Mina Richman – KULTURSOMMER 2026 – Open Air

Honest. Queer. Self-determined. It is the search for a perspective and a direction in life that drove the queer German-Iranian Mina Richman toward music from an early age. Born in Berlin but raised in the small town of Bad Salzuflen, she moves between worlds and discovers treasures like Joan As Police Woman and Nina Simone in her aunt’s CD collection. Inspired by these artists and driven by the loneliness of the COVID-19 pandemic, she released her debut EP, “Jaywalker,” in 2022, which earned her a nomination for Best Newcomer at the PopNRW Awards. Raised “accidentally” to be a feminist by her father—as she once put it in an interview with *Zeit*—she drew on Cher’s famous quote, “Mom, I’m a rich man,” for her stage name.

Her solidarity song “Baba Said” suddenly went viral during the revolution in Iran, allowing her to use her music to contribute to the fight for freedom and human rights. She sees combining activism with music as both a duty and a necessity.