Still full from the two-day PLAIST Festival, which Christian Lillinger organized with a great line-up, I now – in mid-November – remember the sentence of my unforgotten teacher Walter Jeschke: “Remember the past, live in the present and be prepared for the future”…and try to sum up the past year: Where have we been? Where are we now? Where do we want to go?

A year full of concerts worth thinking about and listening to will soon be behind us – it would be presumptuous to highlight individual concerts or series, but the November program alone was packed with highlights, and so were all the other months of the year. The LOFT has also just received two awards, the venue program award from the state of NRW for the 2024 season and the national APPLAUS award from Initiative Musik as one of the best live music venues (the latter is unfortunately not endowed). Back in January, we received the venue program award from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for the 2023 season – as we have done every year since this award was presented: a motivating recognition for the work of the LOFT team! At the same time, of course, we are not immune to all the uncertainties that have increased in recent years and especially in recent days, or (like climate change) have become more and more prominent, and it seems that some of these dark clouds are unlikely to disappear.

Two attitudes have accompanied my commitment and dedication to music at LOFT over the past 35 years, and they are more important than ever: active optimism and gratitude. In 1996, the first LOFT calendar therefore had the motto “let’s go”, another calendar had the motto “let’s keep going”, i.e. keep going and do it better, and also be grateful: grateful for the outstanding musicians with whom we have been able to produce concerts together, grateful for a loyal audience that is curious about and listens to new things, for the perception of our concerts, CD recordings, livestreams … and also be grateful for the associated recognition, both in the form of funding from the City of Cologne and the numerous prizes.

I am also grateful that the handover to the younger generation has been more than excellent, that together with the jungesloft team, the sound engineers and not least Christopher Ullrich, the artistic director and managing director Benedikt Müller has made the LOFT an incomparable music venue in Germany. Being aware of the musicians, welcoming them and appreciating their work, combined with outstanding musical expertise, exceptional organizational talent and everlasting friendliness has ensured much more than just the survival of the venue.
We finally have a new head of the cultural department, but unfortunately the position of music officer has not yet been filled – the city of Cologne’s austerity measures in the area of culture and especially in the area of the independent scene are immense, but we are still trying unwaveringly to discover and promote wonderful musicians, to present old and young heroes with the aim of continuing to present our audience with an exciting program rich in discoveries.

And so, with heartfelt thanks to all those who work at LOFT, support and promote it, and on behalf of the entire LOFT team
Good luck, Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year 2025
Hans Martin Müller