It’s hard not to like someone who admits to having wrote a song about their lost cat. When they have a voice that nods to Billie Holiday and a brashness that nods to Amy Winehouse then the like turns to love – and most of the Harmonie audience went away a little in love with Ndidi O on Friday I’m sure.
NRW’s Best Streetmusician sought
Arne Schmitt
WDR TV programme ‚Daheim & Unterwegs’ will be presenting 10 street musicians over the coming weeks. They have been shortlisted by viewers who were asked to name the people they most enjoyed see playing on the streets.
On 24 October 4.15pm on WDR it will be the turn of Arne Schmitt who is often to be found with his gleaming piano on the streets of Bonn.
Maybe you will recognize other performers presented too? The jury includes Kölsch Rocker Peter Brings and Kelly Family man Peter Kelly – himself a former street musician.
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Out on the Streets
Pelemele get the audience involved in the music
The sun shone and so did the music in Bonn City Centre on Saturday as this short picture gallery proves.
Bert Jansch – Unsung Guitar Hero
Image: c. Chris Barber. Dartford, England
You probably didn’t notice it, but a guitar legend died recently. No, not Eric Clapton or Jimmy Page or even Slash – but someone who probably influenced all of these fine musicians. He certainly influenced one of my early Folk Heroes, so I’ll pass you on to that man, Ralph Mctell, who had this to say on his Homepage about the gifted Bert Jansch:
Double Dangerous – Erja & Meena
A rock can be smoothe or it can be, well, rocky. The same can be said of Rock Musicians. If you were at Tuesdays Harmonie concert with Meena Cryle and Erja Lyytinen then you will certainly know what I mean. Meena, sporting an Elvis T-shirt and faded jeans, Erja in figure hugging short black dress with feather draped shoulders. Meena with wild hair falling where it will, Erja with coiffered locks trimmed to precision above precisely defined eyebrows. Most importantly of all – Meena with a raw, pleading, Joplinesque voice, Erja’s vocals flowing like silky smooth chocolate. Continue reading
Will Wilde Interview
3SongsBonn caught up with Will Wilde in Cologne’s Yardclub recently to find out what it felt like to be headlining a tour of Europe for the first time, and whether I should treat my harmonica to a Coca-Cola…
Will Wilde blows into Cologne
What’s so hard about playing the Blues on a harmonica? Playing it so that people want to listen for more than two minutes is the answer. That a 23 year old Brit can manage to hold an audience spellbound for an entire concert is more than just a little bit special – but Brightons Will Wilde is not your average ‘bar-room blower’ as I discovered in Colognes Yardclub.
Music to watch trains by
Zollhaus Colonia at Köln Hauptbahnhof
Cologne main Railway Station has live music each evening this week. It’s a pretty eclectic mix from Pop to jazz to Kölsch but might be something to pass the time with if (when?) your train is delayed one evening.
On Tuesday it was the turn of Kölsch rockers ‘Zollhaus Colonia’
Wed (21) – Songs Deluxe (female vocal)
Thurs (22) – Les Sirens (Classical)
Fri (23) – Benjamin Garcia Quartett (Jazz)
Sat (24) – Kai Sommer (German Folk)
Sun (25) – Childrens Choir