Dana Fuchs proved at Bonn Harmonie on Wednesday that she still possesses one of the most compelling voices in blues-rock today — a raw, soulful powerhouse whose music draws on gospel, soul, and Southern rock in equal measure. Back in the day, it must have been both a blessing and a curse to have been compared favourably with Janis Joplin, but over the past two decades she has continued to deepen her craft and expand her reach, both in the studio and on stage.  The result is not Janis, it’s 100% Dana, and she doubled down on her own identity in typical style before an audience clearly glad to see her back in Bonn again.

If you want a quick history of her early days check out the interview I did for the UK’s ‘Blues Matters’ magazine: interview with Dana Fuchs from 2011. The last sighting we had of Dana in Bonn was back in 2018 promoting her album Love Lives On (Get Along Records) a disc with a Memphis soul-blues sound that earned a warm critical reception. She followed that with a return to her Southern rock roots Borrowed Time, but then came COVID-19, an appearance in Bonn planned for 2022 was cancelled – and all was quiet from the New York powerhouse singer.

Fast forward to 2025, a mini-tour in Denmark that began as a high-pressure, single-night recording session at Godset in Kolding, became something far more significant: A new album, Live in Denmark — released in early 2026 on Ruf Records captured with no overdubs or post-production fixes: just voice, guitars, bass, and drums. Fuchs herself has described listening back to the recordings as a deeply emotional moment, describing the album as raw, honest, and alive in ways she hadn’t expected. It stands as a powerful creative resurgence after what she has openly described as a bruising few years.

So, here we are in Spring of 2026 and Dana Fuchs is energized and enthusiastic once more, returning to Europe for a tour beginning in Germany with Bonn Harmonie an early but significant stop.  16 years ago Dana’s Rockpalast concert here was a major part of her breakthrough into a European market that has loved her ever since.  It’s a different Dana Fuchs in some ways for sure with husband Kevin MacKall on bass and two young sons joining them on the road. A family affair. There’s a family feeling in the audience too as if a long lost relative is about to knock on the door.

But right now, at 8:07 pm, that knock is getting overdue. Promoter Jürgen Both was onstage seven minutes ago to ask us to welcome the band – and the stage is still bare of musicians. There’s the rustle of a backstage curtain, a cheer goes up, and I’m glad to see that one of my favourite drummers, Denis Palatin, has joined the band for the show (at short notice, due to sad circumstances, as we find out later). Another familiar figure is also a favourite musician of mine. Jon Diamond is a guitarist who I enjoy hearing because he underscores the music rather than overplaying it, which is not surprising I suppose since he is also Dana’s musical composer. This evenings bassist is not someone I recognize, but Dana certainly should – it’s her husband, Kevin MacKall. A quick musical introduction and his wife joins us with a wave and a smile. The Church of Diana Fuchs can begin!

If you’ve been to any of Dana’s concerts in the past then you will know the lady sings Bluesrock but she talks American Gospel. Well actually, tonight it’s a mix of Gospel and Buddhism. In those years missing from tours a lot of sh*t has happened in Dana’s life as she points out. Help has come in the form of visiting a Tibetan Monk. There is of course a lot of sh*t happening in the World generally right now, so I can certainly recommend the recommendation of Dana’s Tibetan adviser to think of five things each day that we can be thankful for. And for everything else – let that sh*t go!

Most important of course in the Church of Dana Fuchs is the Music. ‘Double Down On Wrong’ gets us off on the right foot straight away. Standing up to and against the wrongs of this World. The set is very much wound around the new CD ‘Live in Denmark’ which is a strong release for sure, but I do miss the great ballads. ‘Songbird’ and ‘Moment Away’ in particular. Both are songs with very personal backgrounds so perhaps that Tibetan visit also convinced Fuchs to move on musically too. Which is not to say it’s a move backwards by any means – the evening’s best moment for me was the atmospheric ‘Blue Mist Road’, a tale that Stephen King couldn’t have written better. ‘Hard Road’ has Jon Diamond taking some licks out of Keef’s songbook as it rocks along, and another great track played saw Dana pick up her acoustic guitar for a wonderfully emotive take on Gil Scott Heron’s ‘Home is where the Hatred is’. Telling a tale, first person, of being rejected by society “Junkie walking in the twilight… left home three days ago, and no-one knows I’m gone”. Ironically, there’s a message written across Fuchs’s guitar fretboard saying ‘We’re all in this together’. We are indeed. A nod to Jon Diamond for an excellent funky guitar solo on this one.

Remembering those no longer with us has always been a part of Dana’s concerts and her life experience following especially the deaths of her sister, brother and mother. It was especially a part of ‘Moment Away’ and ‘Songbird’ in the past. She has since become an ambassador for the JED Foundation, an organization dedicated to preventing suicide and supporting young people with mental health issues.This evening ‘Curtain Close’ provides a chance to bring those we miss back in our hearts and to the Harmonie for a few minutes. It too has it’s own special meaning already. The band has been excellent throughout, but as Fuchs reveals, it wasn’t quite the Band as planned for this tour. Original drummer Kjell Gustavsson was originally on the list having recovered from Cancer therapy. The shock at hearing that he had passed away just before the tour in Europe began is still on her face and in her shaking voice as she tells the story. As a result Ruf Records ace drummer Denis Palatin stepped in for this evening’s show and finds the perfect volume for Fuchs to sing emotively:

‘Battle Lines’ shows the lady still has a fine voice for Rock ballads, and she gets a deserved cheer when she switches momentarily into ‘Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City’ possibly because a good portion of tonight’s audience is of an age to remember David Coverdale’s famous version.

That audience clearly also remembered both of the band’s encore numbers. There were plenty of “woo! woo’s” being sung out long before we reached the chorus of ‘Sympathy for the Devil’. To her credit, when Dana Fuchs sings rock classics, as she has also done with ‘Helter Skelter’ at past concerts (though sadly not on tonight’s playlist), she makes them her own. No mean thing to achieve when you’re playing something from the Beatles or the Stones catalogues. Immediately after, she continued with the song that started her career ‘Mercedes Benz’. She once joked in an interview that she got the part in musical ‘Love, Janis’ some 25 years ago because her predecessor, Beth Hart, was a similar dress size. Now, in 2026, she sings Joplin’s most famous song without a second thought to typecasting. Dana Fuchs has long since become a voice to be compared to but with a style all her own. Long may it continue to be that way. Welcome back to Germany, Dana. Don’t let it be another eight years before you return!