Monday’s concert was very much a homecoming for Richard Bargel. A full house and tumultuous applause Unter der Zeder was a just reward for Richard’s long involvement on the Blues/Folk scene, and his recent award from the Deutsches Schallplattenkritik (his third!) is proof that the Man is still very much a force to be reckoned with on the international music scene. I asked Richard about his career, his music, and also his connections to Bonn and Bad Godesberg…
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Dottendorf might be a small part of Bonn but it has become a big part of Jazz in the area. On 24 March the new Dottendorfer Jazznacht Season gets underway – for the 100th time! 3songsbonn took the opportunity to ask Festival organizer Herbert Kaupert his thoughts on the success of this excellent jazz venue’s history and future.
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The lyrics of Tom Robinson’s hit songs were always just that bit different to the numerous other punk bands decrying late 70’s Britain. If there was a cause worth fighting for Tom, would be heard fighting it with an irresistible mix of catchy riff and razor-sharp lyrical insight. Forty five years on from the classic TRB album ‘Power in the Darkness’ how far have we come down the road of equality that songs like ‘Glad to be Gay’ and ‘Up Against the Wall’ cried out for? I asked Tom this very question before his show at the Harmonie in Bonn.
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Ana Maria Leistikow, better known in Bonn as Astatine, has come a long way since she first started singing in her Romanian hometown on the banks of the Danube. In 2007 she moved to Germany, and next week she is set to open this year’s ‘Unter Der Zeder’ season in Bad Godesberg on Monday (5 July) with a sold-out show. 3songs sat down with her to talk about the last few months as a singer during Covid, about her upcoming projects, and of course, Monday’s concert!
Edinburgh Festival magazine praised Simon Kempston thus:
“Brilliant and quite unique guitar skills, Dundee has undoubtedly produced one of Scotland’s most poetic and expressive musicians”
Simon’s December appearances at Bonn Folk Club have become a much-loved Christmas tradition for folk music fans in the City for some years now. How did the mercurial Scot come to be such a popular visitor? and how did a man who has played concerts in 35 different countries come to describe our City as having ‘The best folk club outside of Edinburgh’? All this and more was answered when the current enforced break from touring through Covid19 restrictions meant Simon was in one place for long enough to answer my questions.
“I got ‘A’ listed on my latest record on the Radio in Holland, so it’s going out to the masses which has been great you know. There are still massive Blues elements in there though and I’ll always have that Blues guitar no matter what I do”
Good news then for the many fans of British Blues musician Laurence Jones who paid his early musical ‘dues’ touring alongside top Blues musicians like Johnny Winter and Walter Trout. With a new Band, a new CD and a new beard there was a lot to talk about when I met Laurence after his recent concert at The Harmonie.
My ‘go-to’ Man for all things Jazz is Thomas Kimmerle. Aside from being a wizard of the saxophone with his own 5tet and playing in the Bonn Jazz Orchestra, Managing the Aloisiuskolleg Big Band, leading the Bonn Jazz Youth Orchestra and running the website jazzinconcert.com, Thomas also finds the time (phew!) to put together the JazzTube Festival. Bonn locals will be familiar with the sound of Jazz wafting out from local stations from late August. JazzTube has clearly caught the imagination of the public in the eight years since Kimmerle and Stadtwerke Bonn began the venture. Here, Thomas gives his view on the coming JazzTube Season that starts on Friday (23 August)
For David Fisher his recent concert at Bonn Folk Club was only one in a very long line of concerts abroad. David was on the road for three years, busking from City to City and even Country to Country. He even found time to publish a book about his experiences – ‘Busking Beyond Borders’ is a fascinating and often humerous account of those three years. Before the show, and despite the noisy rehearsals of fellow musicians readying themselves for their floor-spots at at Dotty’s Sports Bar, 3songsbonn managed to grab a short interview with David.
