Hannes Wader - Poetenweg (Live) (2021)

In September 2021 Hannes Wader invited eighty friends and companions to the idyllic Deppendorf watermill, just 5 km from his birthplace, to give a very special concert for them. It was the first stage appearance since November 2017, when the artist had retired from touring.

For an entire generation, Hannes Wader is the country's most important singer-songwriter. In autumn 2020, companions had placed a heavy boulder with the inscription "Hannes Wader Aue" near the water mill - close to the Poetenweg, the path of his childhood. The special honour for his life's work so far touched the singer deeply. He promised to say thank you with a concert. Grateful - which is difficult for him, but he works on himself - the singer-songwriter looks back on his life this evening - self-critical, sometimes melancholic, but also humorous, neither complaining nor accusing, but rather questioning and searching for answers.

The special, familiar atmosphere in the small hall is now recorded on a live album, authentic in sound and atmospherically dense, called "Poetenweg", which will be published parallel to the paperback edition of Wader's autobiography Trotz alledem - Mein Leben on 13.12. 2021. By candlelight in the beautiful half-timbered ambience, the 79-year-old read passages from it between his own songs and the songs of his childhood. Sensitively and with impressive pictures he describes - "born in 1942 with cancer" - his earliest childhood and youth, reports on difficult circumstances and musical imprints.

The songs of the evening carry the memories - or do the memories carry the songs? Among them are Wader premieres such as "Und am Abend ziehen Gaukler", "Drei Zigeuner" and "Wahre Freundschaft", a song he learned during his apprenticeship and now, after more than 65 years, wants to sing again. A song Hannes Wader heard from his mother as a child is "Wilde Schwäne" - he would later sing it often in his concerts. On his concert tours there were always pieces with which Wader surprised his audience, sometimes even challenged them. "Brüder, zur Sonne, zur Freiheit" (Brothers, to the Sun, to Freedom) is one such, which - why, he no longer knows - was missing from his legendary long-playing record Arbeiterlieder. On this evening, he makes up for the performance to the applause of his audience.

"Today here, tomorrow there" Hannes Wader sang at the beginning of his concerts for almost a lifetime of touring. On this evening, he performs what is probably his best-known song at the very end. He is no longer "here today" and "there tomorrow", and it is probably true: "nothing remains as it was". Read more

Reviews:

"Four Years ago hannes Wader from Touring life in September 2021, the 79-year-old once again performed live live again - in a water mill, a few Kilometres from his birthplace Bielefeld. Out of gratitude to the Companions who erected a stone with the inscription "Hannes" nearby Stone with the inscription "Hannes Wader Aue". The program of the evening Program of the evening, which is now pOETENWEG as a live album Album, consisted of half songs and half Songs and reading tidbits from his autobiography from his autobiography "Trotz alledem" Wader sang alone to the guitar Classics like "Good to be here again to be here again", "Wilde Schwäne" and "Heute here, tomorrow there", but also the newcomers "True Friendship", "And in the And in the evening the jugglers" and "Three gypsies" Wader showed himself in a good mood, with a meanwhile deeper, but but still confident voice singing and nimbly fingerpicking on the guitar." (Good Times, December 2021/January 2022)