The German Kölsch rock band Cat Ballou was founded in Bergisch Gladbach in 1999 by Kevin Wittwer (electric bass), Oliver Niesen (vocals, guitar) and Dominik Schönenborn (keyboard), among others. The members of the music group had already played together in school bands before they formed. Initially, Cat Ballou, who named themselves after the film of the same name, performed in various regional cultural institutions and pubs. Their debut album Schokolade was released in 2008, the same year Cat Ballou won the Köln rockt competition. the EP Achterbahn and the single "Kokosnuss" followed in 2009. The second album Neulich was released in 2012. The single "Et jitt kei Wood" was released in February 2013 on the occasion of the Cologne Carnival and reached number 29 in the German charts. Cat Ballou won the Loss mer singe competition with the song. The album Lokalpatriot, released in 2013, reached 69th place in the German charts in 2014. The single release "Hück steiht de Welt still" reached 71st place in the charts in Germany. The album Mir jetzt he! (2015) followed on from the success of the previous album and reached number 60 in the German charts. The single "Liebe Deine Stadt" (2016), a collaboration with Lukas Podolski and Mo-Torres, reached number 26 in the German charts. This success was surpassed by the album Cat Ballou in 2018, which climbed to 15th place in the charts in Germany. in 2021, the album Alles bunt was released with the single "Niemols im Läve". Three years later, Cat Ballou released their sixth studio album Unter einem guten Stern. In the same year, the live album Cat Ballou: 25 Jahre: Kölnarena Live was released, a concert recording to mark the band's 25th anniversary.
