Holger Paetz

Holger Paetz is a German Kabarettist, Liedermacher and satirical author, born on 23 August 1952 in Munich and raised in a suburb of Aschaffenburg in Franconia. He belongs to the generation of literarily inclined German cabaret artists who came up through the Munich Kleinkunst scene of the late 1970s and went on to become fixtures of the public-broadcasting cabaret tradition. Often described as a virtuoso of language and "the Buster Keaton of the word", Paetz writes haarspalterisch (hair-splittingly) abstruse texts full of image-rich formulations, underpinned by a misanthropic-melancholic mood that has become his trademark. He is a long-standing ensemble member of the legendary Muenchner Lach- und Schiessgesellschaft, an honorary winner of the Salzburger Stier and a recurring guest on WDR Mitternachtsspitzen, Ottis Schlachthof and Scheibenwischer, where he co-wrote texts with Dieter Hildebrandt.

Paetz attended the Humanistisches Gymnasium in Aschaffenburg and began studies in musicology, art history and English at the Julius-Maximilians-Universitaet Wuerzburg, which he did not finish, choosing an artistic career instead. Early on he wrote his own texts and songs, including "Ascheberscher Cityblues", and developed his first solo cabaret programmes. In 1976 he was awarded the Liedermacherpreis of the Hessischer Rundfunk. In 1977 he moved to Munich, where he played the city's Kleinkunst circuit: KEKK, Liederbuehne Robinson, Musikalisches Unterholz (MUH), Hinterhoftheater, supporting himself in parallel as a cemetery gardener, waiter and archivist. From 1999 he has collaborated with Uli Bauer, and from 2002 the two have belonged to the ensemble of the revived Muenchner Lach- und Schiessgesellschaft. From 1999 to 2009 he was main author of the Singspiel at the Nockherberg Starkbieranstich, where he also performed the role of FDP politician Guido Westerwelle. He has appeared in the major broadcast cabaret formats Mitternachtsspitzen, Ottis Schlachthof and Scheibenwischer, and shared text-writing credits on the latter with Dieter Hildebrandt, who was also his sponsor when he received the Salzburger Stier Kabarettpreis in 1996. His solo programme "Gott hatte Zeit genug" premiered on 13 January 2010 at the Mainz Unterhaus, and "Ganz fest loslassen" premiered on 17 March 2012 at the Hofgarten-Kabarett in Aschaffenburg. From 2009 to 2020 he gave a monthly satirical-political review at the Munich Valentin-Karlstadt-Museum titled "So schoen war's noch selten!", which he now performs as an annual year-in-review evening starting each December. Other current programmes include "Fuerchtet Euch!".

Holger Paetz tours German cabaret stages year-round, with a strong concentration in Bavaria, Hesse and his birth city Munich. Recent and upcoming dates include the year-end review "So schoen war's noch selten!" each December, the touring programme "Fuerchtet Euch!" (including a 2024 Tutzing stop at the Akademie fuer Politische Bildung) and ensemble nights at the Muenchner Lach- und Schiessgesellschaft. Tickets and dates are listed on holger-paetz.de and via Reservix from EUR 15, plus through the booking agency Agentur Reisinger.