Lennart Schilgen - Carambolage Festival 2026

Lennart Schilgen sees a need for transfiguration. He writes and sings against an inadequate reality and exposes between the lines where the world and himself are lying to themselves everywhere. It's possible that some uncomfortable truths will emerge. But don't worry: leaving your mental comfort zone has rarely been so comfortable! There are party songs for people who don't like going to parties. Breakup songs for people who don't like breaking up. And audience participation for people who don't like to participate in things. With “sparks of linguistic art” (AZ) and subtle, light-hearted humor, he mainly talks about the things at which he fails: making decisions, impressing girls at the campfire or abolishing capitalism. In return, he manages to wrest unheard facets from the concept of “guy with guitar and piano”. Musically versed, he plays with genre traditions and jumps casually between styles and moods: from Beatlesque pop to a strident marching protest anthem, from the comically creepy stalker ballad to the “Reinhard Mey parody that makes you kneel down” (Mannheimer Morgen). This has now earned him a number of cabaret prizes, such as the jury prize of the Prix Pantheon 2019, the Stuttgarter Besen 2018 and most recently the Tuttlinger Krähe 2020. Of course he knows that such prizes do not have to say anything about the quality. But when he wins it himself, he can overlook it surprisingly well.

Photo: Marcel Brell