ZZ Top – Stimmen Festival – Lörrach, Germany – July 21, 2017

It was a true honor to have seen ZZ Top play with their support the Red Devils in the Swiss-French-German border city of Lörrach, Germany at the Stimmen Festival, which is essentially a month-long program of nightly concerts in the market square. It’s not an open-air festival like Hellfest or Wacken, for example – it’s more of something you can attend after work or on the weekend, provided that you get your tickets in advance. I was able to secure accommodation at the last minute, which was quite convenient, as there was a bus running until midnight straight to my doorstep.

The weather was nice and hot until right around 6 pm, the prime time to get to the festival. Right then, however, the skies opened up and unleashed almost too much rain onto everyone. Everyone either hid under rooftops or went shopping for ponchos and rainproof clothing. Beer was for sale at a couple of stands in front of the entrance, where some people were lining up to get inside.

Fortunately, just when it was time for the show to start at 8 pm, the rain dropped its last few drops and it was dry for the rest of the night. The Red Devils warmed up the stage and the crowd with LA blues.

Everyone mingled after the band, grabbed a currywurst and a local pilsner, and got back to the stage to watch ZZ Top take over the little marketplace with their perfect acoustics, spot-on lighting, and all-time favorites like “Cheap Sunglasses,” “Pearl Necklace,” and “Pink Cushion.”