Great acoustic guitar pop rock from German singer songwriter meike koester. Beautifully arranged with different guests on many songs (trombone, strings, sitar, piano and others). Voted "Best German CD Album 2011" by the German Pop Foundation!

meike grooves!

“When koester is onstage the audience is hers from the very beginning,” the Brunswick daily newspaper writes. And now audiences can finally enjoy the experience at home with meike's new DVD of one of her live solo performances.

koester blends her colorful musical ideas and lyrics into an idiosyncratic and ingenious mixture. Fans of acoustic “pop/rock/country/folk” with versatile vocals and groovy guitar will absolutely love a concert by meike koester!

After three CDs with songs in English and concert tours in the US, some German titles have snuck into meike's program for the first time. “Your sailor's heart is afraid to love,” one song artfully plays with words, but one can also understand it to mean, “Your sailor's heart becomes afraid because it is so in love.” Another song explains that “sometimes you have to leave in order to see what remains.” Again and again, meike koester explores the borders between leaving and staying, between responsibility and freedom.

In a warm-hearted and charming way, meike draws the audience in when she tells little stories about the songs and explains in a conversational tone how the electronic effects for her acoustic guitar work.

meike might stand all by herself on stage, but sometimes it seems like a bass guitar or drum set is hiding in her acoustic guitar as well, that's how groovy, full and multifaceted her guitar playing sounds. The audience can't help but experience her joy of playing when meike occasionally uses a wah-wah pedal, a loop station or even a distortion effect. A modern singer-songwriter indeed.

One can also experience meike with a “real” band. The entertaining trio with Peter Stoschus (bass) and Christian Prescher (drums and cajon) offers a warm, versatile band sound that fills intimate stages and bigger live music clubs with an atmosphere that is sometimes pulsating and rocky, at other times soft and melodic.

Audiences beyond Germany also enjoy meike koester's charismatic stage presence and great songwriting. “She's got what it takes to be a star!” raved the ORF (Austrian Public Broadcasting Service) about meike koester's Austria debut.

In June 2000 she performed as one of 21 participants (from LA, Chicago, NY, Boston, etc.) in the semi-annual singer-songwriter contest at Eddie's Attic in Decatur/Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Eddie's is an acoustic club known for being the place where musicians like Shawn Mullins, John Mayer and the Indigo Girls got their start. meike koester was awarded Second Prize.

Since then she is regularly in Georgia and California and has toured with Carlos Calvo, Kodac Harrison, Caroline Aiken and others. meike performed at the “Atlanta Dogwood Festival” (2004) with her trio and has played concerts with such varied artists as Eric Taylor, Pierce Pettis, Beth Wood and Dede Vogt.

In addition to her own solo concerts, meike koester has performed as a warm-up act with Marc Cohn (“Walking In Memphis”), Alannah Myles (“Black Velvet”) and Toto (all in Germany), and in 2001 was awarded the Young Artists' Prize of Lower Saxony, Germany for her musical talent. This prize honors the artistic abilities of young musicians, painters, writers and performers. In April 2009 meike was one of the featured artists at the “Pop Meets Classic” (PMC) concert in Brunswick, Germany and was accompanied by the Brunswick State Orchestra and the PMC Band as she played her song “Seefahrerherz” (“Sailor's Heart”g) in front of an audience of 6,000 in the VW Hall.

Meike's fourth (and first German) CD Seefahrerherz was released in 2011 in Germany and won her the "Best German CD Album of the Year 2011" award by the German Pop Foundation. It appeared on September 15, 2014 at CDbaby!

Fabulous acoustic rock with a note of pop. Intelligent lyrics, great hooks that make you want to sing along. Plus a few smoochy ballads, too:)

“She’s got what it takes to be a star!” Gerald Lehner, ORF (Austrian Public Broadcasting Service)

“Truly great. In songwriting and arrangement it [the album] is really on par with international singer-songwriters.” Angela Gobelin, NDR Info (Northgerman Public Radio)

“Meike Koester could be famous – the German Sheryl Crow – because her American singer-songwriter pop is absolutely professional and suitable for commercial radio without ever sliding into “insignificant-la-la-pop.” meike koester knows how to sing, play guitar and write songs. […] But meike koester is not backed up by the music industry. She founded her own label and is marketing herself. The advantage is, that she’s artistically free to do what she wants. The disadvantage: Now she’s so free, that hardly anyone knows her. That’s a shame, but it will hopefully change in the future.” Susanne Burg, Deutschlandradio Kultur (German Public Radio)

”Koester’s mix of singer-songwriter songs and west coast rock sounds fresh, full of soul and warmth. […] ’live love travel free’ is filled with beautiful songs, splendid grooves, colorful arrangements and this sunshine voice that is able to magically get the hope for a rainbow out of an – actually sad – ballad. There’s also a lot of variety and hit potential on this album: ‘Giant’s Basketball’ surprises with gloomy gothic charm, ‘Silverstar’ should be on the radio, ‘Casino’ with Fender Rhodes and great drums, too.”
Matthias Schmidt, Hannoversche Allgemeine (CD-Tipp)

“Braunschweig’s No. 1 songwriter is constantly on tour through Europe and America – for her third band album she went back to her roots and invited Olaf Reitmeier (Hyperchild, Bosse) into the studio for her ballads and mid-tempo songs. The result [is an album with] international class and maybe will be [meike’s] breakthrough with its mixture between Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow. With ‘Stop Haunting Me’ she already has a potential hit song to start with.” Matthias Schröder, Subway

