The Train Rockers are the kind of band whose name sparks curiosity before they’ve played a single note. “The Train Rockers? What kind of name is that?” It’s a question they’ve heard countless times. The answer lies beneath the streets of Munich.
Formed in 2015, the band earned their identity busking on city streets and inside subway carriages, where commuters became an unsuspecting first audience. Before long, the underground gave way to bars, clubs and, perhaps most remarkably, prisons. They weren’t manufactured in rehearsal rooms or talent shows, they were forged in public spaces, where every performance had to be earned.
That street-level beginning also shaped a uniquely international lineup. Frontman and guitarist Frank, drummer Chrissie and bassist Sam bring a foundation rooted in German alternative rock, while Turkish guitarist Suleyman blends soaring rock melodies with the colours of traditional Turkish music. English pianist Richard completes the picture, drawing equally from classical music and rock. The result is a sound that refuses to sit neatly inside one genre.
Their influences stretch even further. You can hear echoes of Johnny Cash, whose legendary prison performances remain a guiding light—not just musically, but spiritually. Like Cash, The Train Rockers believe music can reach people society often overlooks. Alongside that come the expansive anthems of U2, the weathered emotion of Kings of Leon, the storytelling mastery of Bob Dylan, and the haunting atmosphere of The Cure.
But influence is only half the story. Experience is what defines them.
Years spent performing everywhere from Berlin’s roughest neighbourhoods to Dublin’s bustling Grafton Street, beneath the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and inside prisons across Germany and Austria, exposed the band to an endless stream of extraordinary people and unforgettable stories. Those encounters became the emotional foundation of their music.
Their EP, The Black Sheep, captures those moments in vivid detail. Blending alternative rock with touches of pop, folk and country, the record explores lives lived on the margins, stories of outsiders, misfits, redemption, crisis and hope. The songs feel lived-in because, in many ways, they are.
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