"The trips to Ireland are now like "family outings" for the band"

After two storming gigs in County Louth over Easter, the renowned Bavarian Blues Brothers band recently sat down with their local newspaper, the Landauer Zeitung, on their return home and delivered a veritable love letter to Ireland and County Louth, in particular.

This was the German band’s third trip to Ireland, undertaking what band leader, Markus Tshoep, and local impresario, Jake Walsh, have coined as a “playcation” - in other words, a trip abroad with their families and friends with some work and concerts included where the commercial return isn’t necessarily the bottom line.

On previous visits to Ireland, the Bavarian Blues Brothers performed all around the country and took in a fair bit of sight-seeing, but, on this occasion Markus asked Jake if he could keep the concerts on the East Coast, if possible, and they would spend their downtime taking in some of the local places of interest.

The band ended up playing two of County Louth’s most renowned music venues - the Spirit Store in Dundalk and McHugh’s Barrel Venue in Drogheda - and enjoyed some memorable visits to Newgrange, Howth, the Boyne Valley and more. Below is a rough transcript and paraphrase of the subsequent article in the Landauer Zeitung…

“Sunday evening in a pub in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland. Brick walls, dim lighting. Rock and soul music fills the room. Some guests move to the beat, others order their next Guinness. Ten men in suits, sunglasses, and bowler hats, and a woman in a black evening dress are on stage. The Blues Brothers band from Bavaria has existed since 2004. Every two years, the band performs not at the Landau town hall or at the Straubing folk festival, but in venues in Ireland. The reason is a twenty-year-old friendship.

"It was great," said Markus Tschöp, saxophonist and founder of the Bavarian Blues Brothers about their Easter visit to Ireland. He and the band were there from Thursday to Tuesday and played two shows, one in Dundalk and the other in Drogheda. Not only the eleven band members were there, but also lighting and sound technicians, family members, fans, and former members. A total of 37 people made up the Bavarian Blues Brothers tour group this year.

This year was the band's third visit, the first being in 2019. Since then, they have tried to travel to Ireland every two years, explains Herr Tschöp. He and his bandmates have become enchanted by the country. The saxophonist can't quite explain why. "A fascination that is hard to describe," says Markus. The grass is literally greener there, the people are more musical, "it feels like everyone can sing," says Tschöp. "You sit down in the pub and start playing."

In July 2005 or 2006, Tschöp isn't quite sure, the Bavarian Blues Brothers were at an open-air festival in Germany. Also performing there were an Irish rock cover band, "Cunning Stunts," and they started chatting backstage with their promoter, Jake Walsh, and band leader, Brendan Reaburn, and soon a friendship was established. The Irish group are regular open-air visitors to Bavaria and the two outfits kept running into each other. After a few years, the Bavarian Blues Brothers broached the subject of a possible Irish trip with Jake and Brendan and an idea was born. And now, 3 visits later, they keep coming back.

It’s fair to say the Bavarian Blues Brothers are a hit with Irish fans. Many fans talk to the band after the show, some wanting to order a signed poster from Germany, postage costs not a concern. And always, there are numerous Facebook comments: "It was great," "Amazing show," "Please come back." Or as Tschöp puts it: "They were already totally into it during the first show at the Spirit Store in Dundalk, and then, the following night, after the show in McHugh’s of Drogheda had ended, we all re-convened in the bar with a selection of local musicians and a spontaneous session began that went on well into the late, late hours - absolute madness!”

The trips to Ireland are now like "family outings" for the band. Between performances at Dundalk and Drogheda over Easter, they also explored Dublin together, visited a whiskey distillery and Trinity College, and "a break in the pub is always a must," says Tschöp. He laughs when he recounts how a landlord from Lower Bavaria once asked him if the band would still perform at his place now that they're stars in Ireland. "Of course!," laughed Markus. They perform wherever someone wants to hear them. "For us, music is fun. We're family."...