I am surprised that it has never been there before, stated Jackson Dean, one of the four artists, who will be part of the first set of events of Heart to Heart, a new concert series introduced by German promoter Semmel Concerts. End of August, there will be three concerts in Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Berlin with four artists. Jackson Dean will be there. With Breland, there will be another US-American artist. But there will also be two German locals, Kelvin Jones and Pohlmann.. They met for the first time in a press call on 9th August 2023. And, as Ingo Pohlmann (the full name of Pohlmann) stated in that call, It is exactly what I wanted to do all the time. The vibes of the call were already promising.
About The First Heart to Heart Events
If you are into country music (or simply based in the United States), the concept of a songwriters’ round is not new to me. Typically some four or five artists or songwriters present their songs, one after another. Three song, four songs, five songs, depending on the time they are given. And depending on how much they want to tell about it. The key focus of the round is on interacting with the audience, telling them the stories of their songs – or the stories behind them. There is nothing more than the artists, their acoustic guitars (or, rarely, keyboards) and a magical atmosphere.
For the first event, there will be the four artists mentioned. Two German artist, two US ones. Even though the songwriters’ round is a typical format for country music, the event in Germany will be open to all kinds of genre. Like at the end of August 2023, when the German artists will rather represent pop, rock, folk music. This time, there will also be two special guests, Brooke Eden and Avery Anna. Heart to Heart shall become a regular event, though. I expect to be at the very first show, on 29th August in Dusseldorf. This show will also have a host, while the other shows will be hosted by the artists themselves.
Some Thoughts From the Artist
The press call about the even was really interesting. While the concept of the event (which later a fellow German press colleague named a mixture of a podcast and a concert) is very familiar to the US artists, the domestic ones needed a few minutes to get familiar to it. Despite the language barrier – which has been identified as a potential issue (rather with the crowd than on stage) – the four artist quickly found a great vibe. This felt to make Heart to Heart even more promising. Kelvin Jones stated We all have stories to tell and that he looks forward to a format where he can slow down and focus on the song. He jokingly promised that he will spent some thirty minutes per song – Semmel might better watch out for potential curfews.
Breland just had his very first show in Germany, at the German-American Friendship Fest in Wiesbaden. This one being a public event on US Army grounds, Heart to Heart will be more or less the first show for both US guests, himself and Jackson Dean. Jackson stated that with being so far away from home, he is excited that people will be coming to the shows to see him and listen to his music. I feel it will be a hell of a time, he added. Breland rather cared about diving into a lot of culture – and practival aspects. He said he is afraid of gaining weight from all these German beers. Cheers!
Any Show Might Be Different
Regarding the setlist, the artists all agreed that they want to be flexible and play the songs which best suit the mood of the audience. Thus, every show might be different. As Pohlmann stated, You can follow your feelings in that moment and chose the song you want to play. For Breland, who just has been a support act for Shania Twain, he said he does not matter whether he performs in front of 40k people or in a small group. It’s an exchange of energy with the audience, almost a conversation are his expectations towards the three shows in Germany.
Pohlmann also reminded of working in a small bar. They had a guitar there. You could grab it, sit right inside the small place, in the middle of the other guests and play your music. As long as the other people liked what you are doing, you got free drinks. It sometimes took nine to twelve hours one night, he remembered. And he is looking forward to have similar positive vibes on stage at the end of August.
Walk Through Different Worlds
Especially as the format is new to Germany, I felt it was interesting what the artists feel would be a finally a great, successful event. First of all, the artists all felt it will be great. But Jackson Dean also stated about the audience he wants to take them on a special travel that night. I would love to feel them to walk through different worlds. I want them to have gone far. To have us gone far. And added that he would be happy if they loved the music more at the end of the show than they did when they walked in. Sounds like a great motivation to visit one of the shows, doesn’t it?
Heart To Heart – The Dates
Here are the three events, they are also listed in my European country tour dates overview:
Tu 29.08.2023 | Dusseldorf – Capitol | |
We 30.08.2023 | Hamburg – Gruenspan | |
Th 31.08.2023 | Berlin – Urania (Humboldt-Saal) |
All pictures are screenshots of the press call
Postings with Tour Dates
Here are all Flyctory.com postings, which include tour dates:
Sound of Nashville on Flyctory.com
Here are all postings related to the Sound of Nashville concert series in Germany and the Netherlands: