Pop-Kultur Festival: Kersty Grether and Sandra Grether: “Rebel Queens – Rebellion Is the Highest Form of Devotion”

The show is based on their acclaimed bestseller “Rebel Queens: Women in Rock Music” as well as their new book “Patti Smith: 100 Pages.” They blend songs from the book into a sacred mashup mass. Together with songs from “Mondscheinpsychose, Bordsteinrose,” the latest album by their band The Doctorella, they create a rebellious visual performance blending a riot of colors, noise pop, and the power of words—not a sterile reading, but an aesthetic response to negativity. Also joining them is bandmate Gordon Ashdown on bass and drums, while Sandra plays electric guitar and Kersty plays piano.

At the heart of it all is the idea of synesthesia as a creative driving force: colors become audible, words appear as objects in space, and music transforms into images. The ascetic energy of rock ’n’ roll meets the idea of colorfulness as a shield against gray stereotypes.

The pioneers of pop feminism in Germany speak of pop icons like Madonna, Rosalía, and even Pussy Riot as invincible forces, drawing on their “fight-your-way-forward” strategies—that is, the abilities that enabled them to battle against resistance and societal labels. The female musicians who were confronted with strict Catholic values, in particular, did not simply turn their backs on religion, but danced in defiance of rigid sexual morality. To shine alongside these queens of pop, the Grether sisters have chosen the form of a devotional service reminiscent of a goddess ritual, making inner worlds tangible to the outside world. A poetic, immersive experience full of humor, intimacy, and empowerment—and brimming with themes that transformed pop culture and feminism into a manifesto and a movement.