Attention! Bavarian folk music is by far more than what it is mistaken for: it is not knee-slapper barn jokes, it is not just fueling swinging and swaying to music and definitely not using your vocal cords in an almost acrobatic way in front of an artificial alpine scenery. Bavarian folk music is often enough heart-felt music that was not necessarily created for great concert halls. Being rather personal on the one hand, it can also be totally wild dance music, then again it can provide the feeling of recluse or offers the opportunity for criticism or tease.

The fact that nowhere else in Germany folk music culture is so well maintained as it is in Bavaria, is due to the intrinsic fear of Bavarians of being „swallowed“ by malicious Prussians or protestants. Besides, kings and politicians have promoted this tradition of preserving the Bavarian identity for more than two hundred years. Moreover, folk music is suitable for furtherance of tourism and serves as means of entertainment for guests from all over Germany coming to Bavaria. Thus Bavarians, who were often enough poor and therefore felt inferior, had something special to show off. While on the one hand ensembles arose performing at socalled „Heimatabende“ (events with folkloric music and traditional customs) or played „Stadlmusik“ (originally music that was played in a barn), on the other hand as soon as the late 1920s a non-commercial folk music scene emerged. Paul Kiem, musician and friend of the well-known German writer Ludwig Thoma, went on a journey, searching and collecting tunes, writing down music and publishing songs. Most important, however, he assembled musicians in ensembles to perform in radio shows. Kiem Pauli and his friends used this highly attractive platform for their musical message of genuine folk music and the radio station was able to broadcast good and original music that was representing Bavaria at a high cultural level.

Everyone growing up in Bavaria is exposed to „genuine“ folk music being aired by the Bavarian radio stations. It is also imparted to students at schools and universities, fostered by the Bavarian districts and their institutions and promoted by organizations like the Bayerische Landesverein für Heimatpflege (society for the preservation of Bavarian traditions and culture). It has become common knowledge that there is no homogeneity in Bavarian folk music, on the contrary, it is continually reassembled from geographical and temporal components. This time Obacht 3 is on a musical journey, seeking traces in Bavarian regions and their (his-)story. Due to the support of the folk music department of the Bayerische Rundfunk it was possible to present rare recordings of Wirthaussängern (singers who usually performed in country-inns and taverns) from Bavaria and the neighboring regions. These recordings are aiming at - like all the other songs, yodelers and dances - paying tribute to the Bavarian tradition in all its facets.