Our bags were already packed to head back from Prague when I got the message: “Hi! It seems it’s your lucky day.” And it really was — the trip of luck. The route home got a little longer, but for a very good reason.
A few days earlier, I had entered a contest to attend a promotional Alter Bridge show in Berlin with Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti. One of the winners couldn’t make it, and I was contacted at the last minute. The performance would be the next day, and we had only a few hours to reorganize everything.
We took a bus and arrived in Berlin for a secret show at Bar 19:77 – the Ramones Museum — a place we know well and that already feels like home.
There must have been around forty people in the room. We saw Mark and Myles from just over a meter away. I almost felt embarrassed to be that close — and they said the same as soon as they stepped onto that tiny stage. But after the first song, everyone synced up and relaxed.
The acoustic set had six songs. Since they’re not on tour, it had a sense of spontaneity — very organic, with a few unpolished moments that made them feel even closer to us and got everyone laughing.
Earlier this month, they’d performed a special acoustic set in Nashville (USA) for the Rock Fore Down Syndrome charity event organized by Mark Tremonti’s family. They brought those same versions to Berlin.
Acoustic Myles sings with a sweeter tone, and it feels like the songs gain extra layers of emotion. At times he barely needed a microphone — his power, technique, and vocal control are astonishing. To me, he’s one of the finest rock vocalists today.
It was a privilege to hear him that close — a musician full of soul, so genuine in a time when so many hide behind effects to sound perfect.
It was beautiful, too, to hear heavier songs in an acoustic format, with a darker guitar atmosphere — especially the new Silent Divide. And watching Mark play the Blackbird riff just an arm’s length away — my eyes welled up, my heart overflowed.
After the fifth song — meant to be the last — no one wanted to let them go, of course. Digging through his memory, unplanned, Myles suggested to Mark they play Rise Today. The show ended intensely, with the audience singing along.
It was the smallest show in Alter Bridge’s career — and one of the craziest things I’ve ever done: spending less than 24 hours in Berlin to be part of it all. Unforgettable.
SETLIST – Alter Bridge Acoustic in Berlin, Bar 19:77 (October 7, 2025)
- Burn It Down
- Silent Divide
- Watch Over You (Myles solo)
- In Loving Memory
- Blackbird
- Rise Today
About Bar 19:77 – The Ramones Museum
The Ramones Museum operates inside Bar 19:77, the first and only museum dedicated to the band’s legacy. Founded by fan Flo Hayler, the space spans three rooms with over 1,000 original Ramones artifacts, covering their career from 1974 to 1996.
The bar and café serve vegan dishes, along with hot and cold drinks. 19:77 describes itself as a punk rock version of the Hard Rock Café — and you see why as soon as you walk in. The walls feature autographs from artists and bands like Eddie Vedder, CJ Ramone, Biffy Clyro, Sum 41, and Donots, forming a sentimental mural.
In June, the bar also hosted a special acoustic event with Rise Against.
