​Photo by David McClister

​The National Heritage Fellowships are the nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Including the 2020 class, the Arts Endowment has awarded 449 National Heritage Fellowships, recognizing artists working in more than 200 distinct art forms, and Stax artist and songwriter William Bell was honored with that incredible distinction.

The National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts, will present “The Culture of America: A Cross-Country Visit with the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellows,” on March 4, 2021 at 8:00 pm ET. The online event showcases performances by William Bell and other 2020 National Heritage Fellows. Join storyteller Queen Nur as she hosts a virtual trip across the country, taking viewers into the homes and communities where the Fellows live and create. The pre-recorded virtual presentation will be webcast free to the public at arts.gov. No RSVP needed.

Lynda LAW, de Britse zangeres die nu ruim 4 jaar in Vlaanderen leeft wil een lans breken voor slachtoffers van zinloos huiselijk geweld met haar zelfgeschreven nieuw lied FREE ME.
 
FREE ME is een riem-onder-het-hart lied voor alle mensen, vrouwen of mannen die in een situatie van huiselijk geweld verkeren.
Met de bizarre Covid 19 omstandigheden heeft het de situatie soms nog moeilijker gemaakt voor slachtoffers van huiselijk geweld aangezien ze 24/7 bij hun gewelddadige of mentaal wrede partner zijn zonder enige uitweg.
 FREE ME wil daarom een strijdlied zijn voor slachtoffers en hun families.
Huiselijk geweld is nog veel te vaak een taboe onderwerp. Niemand wil graag toegeven in dergelijke situatie te zitten.
Het kan zich zelfs in de sterkste relaties ontwikkelen.
Niets is perfect in het leven, maar er moet een einde komen aan dit zinloos geweld.
Ik hoop dat FREE ME daaraan kan bijdragen.
 
Via het telefoonnummer 1712 of via www.tele-onthaal.be kan je anoniem praten met een hulpverlener mocht je in een situatie van huiselijk geweld verkeren. Praten helpt.
 
www.lyndalaw.eu

Ook in 2020 stond Thom Yorke op de affiche met zijn zijproject Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes. Toen blies Rock Werchter zelf de vierdaagse af, nu trekt Yorke er op eigen houtje de stekker uit. Hij annuleert al zijn optredens die deze zomer in Europa en het Verenigd Koninkrijk op de agenda stonden.

Of andere artiesten Yorkes voorbeeld zullen volgen, is koffiedik kijken. De organisatie in Werchter wacht op een beslissing van de overheid om te beslissen of haar festivals dit jaar kunnen plaatsvinden. Die knoop wordt midden maart doorgehakt. Eerder liet festivalbaas Herman Schueremans weten dat hij een latere datum niet uitsluit. (Bron: Nieuwsblad)

Metalfestival Graspop gaat dit jaar niet door, meldt de organisatie vrijdag. De 25ste editie die normaal gezien had moeten plaatsvinden van 17 tot 20 juni 2021 is uitgesteld naar 16 tot en met 19 juni 2022. “We hadden niet liever gewild dan metalfans van over de hele wereld te verwelkomen in Dessel in juni, maar helaas zal dat niet mogelijk zijn”, klinkt het. “De veiligheid van bezoekers, crew en artiesten is steeds onze grootste bezorgdheid.”

​Graspop gooit dus voor het tweede jaar op rij (noodgedwongen) de handdoek omwille van de coronacrisis en de onzekerheden die dat met zich meebrengt voor grote publieksevenementen, ook komende zomer nog. Het festival zegt wel “beter en sterker dan ooit” te willen terugkeren in 2022 en zoveel mogelijk bands van de geplande editie van dit jaar te willen overzetten naar volgend jaar. Dat deden ze ook al inzake het uitstel van de editie 2020.

Tickethouders worden binnenkort door Ticketmaster persoonlijk gecontacteerd met meer details, maar volgens Graspop worden de tickets overgeheveld naar 2022. “Onze dank gaat uit naar alle fans die hun tickets lieten overzetten van 2020 naar 2021”, klinkt het nog. “Jullie trouw en steun in deze tijden zijn wat ons rechthoudt.”
​
Graspop hoopt deze zomer wel nog in een of andere vorm iets te kunnen organiseren, maar daarover zal pas later duidelijkheid zijn. Op de affiche stonden onder meer Aerosmith, Faith No More, Deep Purple, Deftones, Foreigner, Judas Priest, Killing Joke, Korn, The Offspring en Volbeat.
​
Ook in Nederland werd al aangekondigd dat een aantal festivals niet kunnen doorgaan. Zo zal onder meer Best Kept Secret in Hilvarenbeek niet kunnen plaatsvinden. (bron: Nieuwsblad)

new single by dream pop trio
out 26.02.21
[Metropolis Records]

digital services link
ingroov.es/castaway-zj
​
video
youtu.be/17hit43PFpYd

from the album
CASTAWAY
out 23.04.21

Los Angeles based dream pop trio Tashaki Miyaki have just released a single and video of the title song from their forthcoming second album, ‘Castaway’, which will be released on 23rd April via Metropolis Records.

