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| John Harrison eröffnet den Abend |
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| Ute Brüggemann |
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| Andreas Kulik |
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| "Los Rios" alias Daniel Habermann, Ruth und Esteban |
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| Ismael de Barcelona |
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| Ismael de Barcelona und Thomas Monnerjahn |
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| Thomas Monnerjahn |
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| Jochen Hiester |
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| Caroline Bernotat |
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| Peter Bachmann und Caroline Bernotat |
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| Ashleigh Edwards |
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| Gareth Price-Baghurst |
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| Alle singen "Jock Stewart" |
So, for now "Poetry adieu" !
As Mario always reminds you at the end of one of his excellent folk club reviews,
"After the last folk club, is only just before the next folk club!"
Here is a brief reminder of John Hurd's excellent 3SongsBonn review of FCB # 166:
https://3songsbonn.com/2026/03/11/fyre-flamenco-and-daffodils-at-bonn-folk-club/
and a wonderful reminder of Ismael de Barcelona y ThomasMonnerjahn playing "Neuwe de Julio" to a raptuous audience, a true declaration of Flamenco meets Jazz, and showing that the secret to any good musical pot pourri is not just speed, but dynamics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_ZrKMulz4k
Some rather excellent music which is almost too good for an average folk club, but we are most proud to be very well blessed indeed!
The next chance you have of seeing and hearing this dynamic duo is at The Harmonie in Bonn in the Frongasse 28-30 in 53121 in BONN-Endenich on Friday 08.05.26 (that's a week after FCB on Friday 01.05.26) and tickets are available at an exclusive collection price of € 26,-- from the Harmonie itself.
Very highly recommended indeed, and we also hope to see you there!
In the meantime, do have a happy Easter, and we hope that you will find all of the hidden eggs!
Our German Dichter extraordinaire, Wolfgang Schriefer, an ex Rock and Rollator, who Steve Perry had initially invited along to the folk club and who comes down every month from Cologne had unfortunately stubbed his foot and broken his toe and so was incapacitated in March.
Gute Besserung Wolfgang and hopefully see you and hear you again in April.
If
By Rudyard Kipling 1865-1936 Born im Mumbai formally Bombay. One of the most famous late Victorian poets and authors who wrote „Jungle Book“ This is one of Briatain's most famous poems and was written in 1895 and published in 1905. It is a tribute to stoicism and inspires resilience, character and integrity and is possibly the best advice that any man could give to his son.
If you can keep your head when all about
you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on
you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting
too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too
wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your
master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts
your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the
same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for
fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out
tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of
pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are
gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold
on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your
virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common
touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too
much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance
run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in
it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
I sing an accapella version of this poem which was arranged by the late Teeside trobadour, Vin Garbutt, who saddly died in 2017 at almost the ripe old age of three score years and ten. Vin's version of Kipling's poem appeared on his 1983 album entitled "Little Innocents" and you can listen to it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpYAONe6gVU&list=RDEpYAONe6gVU&start_radio=1
It's only just over two minutes long, but it is certainly worth that much of anyone's time to listen to it.
Old Bonn Folk Clubber John Hurd who runs 3SongsBonn was out enjoying daffodils at the end of February and early March and invoked with this photo of his on FaceBook a reference to the famous poem by William Wordsworth about daffodils in the Lake District in north west England.
"When all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden Daffodils"
- Spring is beginning to spring up in Bonn
John Hurd kindly agreed to recite this poem at the March folk club:
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced;
but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch
I lie In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
by William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
For those of you who may perhaps think there may be too much poetry and not enough music here, a little known fact is that the English poet William Wordsworth and Bonn's most famous musician, Ludwig van Beethoven, were both born in the same year, 1770. Now, if that ever helps you to win a future obscure pub quiz and you feel obliged in some way, mine's a Weizenbier!
Time is relative,
and not just in terms of one’s own sense of time, but also in terms of the meaning and substance of the word itself. If one person has no time but takes it anyway, another spends a good time and enjoys themselves without thinking about the time that has already passed. Well then, before things get any more philosophical, let’s take the time together to let the evening of the 166th Folk Club Bonn pass before our mind’s eye once more.
As always, the welcome call from master of ceremonies John Harrison ensured the necessary calm – and this was particularly important this time, as, due to the evening’s featured artists, there were also many non-regular guests present who had not yet internalised the proceedings as a matter of course. Once calm had been restored, the musical programme began, opened by John with the rock ’n’ roll song “Feeling Happy” – yes, even a bluesman like John can play rock ’n’ roll (after all, it did originate from the blues). With “Rabbit Hills” he returned to the blues, before allowing his poetic streak to shine through with the a cappella rendition of the poem “If”, set to music. And it is precisely this poem that strikes at the heart of the theme, in which a father’s good advice to his son describes the journey from boyhood to manhood.