“[…]’live love travel free’ contains 13 expressive pop/rock tracks, that come across as very different from the ‘cookie cutter standards’ that you hear on commercial radio. Her lyrics are thoughtful and often very personal. The same is true for her songs, and for the tougher themes she also doesn’t shy away from tougher sounds […]” Roland Kaschube, Bassprofessor

“[…] The result is an album, that leaves nothing to be desired. Perfectly crafted, musically inventive and as variable in mood as life itself are the 14 tracks of the Braunschweig musician, […]. Her compositions are brimming with ideas and emotion, an art that only a few know how to master. […]“ Claus Kohlmann, Hildesheimer Allgemeine Zeitung

Acoustic rock/pop with a powerful and expressive voice and a command of the acoustic guitar fused together in songs that go straight to the heart.

meike koester has made a national and international name for herself as both a soloist and with her band, performing her own compositions, texts and arrangements. Her musical talents run the gamut from melodious ballads to groovy rock. She traces her roots to the American singer-songwriter tradition.

meike koester's powerful and expressive voice and her command of the acoustic guitar fuse together in solo songs that go straight to the heart. With her band - bass, keyboard, guitar, accordion and drums - she has thrilled critics and audiences with her dynamic performances.

But there’s also a lot going on at meike’s solo concerts. The audience is encouraged to “sigh collectively,” might have to “headbang” when koester puts a distortion effect on one of her acoustic guitars, and is sooner or later drawn into the spell of koester’s intimate concert realm. There the Little Prince, Cinderella and pink bubbles, as well as grumpy Sunday afternoons and deserted casinos have their place. Still, caution is advised, as one newspaper reporter writes after one of meike’s concerts: “because koester can be cheeky too, if necessary”!

In addition to her own solo concerts, meike koester has performed as a warm-up act with Marc Cohn (“Walking In Memphis”), Alannah Myles (“Black Velvet”), Dakota Moon and Toto, (all in Germany) and in 2001 was awarded the Young Artists' Prize of Lower Saxony, Germany for her musical talent. This prize honors the artistic abilities of young musicians, painters, writers and performers.

In June 2000 she performed as one of 21 participants (from LA, Chicago, NY, Boston, etc.) in the semi-annual singer-songwriter contest at Eddie's Attic in Decatur/Atlanta, Georgia. Eddie’s is an acoustic club known for being the place where musicians like Shawn Mullins and the Indigo Girls got their start; meike koester was awarded Second Prize. In April 2004 meike played the ”Atlanta Dogwood Festival” with her trio. As a solo performer she opened concerts for Eric Taylor, Caroline Aiken and Pierce Pettis during her 2004 U.S. tour.

“She’s got what it takes to be a star!” raved the ORF (Austrian Public Broadcasting Service) about meike koester’s Austria debut. That meike koester has a charismatic stage presence, writes excellent songs and gives great concerts is now becoming known in further corners of the world. In addition to being on the road for solo concerts in the USA again in fall and winter of 2005, meike included on that journey concerts in Italy and, for the first time, in Austria.

Discography: "angel" (1998), "soap for dirty girls" (2002), "live love travel free" (2006), "meike koester live im Lutterbeker" (DVD, 2009). All CDs and DVDs published on meike’s own label eve’s apple music production.

Acoustic pop that rocks. "Laidback music with a good beat"(Creative Loafing, Savannah, GA).

meike koester has made a national and international name for herself as both a soloist and with her band, performing her own compositions, texts and arrangements. Her musical talents run the gamut from melodious ballads to groovy rock. She traces her roots to the American singer-songwriter tradition.

meike koester's powerful and expressive voice and her command of the acoustic guitar fuse together in solo songs that go straight to the heart. With her band - bass, keyboard, guitar, accordion and drums - she has thrilled critics and audiences with her dynamic performances.

In addition to her own solo concerts, meike koester has performed as a warm-up act with Mark Eitzel, Marc Cohn, Alannah Myles, Dakota Moon, Toto and Fury in the Slaughterhouse. With her band, she has played at festivals with Jazzkantine, Nina Hagen and Nena.

meike koester was awarded the Young Artists' Prize of Lower Saxony for 2001 (Germany) for her musical talent. This prize honors the artistic abilities of young musicians, painters, writers and performers.

The USA is the source of meike koester's inspiration, and she has made an impression there herself. In June 2000 she performed as one of 21 participants (from LA, Chicago, N.Y., Boston, etc.) in the singer-songwriter contest at Eddie's Attic in Decatur/Atlanta, Georgia. This is the acoustic club where musicians like Ani DiFranco and the Indigo Girls got their start; meike koester was awarded Second Prize.

She has played in GA, CA NC and SC and has performed with such underground legends as Kodac Harrison and Caroline Aiken. In April 2002 meike played the "Atlanta Dogwood Festival" and shared the stage with Kate Campbell, Shawn Mullins and lots of other great local and national musicians. In 2004 meike returned to the festival to play with her band.

"angel", meike koester's first CD, released on her own label, earned critical acclaim in both the German and American press. Please also check out the other CDS and soon even DVD of meike at CD BABY!