Singer, drummer and producer Paige Stark states that the song “is about the challenges of romantic love and how we are all bad at it in one way or another. The idea of a castaway in all this is that no one understands the relationship except the people in it, so you really are stuck on an island alone together there. Maybe you make it back to the mainland, or maybe you stay on the island.”

Stark also shot the Sofia Coppola-inspired video on film, adding: "I wanted to tap into all the feelings that can come up in love relationships: anger, sadness, loneliness, vulnerability, stillness, joy, romance, longing. The actress in it has a beautifully expressive face and I've known her for a long time. I knew we would be able to create those moments together. I wanted it to feel like the camera was her lover, capturing her in various private moments, moods and feelings.”

Tashaki Miyaki are explorers of dreamy, hazy, melodic guitar pop. Though its three members are self-described "California kids", their sound is influenced by far more than west coast attitude. They each have broad tastes that span the Great American Songbook, Sun Records, Doo-Wop, “the 60’s & 70’s things everyone loves”, their hero “Uncle Neil”, Punk, “Everything in the 90’s” and past and current hip-hop.

‘Castaway’ is the follow-up to 2017’s ‘The Dream’ and expands their musical palette while broadening their emotional range via songs circling themes of love, memory and time that are sumultaneously haunting, soothing and arresting.

The album also sees them deconstruct the sound perfected on their debut and reboot. “We decided no wah pedal for most of the record,” explains Stark. “We tried to incorporate new soundscapes. Like, what if there isn’t as much reverb on everything? What would be the less obvious sonic choice? What if everything isn’t as fuzzy and smeary? What sounds have we not tried? What if we let stuff be a little naked? What does that sound like?”

Stark has also pushed her lyrics into a more personal direction. “The album title comes from this thing a friend would say, calling himself a ‘castaway from decent society’. I also feel like a castaway a lot of the time. When I wrote the title track, I was thinking about love and how it changes over time if you stay in something long enough. It gets hard. And sometimes you feel stuck. It’s a pretty melancholy record, I guess. I always try to be direct, but I didn’t have as much life lived on the first record. I saw things very black and white, and perhaps simpler. Now I see a lot more grey and a lot more complexity.”


facebook.com/tashakimiyaki
instagram.com/tashakimiyaki
tashakimiyaki.bandcamp.com

"We put a lot of heart and soul into making this happen in the midst of all that’s going on. Please check it out, and please share it. We need all y’all to see it, I mean everyone and their dog! Thank you for all of your support!"  

​
​De Big Damn Band van dominee Peyton gaf liveshows die bijna leuker zijn dan de wet toestaat. Hun nieuwe album release, Dance Songs For Hard Times, staat gepland voor 9 april via Family Owned Records. De eerste single, "Ways and Means", is echter al de straat op gegaan, samen met een bijbehorende video. Het is geen live nummer, maar je zou het nooit weten.


De goede dominee zelf, geïnspireerd als hij is door wijlen, Great Charley Patton, heeft een krachtig instrument in zijn keel dat hij loslaat, samen met ongelooflijk lenig gitaarwerk. Washboard Breezy zingt, danst en baant zich een weg door het nummer met roekeloze overgave, terwijl drummer Sad Max Senteney speelt alsof het zijn laatste keer achter de kit is.

Al met al is "Ways and Means" een typisch Big Damn Band-nummer, wat wil zeggen dat er niets typisch aan is. Van de wasserette tot de rub-a-dub-dansers, het is een feest bij de schoonmakers en we zijn allemaal uitgenodigd. Vraag het aan je moeder, ze zal hetzelfde zeggen.
​

​James Burke, a member of the classic Chicago soul group the Five Stairsteps died February 19, 2021. He was 70. James Brother and bandmate, Dennis Burke, confirmed James’ death to Rolling Stone, adding that the cause was pneumonia but unrelated to Covid-19 complications.
Formed in the mid-1960s, the Five Stairsteps scored a string of hits, including their 1970 classic “O-o-h Child,” to earn the moniker, “the First Family of Soul.” Burke family patriarch, Clarence Burke, Sr., a former Chicago police detective, formed and managed the group, which consisted of his four sons, Clarence Jr., James, Dennis, and Keni, and daughter, Alohe. The band’s name came from their mother, Betty, who said her children resembled a staircase when lined-up by age and height.

