It started with a gap in a festival lineup, and turned into a DJ collective of women over 60.
Forever Fresh, formed after the organisers of the C/O Festival in Cologne, Germany, went looking for ways to involve older people. “It was a summer booking meeting and we gathered to discuss and brainstorm what our lineup might look like the following year,” the festival’s Pia Leohart told RTL West. “We realized there really wasn’t anything for women over 60.”
That led to a simple question from festival promoters: would older women want to DJ?
Organisers put out a call for senior women interested in learning the craft, including mixes, transitions, volumes, fades, and how to use the buttons and sliders on audio equipment. Some of the women who replied had never owned a computer before.
“The challenge is part of the appeal,” DJ Sedaction, one of the group’s instructors, told the German news agency DPA. “Several women said they hadn’t faced something this demanding in years, and that’s exactly why it was so exciting.”
The Forever Fresh DJ collective was finalised in April 2025 and has since played seven gigs, including this year’s festival in Cologne in late April.
Among the performers is DJ Miss Crazy Irma, the group’s oldest member at 90. She uses a walker in daily life, but performs standing up on stage. “I don’t do things halfway, you know,” Irma said in a translated video from CNN.
Uschi Ophir, the group’s youngest member at 64, said the response from the crowd surprised them. “It’s exciting because we thought only our families and friends would come,” she said. “But the younger people were amazing! Really, really great.”
Edeltraud Stecher-Breckner said joining the group felt immediately right. “I’ve been waiting for this, even though I didn’t know I’ve been waiting for this,” she said. ”I thought, this is exactly what I want to do now.”
Their sets have included EDM from David Guetta, pop from Pink and Miley Cyrus, and “Dancing Queen” from Abba.
Audience members told RTL West the performances exceeded expectations. “To be honest, it was fantastic,” one partygoer said. “I really didn’t expect it to be so captivating.”
“The girls on stage had such good energy,” another spectator said. “It swept us all away. I’m sweating!”
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