Photos by Andy Argyrakis

One of the most enormous German exports of this century thus far is unquestionably Cascada, who sold around 30 million records and are continuing the streak on streaming platforms given a contagious combo of pop, soul and EDM.

Led by original singer Natalie Horler, the group is currently celebrating “20 Years” on an international tour when the Des Plaines Theatre was quite fortunate to be one of just five American venues, courtesy of world-class concert promoter Ron Onesti, who always has his eye on exclusives.

After a warm-up DJ set, the headliner officially got the party going over the throbbing likes of “Miracle” and “Evacuate The Dance Floor,” the later having the exact opposite effect as hundreds of hands flew joyfully throughout the air.

Over pre-recorded instrumentation, Horler belted out additional originals and covers, such as Savage Garden’s pumped up ballad “Truly Madly Deeply” and Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell’s Motown memory “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” off the brand new “Studio 24” album.

The retrospective into Cascada’s own annals resumed come “Bad Boy,” and in the case of “What Hurts The Most,” was completely reworked for the club compared to the country versions cut by Mark Wills or Rascal Flatts.

The bubbly bangers kept on firing at full speed thanks to “Never Be Lonely” through “Never Let Me Go,” constantly revving up the crowd and further enhanced by lasers, strobe lights, smoke and a screen beaming various editions of the act’s logo.

However, no track was more readily associated with Cascada than the colossal “Everytime We Touch,” which exploded as an endless rush of euphoria when everyone screamed along and became entranced by its surging speed of techno beats.

An encore of Patti Smith Group turned 10,000 Maniacs’ rocker “Because The Night” brought it all full circle as Cascada conquered yet another era and genre, while raising a toast to two decades of much-deserved longevity.

For additional information on Cascada, visit Cascada-Music.de.

Upcoming concerts at the Des Plaines Theatre include One Vision Of Queen (Dec. 20); Motown Christmas (Dec. 21); A Very Cher-y Christmas (Dec. 22); Anthem and Richrath Project 3:13 (Dec. 27); Bad Motor Scooter and Electric Phase (Dec. 28); Ronnie B Elvis (Dec. 29); Phat Cat Swinger (Dec. 30); Infinity and Recaptured (Dec. 31); Are You Ready For It? A Taylor Experience (Jan. 5); Irish Heartbeat (Jan. 10); Pandemonium Strings (Jan. 11); The Gilmour Project (Jan. 18); Grungefest (Jan. 24); Seals & Crofts 2 (Jan. 25); Joni Mitchell & Carole King In Laurel Canyon (Jan. 26); All-Star Band Celebrates The Beatles (Feb. 1); The Nu Wave (Feb. 7); Kashmir (Feb. 15); Patrizio Buanne (Feb. 16); Danny Seraphine (Feb. 21); 13th Annual Windy City Elvis Competition (Feb. 22); Tab Benoit (Feb. 23) and Jim Brickman (Feb. 25). For additional details, visit DesPlainesTheatre.com.

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