Keep It True XXIII

Tarek Maghary (of Majesty fame) and Oliver Weinsheimer, editor of Rock Hard magazine, created the Keep It True festival in 2003 to provide traditional metal fans with an unforgettable experience. The event occurred at Lauda-Königshofen's Tauberfrankenhalle twice annually until 2009, when the Keep It True festival organizer reduced it to once a year. In 2008, Posthalle Würzburg served as an alternative location for the occasion.

Initially, Keep It True was designed as a one-day event on Saturdays. Yet, due to its ever-increasing popularity, it transformed into an official two-day festival with a Friday warm-up show. Initially, the warm-up occurred in a tent near the central KIT location. However, it quickly became too small for visitors, so they moved to Lauda's parish cellar at KIT III and then later relocated again to Dittigheim's sports hall until reaching KIT VIII when they had outgrown this space yet again!

One had to obtain a separate ticket to join in on the pre-show. Between KIT VII and even KIT IX, only one mid-size festival happened in Dittigheim during November with no preceding event.

The inaugural KIT X Festival was held in April 2008 at the Tauberfrankenhalle in Lauda-Königshofen. For two consecutive years (2008 and 2009), it took place twice a year - once in November and then again in April – with Würzburg hosting the eleventh edition of the festival. Since 2010, however, it has been an annual event that stretches over two days without any warm-up shows beforehand.

In 2020, Keep It True tragically couldn't take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The same fate occurred for 2021's event in Königshofen as the district vaccination center during this challenging time took place at their Tauber-Frankenhalle. In response, a brand new festival (Keep it True Rising) was held at Würzburg Posthalle for its first time and will continue into 2022. However, plans of a scheduled initially Keep it True 2022 have sadly been pushed back until 2023 in Königshofen instead.

Mark your calendars! On April 20-22, 2023, Keep It True will return with its XXIII edition at Tauber-Franken Halle in Lauda-Königshofen. Don't miss out on this extraordinary showcase of headlining performances that you won't soon forget.