For Susan O’Neill the support slot with Jamie Cullum for his concerts in Bonn, Kiel, and Berlin was a perfect way of introducing herself to German audiences; in the Bonn area especially, with a show at Blue Shell in Cologne set for 31 November.

Although it’s difficult to rate someone on an appearance like the Kunstrasen one.  As a support act, like Jack Savoretti on the very same stage recently, O’Neill was accompanied only by a keyboard player.  In her case though she did have a musical bag of tricks to extend that sound in the increasingly employed and increasingly complex looping pedal accompaniments.

Not only was Susan O’Neill able to add rhythm and percussion to her sound, but on ‘Got to Go’ for example she also mixed in a bit of trumpet and flute for additional musical texture.  Like Savoretti though, she was at her best when just accompanied by her guitar and electric piano by way of Killian Brown.

Much of the short set at Kunstrasen (just six songs) was made up of brand-new material that was very likely being road-tested for that forthcoming solo tour.  It sounded good to my ears at any rate and the closing Irish traditional ‘You Are’ showed an ability to not just handle her own material well but also deliver a convincing Irish Folk tune with due reverence and passion. Her closing flourish on the trumpet might well be seen then as a fanfare for great things to come.

O’Neill’s 2021 collaboration album with Mick Flannery was voted best Folk Album of 2021 by RTE Radio so this really is THE time when things will need to happen for the lady to reach a wider European audience, and on today’s performance, where her presence seemed to me at times rather like a Folk reincarnation of Amy Winehouse, there is much to hope for – especially when she gets to play those smaller indoor halls where her intimate friendly style will surely come into its own and a band will give the music more variation. In short, a nice support slot with the promise of excellent concerts to come for lovers of Irish Folk and Pop Music.