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When Athena Balderas got picked up from Ramstein Intermediate School last Friday, she thought her mom was taking her to rent some movies.
“No, I have something better,” her mother Michelle Stevens told her. “I have a surprise for you.”
Earlier, Ms. Stevens told Facebook friends she wanted to see Allstar Weekend, the latest American teen music sensation, with her daughter at the band’s Jan. 21 stop in Kaiserslautern. A friend, who had won premium seats and backstage passes from American Forces Network, offered them to Ms. Stevens.
They bought Allstar Weekend’s debut album “Suddenly Yours” and found the band’s videos online. That evening they were in the front row at Vogelweh’s Galaxy Theater.
“It’s really cool to see an American band,” said Athena, 8, who first heard about the band while visiting relatives last year in upstate New York.
In mid-January, the San Diego-based Allstar Weekend — who got their start on the Disney Channel in 2009 — toured U.S. military bases in England, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, courtesy of Armed Force Entertainment.
The show, sponsored locally by U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern’s Directorate of Families and Morale, Welfare & Recreation, was better than driving to Frankfurt to watch a concert, Ms. Stevens said.
“Here it feels like home; we’re celebrating together with our military family,” she said. “Plus, it’s nice to have something American to do.”
The band launched into their set of pop rock songs, like “Journey to the End of My Life,” “Here With You,” “The Weekend” and “Dance Forever.” They also covered Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One” and Bowling For Soup’s “1985.”
They also offered some songs on acoustic guitars and even rapped a little. During the piano-based ballad “Amy,” the band invited a teenage girl to sit onstage. Afterward, another teen jumped onstage to offer hugs.
Each song ended with the high-pitched shrill of screaming young girls, dozens of whom crowded the stage during the show.
Like many parents, Master Sgt. Ron Russo sat in the back of the theater. His wife Sibel sat up front with their daughters, Anatolia, 8, and Kayra, 2.
One morning he heard on AFN, “The next caller had a chance to win.” Sergeant Russo dialed the station, knowing nothing about the contest or the prize.
“He asked the easiest question about Justin Timberlake, about how he started with the Mickey Mouse Club and then was with a famous boy band,” Sergeant Russo said. “I said, ‘C’mon, the answer’s J.T.’”
After the show, Lt. Col. Kevin Hutchison and Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Jessup, the command team from U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern, thanked the band and presented each player with a command coin.
“We know you have to leave home and live on the road to offer performances to our Soldiers, Airmen and their families,” Colonel Hutchison said. “We recognize things of excellence and this was an excellent performance.”
As a kid, singer Zach Porter’s father was in the Navy and he remembers living on bases and moving a lot. He can relate to the audience of military members and their families, he said.
“It’s a big part of who I am today,” Mr. Porter said. “I understand it’s hard every two years packing up and start new schools and make new friends. So, I’m glad we got to do this.”
Though military audiences overseas may have missed Allstar Weekend’s stateside television appearances, their presence on the Internet gives new fans a chance to further explore the band’s music, Mr. Porter said.
“It’s good for us to play for a new audience,” he said. “We covered a few songs that we thought people would know, if they don’t know all of our songs. It warmed up the audience to our own music and bridged the gap.”
Touring military bases was also a chance for the band to give back something to those serving overseas, said bass guitarist Cameron Quiseng. He especially enjoyed feedback from the crowd, when they signed autographs after each show.
“The crowds are amazing, chanting and singing along,” Mr. Quiseng said. “For us to come and perform for them and give them a good time, it really means a lot to us.”
