Rock am Ring CEO Matt Schwarz on Eventim and the Festival's Evolving Experience

Matt Schwarz is CEO of eventimpresents, as well as CEO of PRK DreamHaus, both part of the Eventim Live family of promoters. Schwarz has been deeply involved in both Rock am Ring and Rock im Park since 2003, first at MLK, then as COO and MD at Live Nation GSA. He joined Eventim in 2021, and by that point had fully taken up the reins at both festivals. He’s guiding the team charged with taking Germany’s most famous festivals into the future, which have shaped the country’s music legacy for the past 40 and 30 years, respectively.

Schwarz is a 2022 Impact International Honoree . Speaking with Pollstar back then, he said starting a new business endeavor during the lockdowns meant his team didn’t have to deal with any aftermath of canceled or repeatedly postponed events. They were able to focus on both Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, with enough lead time to set them up for an epic sold-out return in 2022. They became the first two German major festivals to happen after the forced two-year break.

Rock am Ring 2022 celebrated an attendance record with 90,000 visitors and made a live broadcast from both main stages fully available for the first time in festival history. Since then, and despite the challenging economic environment, both events have been doing extremely well. The 2025 anniversary editions, held June 6-8, counted around 180,000 festivalgoers at both Nürburgring, the home of Rock am Ring, as well as the Zeppelinfeld in the heart of Nuremberg, where Rock im Park takes place. The Rock am Ring livestream was watched by 27 million unique viewers, giving the event an unprecedented reach.

It’s not too surprising, though, given the stellar anniversary bill, which was largely Schwarz’s doing, as it is each year. He notes the fact that many of the bands that were big in the early 2000s, when he first joined the team, are just as relevant today, or bigger. He also shares with Pollstar his personal highlights from last year’s anniversary editions, booking their lineups and much more.

Ring O’ Rockstars: Getting To The Bottom Of The Unique Rock Am Ring Festival Essence

Pollstar: If you had to describe the 40th edition of Rock am Ring in one word, which would come to mind first? Matt Schwarz: Iconic.

And if you had a few more sentences – how would you summarize the anniversary edition? Aside from the weather, everything about this weekend simply worked. For the entire team and for me personally, the 40th anniversary was deeply emotional. We raised the bar once again on the production side, with full LED stages, LED delay towers and a visual concept that set new benchmarks. But it wasn’t just about technology. We invested heavily in the overall guest experience.

When I look back at the weekend, Friday night stands out in particular. Announcing Linkin Park as the first headliner for 2026 was an iconic moment and you could literally feel the energy shift across the entire crowd. Moments like that show just how emotionally connected people are to this festival. Most importantly, the anniversary was about showing that Rock am Ring continues to evolve without losing sight of its history and DNA. We looked back together with our fans, but we also very clearly looked ahead. That balance between nostalgia and forward momentum made the weekend truly special.

Do you have one or several personal highlights from the anniversary edition you’d like to share with our readers? Without question, the Linkin Park announcement on Friday night. It was one of those goosebump moments you don’t forget. The on-site staging with lighting, fireworks, pyro and the screen announcement was extremely powerful. At the same time, the moment was streamed live via the band’s channels, our own platforms and our streaming partner. That combination allowed us to create not just a strong emotional moment on site, but also real momentum for 2026. For the entire team and for me personally, it felt like a true full-circle moment.

Was it easier or more difficult than in previous years to put the lineup together? An anniversary automatically comes with higher expectations, from the fans but also from ourselves. For me, it was clear that the lineup needed to reflect the history of Rock am Ring while also capturing the current zeitgeist – and I think we achieved that balance well. Bring Me The Horizon were a headliner with enormous current momentum and ranked very high in our fan votes. Their Friday show was a real statement. At the same time, Slipknot and Korn are absolute legends – acts that have been part of Rock am Ring’s story for decades. So no, it wasn’t necessarily easier than other years, but it was a very conscious and deliberate curation. And seeing how strongly the lineup was received on site confirmed that the approach paid off.

Looking back at your time with Rock am Ring, what does the festival in 2025 still share with the first edition you were involved in – and in what ways is it almost unrecognizable today? My first Rock am Ring as part of the promoter team was in 2003. Back then, the lineup included Metallica, Linkin Park, Iron Maiden, Limp Bizkit and Deftones. What’s fascinating is that all of these bands are still relevant in 2025, some even experiencing renewed momentum. Rock and metal audiences are incredibly loyal. Fans grow with the artists, and that’s what makes this genre so special. What has changed dramatically is the production and the overall festival experience. The level of technical precision, visual ambition and visitor comfort is on a completely different level today. In the early days, it was pure rock ’n’ roll with a lot of improvisation. Today, Rock am Ring is a highly professional large-scale event – without losing its soul. And that, to me, is the most beautiful evolution: the attitude remains, but the experience has transformed.

Would you agree that a festival has to reinvent itself almost every year to remain relevant – even one as prestigious as Rock am Ring? Not necessarily. Rock am Ring very consciously thrives on consistency. That continuity is exactly what has built such a strong bond with the community over decades. Many fans return year after year, some for decades, and that’s a big part of what makes the festival so special. That said, of course we evolve. Expectations change musically, technically and in terms of comfort and values. That’s why dialogue with our audience is so important to us. We regularly gather feedback through surveys to understand what works, what doesn’t and what our guests want. We don’t need to reinvent ourselves every year – but we do need to listen very carefully.

In your view, what is the core reason Rock am Ring has built such a loyal fanbase? Authenticity, without question. Our fans are passionate music lovers who return every year because they know exactly what to expect: no gimmicks, just a genuine festival experience. Rock am Ring stands for three days of music, deep into the night, in the unique setting of the Eifel. And that’s exactly what we deliver – a mix of big moments, honest atmosphere and an environment where people can fully focus on the music, the community and the shared experience. That’s the core, and people feel it.

Are there artists or teams you’d like to highlight for the role they’ve played in the festival’s success over the years? Of course, there are certain acts that have accompanied us over many years and feel especially connected to the festival but every artist who has played Rock am Ring over the past four decades has contributed to the story of this festival. They’ve connected with audiences, shaped generations and created emotional moments that still resonate today.

Can you share your vision for the next 40 years of Rock am Ring – or at least the next few? We have a very clear idea of where Rock am Ring should be heading. Right now, a lot of our focus is already on the 2027 and 2028 editions. In a landscape where availabilities and fee structures are becoming increasingly complex, early and forward-looking planning is essential. Our goal remains the same: to deliver a lineup every year that truly excites our fans – with their favorite acts as well as fresh impulses. At the same time, we continue to evolve the festival across all areas: technically, infrastructurally, in terms of comfort and, increasingly, sustainability. My wish is that Rock am Ring remains relevant, surprising and, above all, emotional for decades to come. That’s what we work toward as a team with full conviction.

Subscribe to Pollstar HERE

_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/06/01/the-attitude-remains-the-experience-has-transformed-qs-with-rock-am-rings-matt-schwarz/)._