Ultra Primus From Issue 2, 2015

In 2014, something unusual happened. On the strength of their breakthrough album Too Many Roads, Denmark's Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado went global. Now it's one thing for an artist from Copenhagen to enjoy success at home and in a few adjacent countries. But the release of Too Many Roads saw the seven-piece combo fronted by singer and guitarist Risager gaining widespread notoriety in the U.S. and being invited to play in locales as far away as Mumbai, India. The album took home the Danish Music Award as the Top Blues Album of 2014 and also earned Germany's illustrious "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik," but perhaps even more impressively, it was selected as one the year's best by Britain's influential The Blues magazine, right alongside international stars like Robert Cray, Walter Trout and Joe Bonamassa. Clearly, Risager and his mates had taken their exhilarating mix of blues, soul and rock 'n' roll to the next level. Early in 2015, Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado celebrated that triumph by returning to one of their favorite nightspots - the Harmonie in Bonn, Germany. They would treat local fans to a one-of-a-kind spectacle, hitting the stage as a ten-piece mini-orchestra.