Concert Review: Uli Jon Roth at the Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, NH

Mark Kurtzner
16 minutes ago
4 min read

On April 24th, legendary neo-classical blues guitarist Uli Jon Roth brought his long-awaited performance celebrating the 50th anniversaries of two legendary Scorpions albums, "In Trance" & "Virgin Killers," along with his opening set, "Pictures of Destiny," to the Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, NH. This tour was originally scheduled for the fall of 2025 but had to be moved to April 2026, where he is performing 21 shows in 29 days spanning from California to New York.

This was my first time at this venue, so I arrived early. I just wanted to get settled in and check out my options and the best places to photograph. It's a very nice venue. For this show it was cabaret style; the floor area was filled with tables. The next level had high-top seats that surrounded the lower level, with more round tables behind. The 3rd level had theatre-style seating. The waitstaff was very efficient; food & drink service was extremely fast and it was a great way to get ready for the show.

I first discovered the Scorpions around the time Uli left the band. I was listening to the band's current music, but once I started listening to older Scorpions, there was just something I gravitated towards. I was a tape trader in the early '80s and would trade for older Scorpions shows to hear the Uli-era recordings. He was an amazing guitarist; he brought a sound and style that was different than most. To me, that makes a musician special: when you can instantly hear a style and know who's playing it.

Through the years, I continually listened to those older Scorpions albums. The double live Tokyo Tapes, along with the unofficially released Tokyo Tapes (which is the entire two-hour show), remain some of my favorites. I also enjoyed his Electric Sun recordings. Uli has toured the U.S. pretty often over the years, but somehow, I never managed to see him until March 2017 when he played an amazing set: the full Tokyo Tapes Revisited album. To this day, that show is in my top 10 all-time favorite shows. Since then, I've made it a point to see him every time. I could easily watch him play for hours; his playing style is so fluent, even when performing intricate parts. Just an amazing talent!

As a musician, artist, and true guitar wizard, he is always searching for new sounds and ways to expand beyond the basic guitar known to all, which typically has 21-24 frets and 6 strings. Uli wanted more, so in the '80s, he started making custom guitars with 30 frets, known as a "Sky" guitar. He had different companies make them, including Dean Guitars. In 2011, they produced 50 of them with 6 and 7 strings. In 2017, he founded his own brand, "Sky Guitars," with Master Luthier Boris Dommenget from Germany. They are works of art and very pricey, but they allow him to achieve such unique guitar sounds that really haven't been heard before. That alone makes him one of the most revolutionary guitarists ever!

For this tour, Uli is joined by longtime vocalist/guitarist, Niklas Turmann - I've also seen him play bass on some previous tours, but he's playing guitar this time. Another longtime member is left-handed guitarist David Klosinski, who is an amazing guitarist in his own right. Barry Sparks is on bass, Jamie Little is on drums, and backing vocalist Gwen Antti-Adams rounds out the band.

Time for the show: The 1st set featured Uli performing solo doing what he loves most: playing some truly inspirational guitar work over backing tracks, with amazing visuals accompanying each piece. He also used moments between songs to talk about his writings and oil paintings, which were highlighted on the video screen.

He effortlessly flowed through the various pieces of music, ranging from classical to rock to orchestral-based. Set highlights were: "Sky Overture" and "Spirit of the Heart," which was an amazing piece of work. His ending solo version of "The Sails of Charon" had a technical issue, so that was cut short with Uli telling the crowd not to worry, since it would be added to the band's set.

The 2nd set featured his full band performing an all-Scorpions set, opening with a powerful version of "Pictured Life," then "Catch Your Train," followed by the rest of the Virgin Killer album played in order. Amazing to hear all of those classics again!

Closing out the set and show highlights were: "Sun in My Hand," "We'll Burn the Sky," and "In Trance" (one of my all-time favorite Scorpions songs). He had been closing this tour with his rendition of "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix, but it was switched out for an incredible performance of "The Sails of Charon." I'm sure no one in the crowd was too upset about that.

His backing band members are all top-notch musicians. Niklas Turmann's vocal range is truly outstanding and very enjoyable to listen to. His other guitarist, David Klosinski, is such an integral part, playing a lot of harmony solos along with backing rhythms during Uli's solos. The entire band has a lot of fun onstage, too.

Truly an amazing show and a gift to be able to see such a legend in an intimate setting. If you have never seen him live, you definitely should!