Sorry Zaz, but on Wednesday you won’t be the first musician on the Kunst!rasen stage to have played at the Rheinau before. Wolfgang Niedecken’s BAP played at the 1979 Bundesgartenschau here as one of the band’s first ‘outings’ away from ‘Kölle” (Cologne) and thirty four years later they were back on the banks of Father Rhine in Bonn.
Author Archives: 3songsbonn
Gabbi Young & Other Animals
A quirky video to introduce next Sundays (30 June) guests at the Künst!garten, 6pm, entrance free…
British Blues Awards
Alan Nimmo/Dani Wilde/Will Wilde/Wayne Proctor
Time is running out! Get your vote in now for the British Blues Awards before 30 June.
Many of the nominations have played in the Bonn/Cologne area recently such as King King (Alan Nimmo), Dani Wilde, Brother Will Wilde and Oli Brown/King King drummer Wayne Proctor.
Voting ends on 30 June so make your choice: VOTE HERE
Deserted at Kunst!Garten
Deserted? No, I didn’t turn up at the Kunst!Garten on Sunday evening and find no-one else there. In fact there were a lot of people there to see local bands Sentinel Hill and Deserted.
Mike Andersen – Mike Andersen (Nordic 117)
If you’re not Danish then you very probably don’t know the name Mike Andersen. I’m not, and I didn’t until I had the chance to give this disc a whirl in my CD player.
Andersen’s recording career is actually well underway. His 2002 debut ‘My Love for the Blues’ seemed a clear statement of musical direction and his 2010 effort ‘Echoes’ won high praise and was a nomination in three Award categories at the 2011 Danish music awards. I suspect that those discs are going to be picking up hefty sales throughout Europe though after people get a listen to Andersen’s new release.
Best of Bonn at Kunstgarten
Cynthia
Youth took a bow on Saturday afternoon as some of Bonn’s growing musical talent entertained on the Kunst!Garten stage for free.
Despite the cancellations of 2011 ‘Popmotor’ winners ‘Steal a Taxi’ and a band I was looking forward to seeing again, ‘MiaoMio’ there was plenty of good music to be heard whilst enjoying a cool beer and some Backfisch . Anything Goes offered a surprise by playing the Asaf Avidan song ‘One Day Baby‘ (I didn’t think anyone would/could attempt a song in the key of Mr Avidan!) Hard Rockers Zero Division were also on hand with a fiery set but the evening belonged to Cynthia & Friends who, fresh from a recent appearance at Bonn Folk Club, managed to shrug off early sound problems that threatened to cancel their set and deliver an excellent set of pop style songs with thoughtful lyrics. An equally enjoyable set came from singer/songwriter and acoustic guitarist Gabriel Strack with piano accompaniment to watch the sun go down by.
Kunst!Garten is open daily from mid-day to midnight on non-concert evenings and is recommended as a place to relax and enjoy the Summer evenings.
Songs From The Road – Oli Brown (RUF 1193)
I remember, in what seems like a previous lifetime but was in fact only 2009, Oli Brown putting the pedal to the metal at the end of a Harmonie Blues Caravan gig and delivering a boisterous version of ‘Black Betty’. On the new live offering it would qualify as the discs ballad. The cover has him looking like John Sykes, the man who put the metal into late Thin Lizzy, and on the disc? Maybe there should be a sticker saying ‘Play it Loud’ on his new live release Songs From The Road. There’s no messin’ with the kid anymore, that’s for sure.
Schooljam
Sunday’s Open Day at Kunst!Rasen saw the appearance of this and previous years winners of Schooljam. The competition is a national one promoting music in German schools and entrants must be a maximum of 21 years old and attending a school or Business School. Special this year was the auction of a guitar signed by BAP frontman Wolfgang Niedecken in aid of fundraising music equipment for a Bonn School. The three bands taking part at Kunst!Garten were: Artig, Casting Louis and Goldmouth.