Songs, Stories and a Raspy Voice: Chris Kläfford Charms Cologne
When an artist takes the stage with nothing but an acoustic guitar accompanying his vocals, there is little to hide behind. It strips the performance down to its essentials, exposing the raw talent, musicianship, and vocal ability of the artist. Both the opening duo and the headliner demonstrated their raw talent, proving that sometimes all it takes is an acoustic guitar and a voice to captivate an audience.
The Swedish country duo Tennessee Tears, made up of Tilda Feuk and Jonas Hermansson, opened the night with an acoustic set. Jonas handled guitar, electric stomp box and vocals, while Tilda sang lead and harmony vocals. They had no problem capturing the audience’s attention with their storytelling and vocal-driven modern country sound. The performance felt natural, and the harmonies came across effortlessly.
Notable songs “Beautiful Terrible Love”. “Last To Know”, “Do You Still Think Of Me” and the set closer “Time On Our Hands”.
With nothing to reset on the stage after the opening act, Chris Kläfford took the stage at 7:45 seated on a high chair, accompanying his singing with an acoustic guitar and an electronic stompbox. He opened the set with an Amos Lee cover, “Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight,” and ended the song with “Hello Cologne!”, which was met with a huge cheer from the audience.
Kläfford kept the set flowing by interweaving storytelling with singing, mixing his own songs with covers. The stage was simple: just a chair and microphones, with the stage lights as the only decoration, so to speak. It was just a guy with his guitar and a few hundred people, mostly Gen X, filling up Club Volta. He seemed to have found the perfect audience for it.
His stories covered a wide range of topics, mostly drawn from his own life: being born in a very small place, moving to a small town, relationships, touring and family. He had no problem holding the audience’s attention. He is a skilled storyteller as much as he is a good singer, and his raspy voice moved easily from low tones to high, sustained notes. “Small Town Ghost” and “Moonshine” followed by “Before You Go” (Lewis Capaldi).
Halfway through the set, Tennessee Tears returned to the stage to join Kläfford on a few covers.
One of the covers of the set which suited Kläfford’s voice well was “Tennessee Whiskey”. The night also featured “Ain’t Built for Leaving” and “Praying for Rain”, and closed with his own take on John Lennon’s “Imagine”. The intimate acoustic evening connected well with the Cologne audience, who clearly appreciated the raw, natural presentation over a full-on electric show.
Accreditation: a.s.s. concerts
This concert review and photography are also published on CountryMusicNews.de, one of Germany’s established online country music magazines.
Setlist:
Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight (Amos Lee cover), Small Town Ghost, Moonshine, Before You Go (Lewis Capaldi cover), If Not With You, For You, Ain’t Build for Leaving, Forever’s On The Line, Broken Halos (Chris Stapleton cover) (with Tennessee Tears), Sam (Sturgill Simpson cover) (with Tennessee Tears), I’m on Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover) (with Tennessee Tears), Something Like Me, Jolene (Dolly Parton cover), Praying For Rain, A Sinner’s Life, Tennessee Whiskey (David Allan Coe cover), Imagine (John Lennon cover)
