Chris Isaak and Tanita Tikaram at Stimmen-Festival - 27 July 2024

From the stage of the STIMMEN-Festival, Chris Isaak pointed up at the people looking out of the windows of the houses surrounding Lörrach's Marktplatz and asked them: «So do you just go – 'honey, let's open the window, maybe there's a good show on this evening?'». Being the consummate entertainer – and funny, too – Isaak was probably well aware that his concert was one of the good ones.

This evening at the STIMMEN featured not just Isaak, but also opener and fellow velvet-voiced singer Tanita Tikaram. Tikaram is probably best-known for her gorgeous song «Twist in My Sobriety», while Isaak created a classic with «Wicked Game». But there is more to both musicians than just those two songs, as they proved during their concerts.

Tikaram still possesses the deep, rich vocals that made her famous, and they lent themselves perfectly to ballads like «Cathedral Song» and more uptempo tracks like «I Don't Wanna Lose at Love». Tikaram and her band closed with a cover of «Love Is in the Air», with the whole audience dancing along.

Decked out in a powder blue suit with glitter appliqué (a thing of beauty) – and later in the concert, in a confection made of mirrors – Chris Isaak looked every inch the Vegas entertainer, in the best possible way.

Las Vegas was just the start, however. Isaak took us on a musical road trip through the USA, with stops at country junction, classic-rock central and rockabilly city, the tone always a bit melancholy; always a bit, well, wicked.

Listening to Isaak's songs live, your mind's eye conjured up vast American landscapes with tumbleweed blowing through, a Lynchian unease underpinning the surface tranquility – and of course David Lynch used the crooner's songs in his films, forever entwining Isaak's music with his cinematic landscapes.

Blessed with matinee-idol looks, Chris Isaak himself has appeared in film and television, often in Lynch projects, his aesthetic harking back to 1950s America and representing a pensive nostalgia that is reflected in his music. This came across during the more laid-back section of Isaak's concert, with the singer and his band sat on stools, as if playing in a dive bar. A beautiful cover of Elvis's «Can't Help Falling In Love» was only fitting.

With its instantly recognisable guitar line and Isaak's velvety voice, «Wicked Game» was of course rapturously received; other highlights in the set included «Blue Hotel» and «Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing».

You'd think Isaak's cult status would make the singer aloof, but he was delightfully approachable, as evidenced when he walked out among the audience for two whole songs, or when he let his sense of humour shine through.

A lovely evening at the STIMMEN-Festival.

- Anna Wirz

Photos of Tanita Tikaram are here.

Photos of Chris Isaak are here.