Whoever said that good things never last wasn’t thinking of Bonn’s ‘Over The Border’ Festival. Now in its 6th year, with the World in turmoil, we need music that embraces diversity from every corner of the planet more than ever in 2022. Sunday’s traditional opening ‘taster’ concert at the Harmonie certainly created positive energy aplenty and suggested there will be a lot to savor until 9 April.

From 20 March, the City of Bonn will once again host the region’s
first large-scale indoor festival of 2022 Over The Border

“Culture, as we know, cannot be contained,” says organizer Manuel Banha.

“As a result of globalization, people come together all over the world, they communicate, exciting things happen. Bonn is the
perfect place for such a festival. This dialogue is more important than ever.”

Opening concert on 20.03.22 The Harmonie

The aim of the Across The Border concert series is to make musical and social developments visible. Many people grow
up with two cultures and carry these two cultures equally in their hearts.

On different concert stages in Bonn, the Festival will be presenting innovative cross-cultural performers from
all continents, as well as familiar faces from the region’s musical local ambassadors.

Marion & Sobo Band in ‘Doppelpack’ 26-27 March – Harmonie

It will be important to convince those interested in culture to take part in face-to-face events again, where they can feel safe and relaxed and have an enjoyable concert experience.  It is also necessary to give young bands the perspectives they had before the lockdown. Newcomers will be given the opportunity to perform and present their projects that were paused. In this context, it is also necessary to intensify the artistic network of local musicians with international artists.

DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

There are still a few places left in the hall for the Cynthia Nickshas & Friends benefit concert for Ukraine on Saturday (19 March, 8 pm) at Junity in Friedberg. No panic if you can’t make it to Friedberg though as Cynthia and Wild im Wald will be streaming the concert live on YouTube.

Blues music at The Harmonie, my favourite Bonn venue, and with it’s 2G+ rule tonight, a proper standing-up/unmasked audience for the first time in what seems like centuries. The musicians on the poster have gone through a couple of name changes – no one outside is entirely sure who will be onstage inside – in the event it’s Ghalia Volt, Katie Henry and, after last minute cancellations and phone calls, Will Jacobs. To be honest, no one I saw before the show was too concerned who would be playing – it was the RUF Records Blues Caravan for goodness sake. Have faith in Thomas Ruf. Has he ever let us down?!

It seems like a lifetime since the basic decisions before a Folk Club evening were: Who plays? When is their slot? Who will be next month’s guest star? Since Covid came along, working out ‘the basics’ has seemed like a luxury. So it is then, that in the first week of March 2022, John Harrison had far wider problems to consider. On or Off? Inside or Outside? 2G or 2G+? Who checks the entries on the door against the attendance emails? It was all the more amazing then that we still had a full evening of quality Folk music to enjoy at Dotty’s.