So, I saw the most televised Band in Germany last night. No, this wasn’t the Lanxess Arena in Cologne or even The Harmonie in Bonn. The venue was Ortszentrum Düsseldorf, the Band was Heavytones, and the Dottendorfer Jazznacht hall was packed out.

There are some old friends still to come on this years ‘Over The Border Festival’ who I can warmly recommend getting tickets for. Ismael de Barcelona‘s fiery Flamenco appearances have made him a firm favourite locally. Marion & Sobo have long established themselves as one of Bonn’s premier Global Music/Acoustic Jazz duos and the sheer power and exhuberance of The Trouble Notes built around Bennet Cerven makes them a ‘must see’ (I still wear my ‘Violins not Violence’ t-shirt with pride!) not to mention the excellent Lina Bö

RECOMMENDED…

The RheinBühne is a lively stage in the heart of Bonn City Centre, which has stood for cultural diversity and innovative entertainment since its foundation in 2016. In 2019, the ‘Kulturwohnzimmer RheinBühne‘ (to give it it’s full name) moved to Oxford Street just up the road from Bonn Stadthaus and has since offered a diverse programme – including stand-up comedy (also English comedy) and cabaret, to a stage for young local talent to find its musical feet featuring regular open mic and Poetry Slam nights.  Paul Leipertz and Katharina Niehus have certainly worked wonders in such a small venue (c. 100 seats) so check out the venues website HERE

I can certainly vouch for the high quality of music happening at RheinBühne, having caught Roxanne de Bastion playing at the venue last year (Roxanne has supported Katie Melua and Howard Jones). This evening should also be a quality one music-wise with another talented young lady making a return visit to the RheinBuhne – Sophie Chassee.

Good news for lovers of top-quality Blues-rock. Henrik Freischlader is back with a powerful quartet that will be coming to Bonn Harmonie on 19 April.

Henrik was last seen in Bonn last July as support to the legendary Bonnie Raitt at Bonn Kunstrasen. The band then was a trio with Rene Pütz on bass and Leon Mucke handling the drums (see my review: HERE )
This time around will see Henrik returning to his Bluesrock roots with a new band compising Gregor Sonnenberg on bass, Leon Mucke on drums and a welcome return of the Hammond organ courtesy of Dave Warmerdam.

The tour is in promotion of Henrik’s first new studio release since 2022’s excellent ‘Martin Meinschäfer II’. Entitled ‘Precious Time’ the new material promises to “blend blues-rock with soul, groove, and atmospheric depth”. The addition again of a Hammond organ underlines that this will be the Henrik that many love and I suspect quite a few have missed. As Henrik announced on his website:

“After almost one and a half years of performing as a trio, all upcoming concerts will now once again be played in the classic blues-rock quartet: We’re kicking things off next week and are really looking forward to our first gigs together in Aschaffenburg, Ulm, Ludwigsburg, and Kaiserslautern. The tour schedule also includes many special shows that I’ve felt excited about for years — we’ll be playing the Bospop Festival in Weert for the first time, returning to the Ribs & Blues Festival in Raalte after 10 years, and performing in July at the legendary Blues Festival in Bellinzona”.

It only remains to say, Bluesrock fans: Get your tickets HERE!

What is the attraction in crossing borders musically? And what are the challenges to overcome when blending together two different musical cultures into one harmonious sound? 3songsbonn spoke to Piers Faccini ahead of his concert with Ballake Sissoko at Pantheon Theatre in Bonn. Thank you Manuel from ‘Over The Border’ for arranging the interview.

Could there be any musicians more apt to personify a Festival dedicated to unifying music from across the World and embracing the creativity that comes from bringing that diversity of sound together. The Over The Border Festival in Bonn is now in its 10th year and Mali’s celebrated kora master Ballaké Sissoko, together with London born singer/songwriter and poet Piers Faccini, is about to underline everything that makes this Festival so unique and so magical.

The theme of this month’s Folk Club in Bonn of ‘Time’ was actually taken to heart by many of the evening’s performers. It must be said though that time, as Dr Who would I’m sure agree, is a theme very much open to interpretation. John Harrison‘s opener ‘Feeling Happy‘ for example takes us back in time – to the dawn of Rock n Roll. The song  having been sung by Big Joe Turner, who had a seminal hit in the mid-1950’s with ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’. The evening’s second number, Michael Chapman’s ‘Rabbit Hills’, also sees time from a past perspective – a time machine of the heart in fact as the singer visits a scene and travels back to past memories there with his love.