#eoy2019

This year went by way too fast and occasionally I feel like I haven’t done anything, haven’t experienced anything. Busy with a full-time job time flies by and it’s been way too quiet on here. However, in the last couple of days I reflected on the musical side of the year, wondering if I experienced as little as I think and remembered some very fine moments, concerts, album I fell utterly in love with and new discoveries.

Orville Peck is the combination of all. I did an interview with him earlier this year and he has been such a great conversation partner and seeing him live just made be fall in love forever and always. I’m fascinated by the way he creates his character on stage and his performance – somewhere between a Country star and the theatrical elements of an musical and musically influenced by all kind of genres, even punk and grunge. I kept returning to his debut album “Pony” all year long. This love won’t be over anytime soon.

Most loved concerts in 2019 in no particular order:

Patti Smith.

Archive. Favorite all-time band. 25. Anniversary concert in Paris. Do I need to say more? This band keeps being incredible.

Reignwolf returned to Berlin with a new album “Hear Me Out” and it was one hell of a show. Purest Rock’n’Roll. Sweat was involved.

The Raconteurs. 10 years. It was about time. I went to see them in London, Cologne and Berlin and it was such a joy!

KISS. The best. The last concert in Berlin. Perfect.

Caspian are an absolute must live. They always made me feel all the feeling – joy and sadness were lying so close when I saw them live in Dresden. They didn’t play in Berlin this year, so I had to travel to the nearest town.

Ida Mae are such a wonderful, heartfelt band. I saw them a few times this year and every time they got better and better. Glad they are stubborn and wouldn’t want to be a country pop duo but a very fine Blues influenced Folk music.  

Low Cut Connie was a complete surprise. I remember winning the tickets and thinking I’d see a nice quite Folk band as I haven’t checked their out beforehand. Boy, was I wrong! Jerry Lee Lewis meets Elvis meets Elton John. What a live band – within a  minute they had me dancing.  

Faces On TV got me dancing.

North Mississippi Allstars reminded me what (live) music is for when I almost forgot it: to make you forget about daily life and enjoy the moment. What amazing talents and what a joy of playing live.

The Picturebooks are another band to save Rock’n’Roll. Always fun to watch.

Matt Andersen doesn’t need much. He just sits there with his guitar and it’s all you need. He makes you dance, feel, laugh. His energy and laughter always blows me away.

My favorite festivals couldn’t be more different from each other: Watt En Schlick on the beaches of Dangast, Germany, this August and the UK version of AmericanaFest which takes place in a couple of small clubs in Hackney, London, UK. Both are not very big and feel just intimate in a way. Friendly people who organize the festivals, great audience and the selection of the artists is very diverse. I loved both festivals.

Albums, EPs or songs that have been played a whole lot this year in no particular order: The Raconteurs “Help Us Stranger” – I’ve been waiting for this album 10 years and I’m so glad these four found their way back into the studio.

Reuben And The Dark “UnLove” – I love Reuben voice for so many years but with “UnLove” it felt like a renewed love. Especially the song “Breath” gets me every single time.

Poor Nameless Boy “Wake Up Call” – for reasons I don’t understand his music always feels like home, very comfortable, even when the topics are not that comfortable. 

deFrance “Second Wind” – I should’ve written a review about it. I met Drew DeFrance earlier this year at Americana Fest UK when he played guitar for Arkansas Dave. “Second Wind” is a bit of old school Rock’n’Roll, some Friday night music but for me it just doesn’t get boring. I enjoy it so much and feel terrible for not writing the deserved review about it. Listen to them. Just do it. 

Arkansas Dave “Live at Music in the Park at Montreux Festival” – Dave’s live energy is fantastic. I travelled to AmericanaFest London in January 2019 mainly to see him live and he’s so good. The live recordings from the Montreux Festival capture his energy on stage perfectly. Rock, blues and fabulous guitar play. Great dude as well. Hopefully I get to see him again in 2020.

Great Defeat – “A supergroup of bands you’ve never heard of” is written in their twitter bio but I know the bands and I love them and therefore I love this band.

Sunset Sons “Blood Rush Déjà vu” – “Alien” on repeat.

The Glorious Sons “A War on Everything” – Actually my album of the year, with “Panik Attack” being my hymn for the year.

Blown Away Soundtrack – It’s a movie by two guys travelling the world, meeting musicians in every country and compiling this wonderful record. My favorite song is “Radiate” with Jack Mantis. I saw it live after the movie was shown in Berlin and couldn’t forget it.

Sam Isaac “This Year” – This EP is the reason you shouldn’t start your End of the Year list beginning of December. It was released on the 27th of December. He could have joined Great Defeat as my love for his music come from the same time and because of the same record label Alcopop. I stumbled over his new EP on the 27th when it was released. I didn’t knew it was coming. That evening I listened to it until I fell asleep.

My favorite new discoveries:

Rival Karma are so much fun. Gotta love this bearded, guitar/drum, rock’n’roll duo.

Rosborough has a sweet Irish accent and makes heartfelt music.

I found Ian Noe through an instagram post of Jason Momoa. What a beautiful deep voice!

Beranger are super fun. Their concerts are fun. They have classical piano and Pop and Beranger is an entertainer par excellence. Whether it’s on a small floating stage or a sold out venue in Berlin. He plays Mauerpark, Berlin, and there you just can’t sit quietly on your piano to have the people stop at your place. Certainly one’s to watch.

Willie Jones combines Rap with Country. Sounds like it doesn’t fit? When Willie Jones takes care of it, it’s a perfect match but to experience his music to the fullest you got to see him live!

And now let’s get 2020 started with a bit more live music and a few more words written!

Thank you for reading,

I’ll be at EOY 2019 Singapore with some friends for the weekend (Dec 28-29)!!