where Samora and band are bound to appear (after the instruments have quickly been carried over and connected). The young singer holds the crowd’s attention in a firm grip, both with her energetic presence and her impressive vocals. With a full band of seven, the sound is amazing, too, and she takes us on a ride through fast-paced tracks like My Way or Precious and slower pieces such as Home Again. A special segment is the cover medley, a wild mix from Bam Bam via Gentleman’s Superior to Beenie’s Dude. Fire!
While Sheriff’s Soundpatrol plays a few tunes after this exciting set, the stage is prepared for the grande finale of the night: Sista Gracy and the Yardy Crew! As usual, Gracy opens the set, thanking everyone for coming and delivering three songs, and I swear she looks half her age. She then welcomes special guest Brinsley Forde, founding member and lead singer of the British group Aswad, and The Rising Suns, a young vocal trio from Jamaica consisting of Irie Souljah, Matthew Malcolm and Quan Dajai.
Together, they present Marley’s Exodus, Presley’s Jailhouse Rock as well as Aswad hits like Don’t Turn Around and Shine, for which Gracy grabs the mic again, too. The party thus continues til well into the night, and it is past 2am when we make our way home, filled to the brim with music and good vibes. Thank you, Gracy, Diedel and crew, for another wonderful Bash!!!