After John, Ute Brüggemann took to the stage, and a surprise awaited me – what a voice!!! With crystal-clear intonation and very distinct pronunciation, she paid homage to the singer-songwriter and folk scene. “The Hills of Strathblane” by Sheila Hall was performed so beautifully that, even amidst the enthusiastic applause, the desire for more arose. Ute Brüggemann proved she can also perform a cappella with the old traditional “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child”, with many in the audience knowing the song and happily singing along. But then the guitar was brought out again and a tribute was paid to the great songwriter Peter Yarrow with the song “Day Is Done”. Now, anyone who isn’t quite sure who Peter Yarrow is might just remember that very same Peter from Peter, Paul & Mary – and suddenly the song is familiar too. A magnificent performance, and I’m already looking forward to more from Ute Brüggemann (who, as I discovered online, can also be heard in the Bach Choir in Bonn).
Well, given that I’ve asked the question, it will come as no surprise that I have an answer ready – namely, a completely different way of interpreting time. Apparently, Ismael de Barcelona & Thomas Monnerjahn didn’t have much time, as they played the notes of their songs in rapid succession – otherwise they would probably have run over the Folk Club’s time limit? Of course, the performance was not the result of a lack of time, but solely of skill. Flamenco meets jazz, and here gypsy jazz – also known as jazz manouche or Sinti jazz (or, in these times of sensitive anti-discrimination language shifts, also… well, what exactly?) – brings together two forms of folklore, both of which can express both profound sadness and exuberant joie de vivre, and therefore often thrive on rapid sequences of notes and sweeping rhythms. Ismael and Thomas each have one of these styles running through their veins, and united as an instrumental duo, they regularly create a fantastic atmosphere at their concerts. With ‘Noche En Cartagena’ (an original composition by Thomas Monnerjahn), ‘A Manuel’ (an original composition by Ismael de Barcelona), ‘Nueve de Julio’ and, in the second half, ‘Libertango’, “Una Matina”, “Mediterranean Sundance/Rio Ancho” and “Shape Of My Heart”, they not only created a great atmosphere but also left the audience wanting more – something that can be experienced in the near future at a number of concerts outside the Folk Club (it’s best to check the dates on the website https://www.ismaeldebarcelona.com/). What else is there to say? Well, perhaps that the two are not only masters of their instruments (and know it), but also very natural and lovely people who gratefully acknowledge every round of applause and take it as an incentive to delight us time and again with new virtuoso performances.
After John Hurd, it was the turn of another new face. Accompanying himself on the piano, Jochen Hiester sang the song “Wenn Alles da sein darf” from his own song cycle “Beziehungsweise”. A song that rebels against the establishment and social obligations.
Following this interlude on the piano, the performance returned to guitar
accompaniment, provided by Peter Bachmann both for himself and
for Caroline Bernotat. These two artists, well known to us, also took
the theme of the evening to heart and sang about it with the songs “The Good
Times We Had” (a song by Noel Paul Stockey, better known as Paul from Peter,
Paul & Mary), “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” (by Mr Zimmermann, better known as
Bob Dylan) and a German version of the Tom Waits song “Time” (this time known
as “Zeit”) . You can tell that the two of them really enjoy making music and
come across as so authentic and completely natural. A promise of surely many more
performances at the Folk Club.
Now came another highlight of the evening. After a ten-hour drive from Prague to Bonn, the two regulars Ashleigh and Gareth (Midnight Fyre) should really have been completely exhausted and on their last legs. But they’ve never let us down. And so, even in front of the Bonn audience, they were full of beans and, as always, got the auditorium rocking with their powerful voices. During their last performance, they announced the upcoming CD, this time mentioning the imminent wedding – I’m curious to see what surprise they’ll share with us next time. It came as no surprise that the musical performance of the songs “You Go Your Way My Love”, “Happy Song” and “Second Home” was magnificent. As Midnight Fyre’s songs always involve a bit of a musical performance, I won’t say much about the content – experience it for yourselves, either at a concert or in a video on the relevant platforms.
Well, that was actually the end of the show (I’ve already covered the final act by Ismael & Thomas above), but when John asked if the audience might have a little more time, the unanimous reply was: “Yes!!!”. So all the artists of the evening gathered on stage once more, and together with the audience, they sang “Jock Stewart” with their usual fervour – the song that serves as both a theme tune and a farewell, and a song of hope for a next time.
And remember: after the Folk Club is before the Folk Club.
Out of the bedroom and cu on 10 April – postponed again by a week due to the public holiday on Good Friday, 3 April. Featured artist then will be Pierluigi (PG) Petricca from Italy.
https://www.facebook.com/pierluigi.petricca.180
Mario
