The New Roses bring old-school rock ’n’ roll to Cologne
On Saturday evening, 14 November, everything at the Kantine in Cologne revolved around hard rock. The New Roses stopped off in the cathedral city as part of their “Down And Dirty Tour 2026”. French rock band Harsh joined them as the support act. An interesting side note: exactly two years earlier, on 14 November 2024, The New Roses had already played on the same stage. This time, too, it was an evening of classic rock sounds, powerful guitars and plenty of interaction with the audience.
Harsh provide a convincing opening
The evening was opened by the four Frenchmen from Harsh. With their long hair, striking outfits and a generous amount of glitter around their eyes, they immediately caught the eye. Bassist Julien Martin, in particular, could easily have passed for a double of Geralt of Rivia from the series “The Witcher” with his appearance.
But, of course, it was not just about appearances. Singer and guitarist Albert Arnold, guitarist Séverin Piozzoli, bassist Julien Martin and drummer Léo Löwenthal delivered an energetic performance with a strong stage presence. Arnold clearly made an effort to involve the audience in the show. The mobile phone lights were switched on and the room was divided into two halves to encourage even more interaction. The well-known and danceable cover version of “Maniac” also helped to get the audience out of their shells and create a lively atmosphere. Harsh proved to be a good opening act for the headliners.
The New Roses: Rock and Roll is my Religion
After the stage change, it was time for The New Roses. The venue was now well filled, and band shirts could be seen everywhere. The audience was also a varied mix of ages. A small child of around eight, for example, watched the entire concert from his father’s shoulders, hands raised in the air making the familiar Devil Horns gesture. Lovely to see. It was also noticeable that the male audience members, in particular, sang and jumped along loudly. At concerts, this level of enthusiasm is otherwise often more commonly seen among female fans.
On stage stood frontman Timmy Rough, together with co-founder and drummer Urban Berz, guitarists Norman Bites and Dizzy Presley, and bassist Hardy. Wearing a shirt bearing the words “Rock and Roll is my Religion”, Rough immediately made it clear what the evening was all about.
Following the intro “Can’t Stop Rock & Roll”, the concert kicked off with “Life Ain’t Easy (For a Boy With Long Hair)”. With “Every Wild Heart”, “Forever Never Comes” and “Without a Trace”, the evening immediately gathered momentum. The latter should also be familiar to fans of the series “Sons of Anarchy”, as the song featured on the series’ soundtrack.
The setlist offered a nice mix of older and newer songs. As Rough himself put it: ‘Old stuff and new stuff will be played.’ Songs such as “Gimme Your Love” and “One More for the Road” also brought out some older material. The latter is about the ups and downs of life. “Saints & Sinners” followed “Nothing but Wild” and was the only new song to have been released since the last album, “Attracted to Danger”.
It was noticeable that relatively few songs from this album featured on the setlist. Ultimately, only “Natural Born Vagabonds” and “This Heart” were heard from “Attracted to Danger”. “Unknown Territory” was also not to be missed. A song that had not been played live for a long time and has now been added to the setlist again as part of this tour.
A special moment followed during “Sweet Gloria”. Halfway through the song, Timmy Rough picked up the saxophone, providing a pleasant surprise. The show continued with “For a While”, “The Usual Suspects” and “Glory Road”, before the band initially said goodbye from the stage with “This Heart”.
Acoustic moments in the middle of the audience
The audience did not have to wait long for the return. For the acoustic section, Timmy Rough suddenly appeared in the middle of the venue, up on the FOH area. This created an amusing moment, as half the audience was still looking expectantly at the empty main stage, waiting for the band to return. With only his acoustic guitar, Rough explained that he writes all his songs on the guitar by himself. This also explained the decision to perform an acoustic version of “Natural Born Vagabonds”. The mobile phone lights among the audience created an atmospheric, almost campfire-like setting. A lovely contrast to the powerful guitar sounds of the evening so far.
“True Love” also began in the same spot, with Timmy alone in the middle of the audience. Halfway through the song, the rest of the band joined him on the main stage. This meant that the musicians were performing in two different places in the venue at the same time.
During “Down by the River”, Rough made his way back to the main stage, singing and exchanging numerous high fives along the way. The fans were delighted. “Thirsty” finally brought the evening to a close. The audience did not need to be told twice to jump along enthusiastically one more time. With a varied setlist, a successful mix of older and newer songs and several special moments in the middle of the audience, The New Roses demonstrated what they have to offer as a live band. Harsh had already warmed up the audience nicely before The New Roses delivered exactly what the title of their tour promised: a generous dose of old-school rock ’n’ roll.
