Southern rock band from Orange County, California Robert Jon & The Wreck have been around since 2011. The five-piece consisting of Robert Jon Burrison (lead vocals, guitar), Henry James Schneekluth (lead guitar), Warren Murrel (bass), Andrew Espantman (drums), and Jake Abernathie (keyboards) have since gradually been building up a solid reputation with their warm, rocking sound. They brought that sound, along with trademark soaring guitar leads, rich vocal harmonies, and songs that stick with you long after the show, to the Harmonie once again on Wednesday. My impression? Despite being a great live band even when I first saw them back in 2023, they just keep getting better.

If John Harrison had only known what the evening had in store he would surely have kicked the 168th Folk Club Bonn off with ‘To a mouse’. The poem by Robert Burns that famously notes you can never safely organize anything with its observation: “The best laid plans of mice and men…” . We were well into part one of the evening and no guest stars. Serena Finnati and Andreas Varnier were nowhere to be seen or even reached for comment, which in todays hi-tech world is hard to believe. Easier to believe though, is that they were victims of today’s low-tech transport system and probably somewhere in a tailback on the infamous ‘Endenicher Ei’ or on any one of the many imaginative detours created by Bonn Council. So what happens when life gives you a lemon? Of course – you make lemonade! Consequently a Guest-starless evening of great music was had by all.

Almost a year to the day since his last visit, Krissy Matthews was back at The Harmonie with his ‘Women of the Blues’ Tour. Take all the superlatives I heaped on that performance a year ago and then add a couple more “amazings!”. You’re half way to describing this evening’s show. Last year’s Blues Ladies Dani Wilde, Kim Jennett and Stephy Doherty, were joined by a new face (to me anyway) in Zubaida Solid. In addition we had once again the master rhythm section of Slavek Semeniuk (bass) Gerry Reynders (drums) and of course the best Norwegian/English guitarist on the planet in Krissy Matthews himself. What’s not to like?!

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.

We’re mid-way through the set at Bonn Harmonie. Danny Bryant lets his guitar hang down loose from his shoulder as he steps up to the microphone and introduces the song ‘Tougher Now’. “Two years ago I stopped drinking. I nearly died”, he says. Then he pulls the guitar back up to his chest and begins a song that came out of those dark days – ‘Tougher Now’. We are seeing a leaner a happier and indeed a tougher Danny Bryant from the last time I saw him here at Bonn Harmonie in 2019, and, as many a musician has found before him, the music hasn’t suffered or creativity dried up. Songs played from the new disc ‘Nothing Left Behind’ stand up against everything that went before.

What can you expect?  To quote Yassmo’s website on Yassmo and the Soulfisticated People: “An evening full of energy and passion! From emotional soulful ballads to exhilarating pumping Motown beats – it’s all included, everything that touches the skin and gets into the legs.  The band brings the music of the soul ancestors into a fresh, modern context – and Yassmo’s own compositions create a unique sound that honours tradition while simultaneously forging new paths”.  

That does actually pretty well cover what we experienced Unter der Zeder.  But, as the saying famously notes – “the devil is in the detail!”