Cheers! 10. September 2025

#concert experience design

‘Cheers!’ is a concert experience design that breaks down existing boundaries between stage and audience in an unusual way. Immediately after the performance, an artist invites one person or a small group of visitors backstage to enjoy a cold drink together. What would otherwise remain exclusively part of the artists' world becomes an opportunity for genuine encounters: the atmosphere behind the stage, a cold beer or an alternative refreshment, and the immediate proximity to the musician create a setting in which conversation and exchange can arise naturally.

Guests are selected in advance, for example by lottery or with a handwritten invitation letter left on selected seats. The backstage area is made cosy and the guest/s are accompanied from the hall to where the musician is waiting (if possible not the dressing room!). The format appeals to both first-time listeners and experienced concertgoers and remains deliberately low-threshold and uncomplicated. Those who get involved experience a small ritual that creates closeness and enriches their perspective on the life of a musician – without much staging, but with all the more authenticity.

Extras such as small snacks or the opportunity to write a love letter to the artist are conceivable and can be integrated individually. The first prototypes show that it is precisely these small gestures that are positively received by the audience and the artists. This makes the format "Cheers!" more than just a drink after the concert – it becomes a link between people and music that can be easily adapted and combined with other formats.

We developed this Concert Experience Design as part of the Inside Artists residency programme sponsored by the Liz Mohn Foundation at the Beethovenfest Bonn – in collaboration with the programme team of the renowned classical music festival and other artists.