Popcamp has been a key point of contact for young musicians for some time now. Friday’s concert at Stadtgarten showed why, as local singer/songwriter Clara Clasen was followed by the power-pop of Lenna from Bremen and Münster Garage-pop band Soeckers. Three confident performances showing that an extra polish of training truly makes a difference between playing music and playing music live.
Week two brought a colourful mix of styles. New faces, old faces, and one face, in particular, that was quite famous in Germany. All-aboard the Jazztube…
A ten year Anniversary and a celebrated Rockpalast Band. Two reasons not to miss Roughix and The Buttshakers at the Stadtgarten recently
Friday (24 August) saw some familiar faces at the Stadtgarten with local bands Meoneo and BonnIndo followed by the CD release party of the Marion & Sobo Band with their brand new disc.
The evening also saw my camera’s memory card break-down. Thankfully I already knew the music of Meoneo, and Sabine Büttner was on hand with a camera to capture them. By the time I hustled up a replacement card BonnIndo were in full swing and the perfect end to a Summer evening was just a Gypsy Swing melody away…
It only seems like yesterday that the Mariachi sounds of Neva Brass brought the curtain up, but today’s concert by Hop Stop Banda brought this years GA-Sommergarten season on the Bundeskunsthalle roof to a fittingly lively end.
Slightly cloudy skies parted to give us a mostly bright and sunny day and the success of this years concerts could be seen in the queues waiting to go ‘up on the roof’ by early afternoon. It’s been an odd sort of Season this year with people on swings behind the stage and odd, rusty poles laid on the ground artistically signifying a broken flagpole. A pin-table football game with female players (most now sadly with legs broken off at the end of a hard season)
There’s still plenty happening on the roof this year then – just not of the musical variety unless you count the karaoke singing in a giant walk-in container.
One of those venues that define the special atmosphere of Bonn. See you in 2018 for more musical fun in the rooftop sun!
At the pre-Summer press launch for Stadtgarten my ears particularly pricked up at the announcement of a Bluesnight. I have my own wish-list of Blues performers good enough, but not well known enough to book at the Harmonie, so I’m sure that organizer Hans-Joachim Over has a very large hat-full of applicants to choose from (in fact I know he has!). The final choice proved to be an interesting mix of COuntry style with Dickie Lee Erwin, smooth West Coast courtesy of Boston singer-songwriter Jay Ottoway, and of course the best blues in Bonn from Baum’s Bluesbenders. The varying styles paid off with an always interesting evening musically from three very different performers.
You might have noticed if you were a Bonn commuter -today was the first day of JazzTube. Check with the official website HERE for more information on what’s coming up in the following Friday evenings. An early favourite for me was the band above – Nina’s Rusty Horns – with Nina Lentföhr’s set based around often forgotten female Blues legends like Bessie Smith and Victoria Spivey and rare appearances of a sousaphone and a washboard.
