The BossHoss @ Rhein Feier Festival, Neuenburg 2026

Event 21 August, 2026

Two things had been forecast for the opening night of the Rhein Feier Festival in Neuenburg’s Rheingärten: the first rain in weeks after an exceptionally hot summer, and the cowboys of The BossHoss. Everyone had been longing for rain — just not that evening. At least the forecast had promised no more than light showers.

Undeterred, several thousand cheerful visitors made their way to the festival site in the afternoon, many of them wearing cowboy boots, hats and waistcoats. On site, numerous volunteers were already ensuring that everything ran smoothly from early on.

Jamie Clarke’s Perfect opened the evening: an international folk-punk band founded in Germany in 1997 by former The Pogues guitarist and singer Jamie Clarke and banjo player Pierre Lavendel. They were followed by Freiburg outfit The Human Touch. The six-piece classic rock covers band celebrates its 30th stage anniversary in 2026 — an impressive run, and one you can hear in the effortless interplay between the musicians. The band sounded superbly tight and warmed up the crowd for the night ahead with real conviction. Their repertoire stretched from Abba to ZZ Top. When their set ended at around 7.30 pm, the audience loudly called for an encore, which the band gladly delivered before leaving the stage to generous applause.

By then, those forecast light showers had turned into a full-on downpour. Yet the mood in the crowd never faltered. People sheltered as best they could under umbrellas and ponchos. Anyone wearing a leather cowboy hat suddenly found themselves with an advantage not to be underestimated.

And then The BossHoss took to the stage. With their “Back to the Boots” tour, the band were presenting the 2025 album of the same name while also celebrating their 20th anniversary. A sizeable crew joined Alec Völkel and Sascha Vollmer on stage: alongside the seven-piece core line-up on drums, percussion, bass, mandolin and guitar came the three-piece brass section The Tijuana Wonderbrass, who have been touring with the band since 2010.

Alec and Sascha found themselves facing a thoroughly drenched crowd and did their utmost to keep spirits high with humour and good-natured teasing. They were engaging throughout, talking openly about themselves and repeatedly drawing the audience into the conversation. They had never played this far south before, they said — naturally only because nobody had booked them here until now.

Sascha remarked that he too came from Baden-Württemberg, albeit from Swabia. This earned him a few joking boos, which he acknowledged with reference to the rain: “the Lord will continue to punish you”.

The band were plainly having a fine time. Musically, they played as a unit, while still giving every musician a moment in the spotlight. The brass players in particular, appearing in a succession of changing outfits, repeatedly moved centre stage and added enormously to the show’s Tex-Mex swagger.

The setlist struck a strong balance between classics, plenty of material from “Back to the Boots” and a handful of covers. The show opened with Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again”, followed by “Lions Den” and “Do It”. The first major high point came with their hugely successful take on OutKast’s “Hey Ya!”, with The BossHoss energetically — and successfully — urging the audience to sing along.

Watching that soaked but jubilant crowd celebrate every song in the pouring rain, it was hard to see much merit in some of the criticism levelled at The BossHoss. The question remains: are they truly an authentic country-rock band?

That depends entirely on how one defines authenticity. Of course, a German band lacks the socialisation that comes with growing up in the United States and the cultural imprint that goes with it. If one were to follow that logic consistently, however, there could be no European blues bands either. And anyone who recently saw Dan Mudd feat. bearbeat at Z7 knows exactly what we would then be missing.

And what of the Stetsons, waistcoats and shirts? Should a band be dismissed as mere costume theatre because of what it wears? In my view, certainly not — above all because The BossHoss make technically excellent music that reaches a large audience, and because on stage they come across as entirely genuine.

You do not have to like this music. If you do not, it should be for musical reasons — not because you dislike the band’s outfits.

But back to the concert. It is one thing to rally a completely soaked audience from the stage. Alec and Sascha, however, went further. After heading out into the crowd, the pair climbed onto a small platform in the front-of-stage area and played an acoustic set there, creating a wonderfully intimate atmosphere. Just as wet as their fans, they then returned to the main stage, where the band was already waiting.

The concert continued, and the energy rose along with the rain. “Burn Baby Burn” was clearly a favourite among the guests in Neuenburg.

For Dolly Parton’s magnificent “Jolene”, Swiss singer Chiara Castelli joined them as vocal reinforcement. Taking on the harmonies associated with the wonderful duo The Common Linnets is a brave undertaking, and alongside the two frontmen Chiara handled them with striking ease and naturalness.

With their biggest hits “Don’t Gimme That” and “Dos Bros”, the concert seemed to reach its rousing finale. But of course the loudly demanded encore followed. After “Stallion Battalion” and “German Angst”, The BossHoss brought a thoroughly enjoyable evening to a close at 10.30 pm with an extended version of Cameo’s “Word Up”.

The organisers of the second Rhein Feier Festival — Stefan Weisser, Jörg Steck and Achim Herr — deserve considerable praise. Neuenburg had previously offered little in the way of cultural events on this scale. We are already looking forward to next year.