Kool & The Gang will perform in the Maze on Thursday, 5 September. The band from New Jersey is one of the biggest funk/disco bands in the world. The next day, astronaut André Kuipers will come to Tegelen with a new special open-air performance. These are the first two names in a new series of summer events called Live in the Maze. Live in the Maze is a cooperation between booking agency Friendly Fire, Poppodium Grenswerk and De Maaspoort Theater & Events. Tickets are for sale via this link
The three parties have the intention to produce more concerts and theatre productions together in the coming years. Friendly Fire is one of the largest booking agencies and concert organisers in the Netherlands. Grenswerk is the pop stage in North Limburg, the stage already organised successful events in Open Air Theatre de Doolhof before. De Maaspoort, as the largest theatre in North and Central Limburg, is the third partner.
Kool & The Gang is the first confirmation of the collaboration. The band is an American funk institution with countless iconic songs like Celebration, Jungle Boogie, Get Down On It, Ladies Night and Summer Madness. Songs that almost all gained eternal value with the rise of hip-hop in the 1990s: the band from New Jersey is one of the most sampled acts ever. Kool & The Gang will be celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2019. The collective played from 1964 under various band names but became Kool & The Gang in 1969, after which they conquered the world in the 1970s. The band sold more than 70 million albums worldwide.
1969 was not the only year Kool & The Gang were formed: it was also the year the first man set foot on the moon. That event also happened exactly 50 years ago this year. Today, the moon continues to fascinate. That is why astronaut Andre Kuipers is organising a special series of outdoor concerts in September 2019 in the major open-air theatres in the Netherlands. Kuipers will also be coming to the Doolhof in Tegelen. He will take his audience on a journey to the moon.
His fascinating stories will be supported by spectacular images and interspersed with classical music inspired by the moon, provided by the 20-piece string orchestra Kamerata Zuid, conducted by Frank Adams. It promises to be a special experience where you can sit under the starry sky and muse, but above all be amazed at how beautiful and special the moon is.