Linda Kyei swing combo – swing & blues
Linda Kyei is presenting her Swing Combo at swingomania for the second time.
She has gathered around her a host of top-class musicians from Stuttgart’s young swing scene, with whom she has perfected the warm, sizzling, intense and ever-relaxed jazzy sound of the good old days. Immerse yourself in the golden era of the 1920s to 1940s. Joining her are Andrew Andrews from ‘The Hot Jazz Rewinders’ on drums and the award-winning Sascha Kommer (winner of the Fürst von Hohenzollern Young Jazz Talent Award, among others) on piano. Also joining them is the breathtaking Carsten Netz on saxophone and clarinet, and last but not least, the wonderful Sir Holley on double bass and Mr Shepherd on guitar complete the line-up.
Listen/watch: lindakyei.de
Michael van mervyk – blues
When the 2 metre tall man takes to the stage, plays his old resonator guitar with a slide and sings his songs and stories about the ups and downs of life, coffee, delicious food and love in his warm, rich voice, genre boundaries don’t matter. MvM is a ‘songster’ who travels from city to city to play his songs as the soundtrack to a night out in clubs, bars, pubs, festivals and living rooms.
Songsters like Mississipi John Hurt, Big Bill Broonzy or Lead Belly played for every audience and had the right sound for every situation. Michael van Merwyk follows in their tradition: he plays to blues audiences, at singer/songwriter festivals and in pubs and varies his repertoire as he pleases. Nothing is styled and optimised here. It’s all about the music – and bringing it to the people.
Dr John or Johnny Cash singing songs by Judas Priest and The Clash, with John Lee Hooker or Blind Willie Johnson on guitar: that’s how it could sound – a bit weird, but fun. Michael van Merwyk developed his style where songsters usually are: on the road. ‘My school was pubs, clubs and parties. I’ve been singing songs and telling stories for more than 35 years. I mostly play my own compositions, but also my own versions of other musicians’ songs. A good song is a good song.’
He regularly tours throughout Europe – from Norway to the Mediterranean coast, from the Atlantic coast to Moscow. Michael van Merwyk has been touring internationally successfully since 1984. He has received several awards, including ‘Best Blues Singer’ and ‘Best Blues Guitarist’ at the ‘German Blues Awards’, won the ‘German Blues Challenge’ and took second place with his band First European at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis/USA, where the quartet prevailed with their independent Euro style in a field of 124 acts from 16 countries. In 2023, MvM was once again honoured with the Blues Award for Best Solo Artist.
Check out MvM’s music: Youtube / Instagram / Facebook
Photograph of MvM by Cora Stern
bluespapas – blues
Reviewers have described the Bluespapas’ music as “blues with plenty of fun and good cheer” or noted that the trio could easily create a great atmosphere on the dance floor of a Louisiana dance hall. “Bluesnews”, the specialist magazine for the German-speaking blues scene, believes that the Bluespapas’ latest CD belongs in every well-stocked CD collection. Three experienced musicians have come together under the Bluespapas banner. Guitarist and singer Bernd Simon has been a successful figure on the German blues scene for around forty years, for example with the “Matchbox Bluesband” or the “Down Home Percolators”. Harper Reiner Lenz and bassist Thomas Heldmann, together with the late Jürgen Queissner, performed as “Papa Legba’s Blues Lounge” at well over five hundred gigs at festivals and street fairs, in clubs and pubs. With this wealth of stage experience and a real passion for playing, they bring the blues in all its diverse facets to the stage.