​THE LYRICS: 1956 TO THE PRESENT 
 By Paul McCartney
A self-portrait in 154 songs, by our greatest living songwriter

Edited and introduced by Paul Muldoon
Published by Allen Lane on 2 November 2021

​‘More often than I can count, I’ve been asked if I would write an autobiography, but the time has never been right. The one thing I’ve always managed to do, whether at home or on the road, is to write new songs. I know that some people, when they get to a certain age, like to go to a diary to recall day-to-day events from the past, but I have no such notebooks. What I do have are my songs, hundreds of them, which I’ve learned serve much the same purpose. And these songs span my entire life’ Paul McCartney, The Lyrics

In this extraordinary book, with unparalleled candour, Paul McCartney recounts his life and art through the prism of 154 songs from all stages of his career – from his earliest boyhood compositions through the legendary decade of The Beatles, to Wings and his solo albums to the present. Arranged alphabetically to provide a kaleidoscopic rather than chronological account, it establishes definitive texts of the songs’ lyrics for the first time and describes the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what he thinks of them now. Presented with this is a treasure trove of material from McCartney’s personal archive – drafts, letters, photographs – never seen before, which make this also a unique visual record of one of the greatest songwriters of all time.

We learn intimately about the man, the creative process, the working out of melodies, the moments of inspiration. The voice and personality of Paul McCartney sings off every page. There has never been a book about a great musician like it.

‘I hope that what I’ve written will show people something about my songs and my life which they haven’t seen before. I’ve tried to say something about how the music happens and what it means to me and I hope what it may mean to others too’ Paul McCartney

‘Based on conversations I had with Paul McCartney over a five year period, these commentaries are as close to an autobiography as we may ever come. His insights into his own artistic process confirm a notion at which we had but guessed — that Paul McCartney is a major literary figure who draws upon, and extends, the long tradition of poetry in English’ Paul Muldoon  

Watch the trailer here.


About the authors:
Born in Liverpool in 1942, Paul McCartney was raised in the city and educated at the Liverpool Institute. Since writing his first song at 14, McCartney has dreamed and dared to be different. He lives in England.

Paul Muldoon is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of fourteen full-length collections of poetry, including his new collection Howdie-Skelp.​

BEM Records/Amplified Distribution proudly announces the North American May 21st release of Storyteller, the new album from Irish blues-rock guitar sensation Eamonn (pronounced “A-min”) McCormack. Maybe it’s something in the water over there, because music seems to be embedded into Irish people’s DNA; and international blues-rock singer/songwriter/ guitarist Eamonn McCormack is no exception.
 
Eamonn McCormack is the latest emerging Irish star and is already well-known throughout Europe. Storyteller is his seventh album and is jam-packed with 11 original tracks, the core of which were recorded live in the studio to capture the true essence of Eamonn and his young energetic band: Eamonn McCormack (guitars, all vocals and harmonica); Edgar Karg (bass guitar): and Max Jung-Poppe (drums and percussion); with additional contributions from producer Arne Wiegand (piano and organ). Going into the studio, the band was still on fire after an ecstatic live performance at Germany’s renowned “Rockpalast” TV show just days before. 
 
“Storyteller is my most personal album to date and I believe it captures snapshots of my life and travels,” McCormack says about the new disc. “For Storyteller, my approach was a little different, too. For starters, I wrote the complete 11 songs sitting on a couch with an acoustic guitar and the record button pressed on my phone, as opposed to electric strapped on my back and putting ideas down track my track in my home studio.
 
“That different approach seemed to have me focus more on the storyline, the vibe and the melody instead of the guitar riff-based approach. Oddly enough, although written with an acoustic, a couple of tracks end up pretty heavy rock-wise.”

Producer Arne Wigand knows what energy in music is all about, and that’s exactly what he achieved in capturing the “hairs on-the-back-of-your-neck” vibe of the tracks. From the slow, emotional songs to the fast-rocking tracks, Storyteller is a full-throttle musical thrill ride. It offers just the right blend of thoughtful ballads and light-hearted lyrics into the whole mix, too.
 
