For Canadian band Bywater Call, their concert on Sunday (13 October) was the band’s third appearance in the last two years at Bonn Harmonie. Their dual billing in March 2023 supporting Robert Jon & The Wreck was definitely one of the best concerts of last year. The Rokpalast show with Eddie 9volt in October 2023 cemented the Band in Bonn Blues-lovers’ hearts, and here we are, almost exactly a year later and they are finally getting a whole evening to themselves. It turned out to be well worth the wait, as the extra stage time really did give the band a chance to warm up and stretch out – to devastating effect.
This week sees two events of particular interest to Rory Gallagher fans in Bonn: A concert on Tuesday (15 Oct) by Band of Friends including ex-Gallagher band members bassist Gerry MacAvoy and drummer Brendan O’Neill. Also, an auction at Bonhams in London to sell off much of the gear belonging to Rory which has been looked after by his brother Donal since the guitarist’s tragic death after liver transplant complications in 1995. Centre of the auction will undoubtedly be Rory’s iconic Fender Stratocaster from 1961 bought by Rory as a young teenager on a monthly payment plan and played constantly by him throughout his career. There was a short period when he was unable to play the guitar after it was stolen. Even then, it was so famous that the thieves couldn’t sell it and it was literally ‘ditched’ by them. Now it’s expected to top the million pounds mark at auction. What do his former band-mates, who saw and used this gear on a daily basis think of all this?
This week saw the Autumn Crossroads Festival coming via Rockpalast, as ever, from Bonn Harmonie. Whilst ticket prices seem to get higher by the year (90 Euros for the four day Festival this time) the musical quality is undeniably pretty reliable these days. I remember seeing a couple of ‘dodgy’ bands in past years – no names revealed! Thursday was certainly a day when quality music was assured. Mike Zito? can only be good. Mojo Thunder? Not a name I’d heard before, but the inevitable google on YouTube was promising. So let’s get going. Lights, action, sound… and of course cameras!
John Harrison is scheduled to play on Saturday afternoon between 15:20 and 15:45 together with Christoph Thiebes on Blues harp at the Baum Wächter Baumfestival in Kulturbad Rüngsdorf Am Schwimmbad 8, 53179 Bonn.
The event begins at 14:45 until officially 18:00 hrs but weather willing may possibly extend into the evening.
There are several other musicians also playing and there will also be recitals of tree-related poetry (PoeTree!)
If you’re used to your guitar heroes being plugged into amplifiers then concerts like this one may well prove to be eye-openers. Ismael de Barcelona and Thomas Monnerjahn presented a lively and dynamic introduction to Flamenco/Gypsy Jazz rhythms in a setting that is rapidly shedding its ‘hidden gem’ status with excellent musicians appearing literally at the drop of a hat – which on Sunday deserved to be filled to its brim with folding money. Welcome to a packed house at Bad Godesberg’s Trinkpavilion
Shock news this week that popular Bonn visitor Layla Zoe has canceled her entire Autumn tour. In the words of Canada’s darling of the Blues:
“I don’t want to write this post today. I feel tired, angry, sad, and frustrated. But I must accept what I can’t change, and that’s the fact that I began having some health issues recently that continue to worsen to the point where I was forced last week to make the very difficult decision of postponing my upcoming fall tour. Since the tour is postponed NOT cancelled that means that most if not all concerts will be rescheduled and my agent and promoters are working on new dates, so you can hold onto your tickets until further announcement.
We really appreciate your patience and understanding at this difficult time. Because of the massive financial loss for myself and my team it would mean so much to me if you could purchase something from my webshop to support me www.layla.ca/shop or make a donation at buymeacoffee.com/laylazoe and/or or reach out to one of the musicians to do online music lessons (Ruben Roeh – guitar, Tim Steiner – bass, Felix Dehmel – drums) to help them with extra income, and/or visit one of the clubs where I was scheduled to play and enjoy another show. Your continued support at this difficult time means the world to me, and I’m never a woman/artist of few words, however I prefer to keep the details of my health situation private at this time. All my love and gratitude for the decades of support I have received from so many of you. See you on stage once my health allows it and I can come back stronger and better than ever”
– Layla
3songs has known Layla for quite a while now. I first met her during a minor crisis that happened whilst she was visiting a concert. Her reaction: she wanted to be on a stage – to sing away her anger. For Layla, singing is a necessity.
What better way for us fans in Bonn to support Layla than purchasing a copy of her latest live CD ‘Into The Blue‘? The disc was actually recorded at the Harmonie!
Give Layla Zoe and her band some support through the difficult times ahead. Knowing Layla, she won’t have taken this decision lightly and she will be back.
All good things must, as they say, come to an end. The Stadtgarten Concert Season did so last Saturday in real style with a double-fluted attack on the senses from Top French duo RoSaWay and local heroes Jin Jim. Even the sun stayed out all evening to celebrate. That green verge opposite the Alter Zoll Beer Garden is going to look gloomily empty until next Summer when the only sound will be the gentle tap of Petanque balls rolling across the dusty ground. But first, let’s enjoy a last evening of music in the sunshine…
Wow! What a veritable smorgasbord of an end to this year’s Stadtgarten Season. Punk, Blues, Flute fuelled rhythms and progressive Jazzrock. And all for FREE!
Let’s make a start then with Friday’s musical offerings. Electric Blues from Baum’s Bluesbenders and Punk music from Eddy Edge. It was Punk that kickstarted the proceedings. Nothing is quite what it seems here though. Punk? Eddie is not one to go pogoing around the stage. For one thing, he’s blind, and for another, his music, at least initially, is restrained as he sings, and strums an acoustic guitar, accompanied at various times by young ladies who join in on the vocals. There is more of the Frank Turner than the Johnny Rotten about him. He is also a Welshman, singing in German, and has a very popular song online at present titled ‘Wir sind die Slytherins’ – yes, Eddy is also a huge fan of Harry Potter.
