Saturday afternoon seemed a good time to sample the atmosphere of this year’s Bonn Fest. The verdict: Very crowded indeed, with everyone fearing this might be the last warm and sunny Saturday of 2023. I caught veteran one-man-band Tom Drost entertaining busy shoppers at Munsterplatz and Melchi Vepouyoum at Marktplatz.

Up at Marktplatz Melchi Vepouyoum was stealing the show. First directing the Ndaluu Afro A Capella Choir and then delivering a super set backed by Leonie Wollersheim (cello) and Jan Teichmann (guitar). It seems a million years ago now that Melchi first stepped before the audience at Bonn Folk Club and blew us away with his Cameroon-inspired songs and melodies. Now he plays to large audiences at Harmonie and Stadtgarten and manages to draw a crowd even amongst hundreds of eager shoppers at Marktplatz. Wonderful stuff indeed!

The days of concerts at the Ortszentrum in Dottendorf being an ‘insider tip’ seem to be well and truly over. A packed house yesterday evening for Alma Naidu on Jazznacht was proof of that. Or perhaps there are a lot of Süddeutsche Zeitung readers in Bonn who will have seen Alma rated as “One of the most promising singers on the German scene”. That’s a lot to live up to for someone with just one album release to her name but on this evening’s evidence Alma Naidu is very possibly at the start of what a book writer might describe as “An awfully big adventure”

Yes, the shops will be open next Sunday too, but this is 3SONGSbonn and not 3SHOPSbonn so check out the details as to where there will be music from 29 Sept to 1 Oct HERE
Friday 29 Sept looks like an evening of coverbands and Kölsch together with an Electronic Dance Festival. Saturday looks to be a promising time for live band music with Los Manolos, Melchi Vepouyoum, Sir Williams, Musicians from the Bonn Beethoven Orchestra, not to mention, Anny Ogrezeanu, Voice of Germany winner in 2022). De Anjeschwemmten und die Domstürmer will take over responsibilities for a Karneval atmosphere.

Erja Lyytinen’s Facebook profile currently sports a photo of the lady in a hard rock pose and flanked by a solid wall of Marshall amps. Bonn council will be pleased to know that she doesn’t have this sound system on tour with her but it certainly tells you where Erja is musically in 2023. Is she releasing the inner Lemmy? By 8:15 pm at Bonn Harmonie we will know for sure.