Keep it a Secret

05/06/2026

The second act of the summer festival is Gab de la Vega and the Open Cages, all the way from Brescia in Northern Italy. Thinking of what genre to put on the poster, I came up with the moniker "Heartland Punk", thinking I was the first to do so, and only to read it a day later somewhere else too. Oh well, you get the idea.

GAB DE LA VEGA AND THE OPEN GAGES: Gab De La Vega is a singer-songwriter with a punk and hardcore background. After years spent playing loud music and shouting into a microphone at the top of his lungs, he picked up an acoustic guitar to write heartfelt, sincere songs about anything he felt the urge to talk about. Born in Brescia (Italy), he went full band in the summer of 2019: the first time as Gab De La Vega and The Open Cages was as an opening for Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls. He’s been playing both full band and solo shows since then.

FR 26.06.2026
Doors 19:00

04/06/2026

Time to introduce the bands playing the summer fest: it all started with my friends asking for a show and spiralled into a 4 band festival. The usual.

Founded in 2015, SNAILMATE quickly fled the Arizona hellscape that is Phoenix and have been touring ever since. They first played Kreativfabrik on a sweltering hot summer day in 2019 to only a handful of people who still talk about it to this day. Hyperactive synth punk hip-hop, which reminds me of a hot sauce fight between ATOM & HIS PACKAGE and ASTRONAUTALIS.

FR 26.06.
Kreativfabrik Wiesbaden
Doors 19:00

19/04/2026

Normally my Keep it a Secret anniversary is a winter affair. But as we all know summer is better than winter, and punk is more important than sun, why not have a summer festival for a change? With punk rock, obviously. These bands are coming to play at my home turf of :

RANDOM HAND have been a jewel in the crown of UK punk and ska for 20 glorious years. Their anthemic back catalogue, incendiary live show, DIY ethic, and passion for their fans, has seen them propelled past their peers to become a name synonymous with the fire, positivity, progress, and power of UK punk and ska.

Founded in 2015, SNAILMATE quickly tried to escape the Phoenix, Arizona hellscape and have been on a neverending tour ever since. Hyperactive synthie punk hip hop, which reminds me of ATOM & HIS PACKAGE mixed with ASTRONAUTALIS.

GAB DE LA VEGA AND THE OPEN GAGES: Gab De La Vega is a singer-songwriter with a punk and hardcore background. After years spent playing loud music and shouting into a microphone at the top of his lungs, he picked up an acoustic guitar to write heartfelt, sincere songs about anything he felt the urge to talk about. Born in Brescia (Italy), he went full band in the summer of 2019: the first time as Gab De La Vega and The Open Cages was as an opening for Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls. He’s been playing both full band and solo shows since then.

And another Kreativfabrik debut: ZUSTAND from Mainz will be opening the night with their 3 to 8 chord Female Postcringe Cuntpunk.

Sounds like a good night? Agreed. 🤝 Now please get tickets in presale.

Thanks to for the festival name. It started me right in the face but he said it out loud.

08/02/2026

Some reviews for German Compliment #9 & #10. It's in German but you're all a clever bunch. ;)

Unterhaltung, Auffrischung der Englischkenntnisse, Szene-Gossip und kurzweiliger Zeitvertreib gefällig? Dann solltet ihr mal wieder was lesen! Hier ein kleines Doppelreview zum DIY-Punkrock-Fanzine German Compliment.

https://crossedletters.wordpress.com/2026/02/08/fanzine-review-german-compliment-9-und-10/

29/01/2026

Am Montag, 02.02.2026 live im präsentiert von
mp3

Beginn um 21:00 nach dem Bingo
Eintritt frei

📷:

13/01/2026

NEW SHOW! And I've been waiting for over 20 years for this one! will come to Europe in June and they'll be playing for the very first time. Check your calendars, mark the date and get yourself a ticket!

28/12/2025

Crossed Letters had a listen to SPELLS (spoilers: and they liked it)! Thank you! 🖤

SPELLS -Doppelreview gefällig? Dann bitte hier entlang: die beiden 12inches der Band aus Denver sind auf Keep it a Secret erschienen! Wenn ihr auf melodischen Punk mit female/male-Vocals könnt, dann sollte das hier etwas für euch sein!

https://crossedletters.wordpress.com/2025/12/28/double-review-spells-loose-change-vol-2-past-our-prime-keep-it-a-secret-records/

13/12/2025

The final show of the year: my friends at their hometown show Friends First Fest in Nijmegen. You cannot end the year with a better show with better people.

23/11/2025

KSR038 is finally out in the world! celebrated the occasion with a fun hometown show to a packed house in Worms. Even wild animals showed up, crazy. The 12'' EP "Right Back to the Start" is available to stream everywhere now, and if you want a physical copy - hit us up!

29/10/2025

It's been a couple of days since the 15th anniversary of Keep it a Secret, and I think I kind of caught up on sleep now. A little summary: I always ran Keep it a Secret as a one-person thing but that's mainly to not have to coordinate schedules. The obvious truth is I didn't run this festival alone but with a lot of help from friends who cooked, who did an amazing job with the sound, who did bar and door duty, who helped clean up, who filled up the backstage fridge and did various other things so I was also able to enjoy the music. Thank you all !

Speaking of music: I was fortunate enough to book a diverse lineup of great bands, some of them friends for ages, some new friends, some played Kreativfabrik for the first time, some played here already in 2009. I enjoyed every single chord that weekend, and I hope you did too.
F*cking Angry Kontrolle Skin of Tears Old Maps Molly Punch
Dividing Lines Bonzenbrenner When There Is None Public Serpents Cool Living City Speak & EyeShotEmily - thank you!

It turns out however that running a three-day festival with 12 bands doesn't leave a lot of time to take pictures. So here are some of the very few I took, but you can see what more (and better ones) over at

And finally: would I do it again? To quote AK3: "Hell Yes!" But I could do without the socks left behind by that one band that stayed over at my apartment. 😁