800 evenings, all concert venues in Germany and many stories

A look back at ten years of concert life — in numbers, points and a few thoughts at the piano

What happens if you compile all the concert dates from the last ten years or so, transfer them to a map showing all the concert venues in Germany, and then take a closer look? I tried it out — and was surprised myself.

The result: Over 820 concert evenings between 2015 and today (only public concerts, excluding business events and private concerts), spread across more than 180 cities in Germany, Switzerland, France, Estonia, the Netherlands, Spain, and Israel. Red dots on a map show where music has been. Some light and delicate—just a few visits. Some so dark red you could almost call them a second home.

(Clicking on the images will take you to the interactive version)

Concert venues in Germany - The map doesn't lie

The biggest, darkest spot by far is in Bad Hersfeld. 48 concert evenings here alone, in the town where I was born and have lived and worked again for years – the book café, the Bach House, the town church, the abbey district. That's no surprise, but it's nice to see it in black and white (or red on beige).

Following behind are Marburg, Frankfurt, and Wetzlar. The triangle of central Hesse, which has been with me for many years: Waggonhalle, Pianohaus KDH, and the Wetzlar Festival. Places that are not just performance venues, but true musical homes.

What really surprised me was how evenly the points are distributed across Germany. From Heringsdorf on Usedom to Waldshut-Tiengen on the Upper Rhine, from Kleve on the Lower Rhine to Kunnersdorf near Görlitz—that adds up to quite a few kilometers. It also becomes clear that I'm rarely in the "new" federal states. Why is that, actually? Is piano music less appreciated there?

The missing years

Anyone looking at the annual statistics immediately sees the collapse: 2020 and 2021. From an average of 70-80 performances per year, there were suddenly only 9 — and most of them in the autumn of 2020, in the few weeks when things were briefly possible again.

I remember that time well. Not just as an economic setback, but as a real loss. For me, concerts aren't a service that can simply be put on hold. They're the reason I play the piano. The silence on stages, which I'd known for years, was one of the strangest experiences of that entire period.

On the other hand, there were the streaming concerts from my studio. New online friendships forged on Twitch. Over 300 concerts online, initially three per week. And our dear neighbor, who brought cocktails over for every online concert.

2022 finally saw the return — and with it the feeling of being allowed to arrive again.

Unfortunately, only concert data from the second half of 2015 was available, which is why the bar is unrepresentatively small...

Beyond the border

Anyone who looks at a map of Europe will discover another story: that of travel.

Switzerland is by far the most frequently performed foreign country – Ascona at the Jazz Festival, Davos, Tschiertschen, Sargans, Zofingen, Lucerne. The Swiss audience and I have a long and warm relationship. Then there are the jazz cruises on the Rhine and Rhône, which take me out on the water for a few days every year – and which appear as separate entries in the statistics.

And then there's Estonia, my wife's homeland. Pärnu, Holdre, Muhu Island—the Baltics are a musical passion of mine, finding a unique artistic home in my Baltic Blues program. I'm especially pleased that three concerts took place there in 2025. There will be several more in 2026.

Tel Aviv 2024, at the New Orleans Jazz Festival — a dot in the far southeast of the map, almost at the edge of the picture. Five evenings, another world, an unforgettable experience.

What these numbers mean — and what they don't —

820 concert evenings sounds like a lot. And yes, it is a lot. But what really moved me during this evaluation is not the sheer quantity—but the density of the connections behind it.

Behind every point is an organizer who kindly responded to our numerous emails and calls. An audience that came. A piano that was tuned—or sometimes not. An evening where everything came together perfectly, and sometimes one where you gave it your all even with less than ideal conditions on stage.

Touring means constantly arriving anew. In new cities, in front of new people, with ever-changing concert programs—each time new, each time a little different. That's the beauty of it. And it's the reason why the next point on the map is just as important as the first.

And now?

2026 is already pretty full — the current concert overview shows where things are headed in the coming months. If you haven't seen me in your city yet: there are still some blank spots on the map. We can fill them.

As always, inquiries for concerts, festivals and special occasions should be sent to info@luleys.de — I look forward to hearing from you.

Heartfelt grooves,

Yours, Jan

The interactive maps and statistics in this article are based on the concert data from janluley.de/live and the archive pages from June 2015 to December 2025.