THE FRIDAY CONCERT HEILIG KREUZ KIRCHE (Church of the Holy Cross) Jan Erik Lundqvist sings "Take this waltz" in Swedish Hit ESC button to stop the music Die Sieben Leben, Germany "The Seven Lives" was earlier known as Folklaender and later Bierfiedler. They had been spearheading the folk revival in the east of Germany since 1976 and were - despite of their quasi-underground status - the biggest selling folk band in what used to be DDR (German Democratic Republic). The line-ups of the band has changed several times from pure acoustic folk to folk rock and covers of international artists like Leonard Cohen, while still retaining a penchant for their own traditional folk music. For more info, visit www.diesiebenleben.de The set list on Friday included Everybody knows, Sisters of mercy and Dance me to the end of love Ann Vriend, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Singer-songwriter Ann Vriend discovered the music of Leonard Cohen through her parents' music collection. A self-professed fan of Mr. Cohen, Ann cites him as one of her major influences in her own songwriting. Ann has released two albums, both entirely self-written. Ann is a rising star in both Canada and Australia, and has toured extensively in both countries, as well as in the U.S. This was her first performance in Europe. She will be one of the top performers at the next Leonard Cohen Event in Edmonton 2006. For more info, visit www.annvriend.com Ann did the following songs: Coming back to you, I'm your man, Bird on a wire Zachary Oberzan, New York Zachary is a singer/songwriter, actor, and film/theater artist. He is a co-founder of New York City's acclaimed avant-garde ensemble, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, and has performed several works Off-Broadway and internationally. Zachary's latest CD is Athletes of Romance. We also remember him from the New York Event in 2004. For more info, visit www.zacharyoberzan.com Zachary did The Future, Chelsea Hotel 1 & 2 + There’s no reason why you should remember me, Let's sing another song Wendy McNeill, Edmonton, Canada Described as an artist that creates "deep, dark, twisted tales" and "wise, moving music" Wendy has been steadily gaining acclaim for her dynamic and engaging live performance. Alternating between the raucously catchy and emotionally searing to the sweet and sorrowful, her guitar and accordionladen tunes take the listener on a journey into the past while at the same time they plunge us irresistibly into the always challenging and joyous vortex of the modern. Wendy has recently relocated to Paris and is busy touring Europe. Her website is at www.wendymcneill.com. Wendy's songs on Friday: Sisters of mercy, Take this waltz, If it be your will E. Michael Brauner, Austria E. Michael, an Austrian journalist, played in his wild years in the hardrock group nervous breakdown. From Bob Dylan over Donovan and Johnny Cash he came to Leonard Cohen. He was fascinated by the music and the lyrics of this rock poet. At first it was only a technical challenge on the guitar, only later he also dared to sing Cohen's songs. With passion and devotion the Viennese minstrel interprets with his fellow musicians the ballades of Cohen. Marie Therese, his daughter, introduces the songs by reading some of the lyrics. After giving Cohen tribute concerts to full houses in Austria. E. Michael and his band performed the following songs: Who by fire, Tonight will be fine, Partisan Laura Facci, Italy Laura Facci lives in Verona. She is a songwriter, performer, expert in modern singing, research and improvisation, and author and director of musical and theatrical events. Her concerts have featured acoustic versions of some of Cohen's covers from the album "Co(m)me trad(u)ire L. C." by Orlandi and Poltronieri ever since it was released in 2003. Visit Laura's website at www.laurafacci.it. Laura's sang three songs: Love itself, The Window, Lover lover lover Jan Erik Lundqvist & band, Sweden Jan Erik has been one of the symbols of our Leonard Cohen Events ever since he stepped out of the blue onto the stage in Montreal in 2000. He sings in Swedish - no, he doesn't just sing Cohen; he breathes the music from every pore. Jan Erik has toured in Scandinavia and Germany and has released two tribute albums with his own translations of Leonard's songs. For more info, go to www.janeriklundqvist.com. Jan Erik's band sang Famous blue raincoat, The gypsy's wife, Take this waltz, Hallelujah, Hey, that's no way to say goodbye Photos © 2006 Eija Arjatsalo except small photos of Zachary and Wendy © 2006 Kim Solez Texts from the Event booklet