Roland Heinrich sings at Berlin Country Music Fair

I thought I would post some videos of a few of the performers who took the four stages at the Country Music Messe in Berlin last month... It's taken me a little while to download the video clips, but I'll add them one by one.

Here is my friend Roland Heinrich, singing a Jimmie Rodgers song. Roland calls it Betrübter Jodler #3 (Evening Sun Yodel) but it sounds to me like a combination of the Evening Sun Yodel (Blue Yodel #3) and Muleskinner Blues (Blue Yodel #8).

Roland put out a wonderful CD of Jimmie Rodgers songs -- in German, his own translations --a couple of years ago, on Bear Family Records. It's called Einsam und Ausgebremst: Lieder von Jimmie Rodgers, BCD 16733 AH. This song is one of 14 tracks on the album. 

While I was in Berlin, I also saw Roland perform in a musical/play about Johnny Cash called "Johnny Cash: The Beast in Me,"  by James Lyons. Described as a "musical portrait," it has three characters -- Johnny Cash, June Carter, and a sort of Jimmie Rodgers/spirit of country music figure, played by Roland. The performance I saw was sold out -- as apparently are most performances of the play.