The 2017 edition of Jamel's anti-Nazi rock music festival

The name Jamel rockt den Förster hardly trips off the tongue, but the two-day celebration of music and protest against Nazis in a northeastern German village has become a cultural institution. Here are some of this year's highlights.

The festival is the brainchild of Horst and Birgit Lohmeyer, who were dismayed to learn that many of the 40 other inhabitants of their village were right-wing extremists. So, for two nights every summer, those bad neighbors are kept awake by some very loud music.

There's a lot of punk music at the Jamel festival, but this years lineup - which, as always, was kept top secret - was surprisingly diverse. Gold Roger are a hip-hop outfit from Cologne with a fast-talking frontman.

Not surprisingly, the Lohmeyers' neighbors tend to keep a low profile when the festival is on. The crowd in Jamel makes no secret of where their political sympathies lie and would probably not give right-wing parties and their followers a very warm welcome.

One of the top acts book for the 2017 festival were the veteran Hamburg power poppers Die Sterne (The Stars). They played a mix or newer material and popular favorites that helped establish the musical style known as the Hamburger Schule (Hamburg School).

The act that drew the most lively response from the crowd on Friday night was Kraftklub, from Chemnitz in eastern Germany. Frontman Felix Brummer even did a bit of crowd surfing in what was a very dynamic show.

The festival is now entering its second decade and shows no signs of slowing down. Bands are eager to play it, and music fans are eager to get tickets even though they don't know in advance which groups will be appearing. All of that makes for a unique festival experience.