Erfurt, Jena, Weimar: The best concerts in July 2023

Fatoumata Diawara is one of the most important voices of a new generation of African artists. The music of the Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and actress is a happy genre mix of traditional and modern sounds of the Sahara and West Africa, Afropop and desert blues. In her lyrics, the Malian singer-songwriter tackles the uncomfortable issues of the region, such as forced marriages, educational deficits, wars and displacement. She has since worked with some of the biggest names in contemporary music including Damon Albarn, Disclosure and Herbie Hancock. She comes to the Kulturarena in Jena with her four-piece live band.

Classifying mine is difficult. The music of the jazz singer and producer sounds like hip hop, synth pop, pop chansons and folk with clever lyrics. In the last seven years, the Berliner-by-choice has released six albums, with “Hinüber” she landed directly at number 13 in the charts. The singer roams through the sunny and carefree hustle and bustle of the big city, experiences relationship dramas, stops at the plastic-flooded sea and goes one step further with the injustices on this planet. Their messages about social injustice, equality or discrimination are sometimes socially critical, sometimes self-reflective, they tell of everyday life, the ups and downs of life, love and pain. Great art!

Punk is dead? Not yet. Marky Ramone at least still makes a pretty lively impression. He was the drummer for the legendary Ramones for 15 years and is now on tour again to play the world-famous songs of the New York punks, including “Blitzkrieg Bop”, “Sheena Is A Punkrocker” and “Pet Sematary”. And so Marky Ramone is carrying the legacy of the Ramones out into the wide world and into the F-Haus in Jena: With his band Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg, he says he offers “an authentic show with 40 Ramones classics”.

Ben Harper can confidently be described as one of the most successful musicians in his field – although his field is not that easy to name and can be located somewhere between folk, blues, reggae, roots rock, soul and jazz. He has already won three Grammys in the categories “Best Blues Album”, “Best Pop Instrumental Performance” and “Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album”. In 1994 he released his debut album “Welcome to the Cruel World”, since then the American singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer has released 14 studio albums. He is now presenting his current album “Bloodline Maintenance” live with his band The Innocent Criminals at the Schallkultur Festival on the Seebühne in Weimar.

Anne Clark is one of the great icons of both ’80s New Wave and the convergence of literature and music. The Brit does not sing, but speaks her mostly very poetic lyrics, which primarily and critically deal with the inadequacies of being human, of everyday life and politics. Avant-garde World Pain set to music! At this concert, Anne Clark will also present her new album, with the promising title “Borderland: Found Music For A Lost World”.