“Guitar soloing came to mind after the songs were finished, and I just followed my gut feeling and played them for the song,” McCormack admits about the recording. “For the most part, first takes live in the studio were used. The more I record, the more I realize first takes tend to have a spontaneity emotion to them, sort of a direct link to your inner soul. Maybe even a primal scream flavor, rather than using your head to figure out what licks might work here and there.”
 
Storyteller is a roller-coaster ride of feelings, as Eamonn takes listeners through his stories and a glimpse deep into his inner soul, gripping your emotions in all the right places. Before the end of the first song, it’s apparent that this is no ordinary guitar player fresh from the University of YouTube lessons; this is as real as it gets, performed from someone who has lived it!
 
“The first track on the album, ‘The Great Famine,’ is rather personal to me,” he says, “because it's a dark part of our Irish history and one my great-grand-parents lived through. We had studied it in high school, and for decades I wanted to write a song about this sad event that happened. My manager visited an exhibition about the Great Famine in Dublin, and when I picked him up at the door, there was a large black and white picture from that period, so I took a photo of it and said to him, ‘OK, now I have the photo to remind me, it's time now to write that song.’”
Many musical influences creep into Storyteller, as listeners hear how unique and diverse he really is, which separates him from most; and the one interesting personal achievement is the fact that Eamonn actually got to play, tour and record with most of his childhood idols, including everyone from Rory Gallagher to ZZ Top and Johnny Winter to Walter Trout.
As a live performer, he is as exciting as it gets; no gimmicks, just pure energy and emotion. Eamonn’s a true road warrior who performs mostly original songs, but when he does play a cover puts his very own stamp on it. He’s also a festival favorite that has got to rock some of the biggest and best-known festivals in the world.
Eamonn McCormack was born in the center of Dublin, and raised in a north side suburb. He started playing guitar at six, and by 12 had already decided he would dedicate his life to being a musician and becoming the best he could be. Soon, the young teenager acquired his first electric guitar (a Guild Starfire), progressed to lead guitar and joined a local garage cover band prior to playing his first paid gig. At 16, Eamonn performed live on a national Irish radio show soon won a major high school competition performing his own material. By then, his personal musical favorites included Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Thin Lizzy and Dutch group Focus.
After a short stint playing in various bands throughout Ireland, Eamonn headed off to the USA, where he performed extensively. He later joined a band in California that was an offshoot from Canned Heat and JJ Cale once showed up to jam with them. There, he broadened his musical horizons, gained vital stage experience and absorbed fresh American music and cultural influences. This blended together nicely with his earlier influences.
Returning to Ireland after four years traveling and performing in the States, Eamonn was by then developing a very unique style and sound all of his own. This style was solidified while Eamonn performed live extensively under the stage name, “Samuel Eddy,” establishing himself across Europe the hard way through a grueling tour schedule. Samuel Eddy and his band were rewarded for their efforts and garnered the reputation as major European music festival favorites.

Eamonn as Samuel Eddy signed with Universe Productions/Virgin Records and later SPV Records worldwide, recording three critically-acclaimed studio albums that sold very well, confirming an exciting young up-and-coming world-class guitarist was emerging out of Ireland.
Throughout the last decade or so, a young Eamonn played, toured and recorded with many of his earliest guitar influences, such as Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter, Jan Akkerman, Pat Travers, Walter Trout, Brian “Robbo” Robertson (Thin Lizzy) and Nils Lofgren. Another highlight of this period was Eamonn and his band’s unforgettable performance at the Parkpop Festival in Holland to an audience of half a million people, sharing the bill with Robert Plant among others. Eamonn also got to play the prestigious “Rockpalast” in Germany on a bill with Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Band that was televised and broadcast across Europe.
On his own label, Eamonn decided to release a “best-of “ type album, consisting mainly of re-mastered Samuel Eddy tracks, along with eight newer un-released songs engineered in Dublin by Paul Thomas (U2, Phil Lynott), before finishing a great year successfully with a blinding show opening for the legendary ZZ Top in Amsterdam. He also decided to drop his old moniker and revert to his real name, Eamonn McCormack. His “best-of” album, Kindred Spirits, was a great success and featured older tracks with such special guests as Rory Gallagher and Jan Akkerman.
Following the success of Kindred Spirits, Eamonn decided to take a break from the road, travel the world and write some new material. Along the way, he jammed with various artists in the USA, Mexico and Hong Kong, before returning to the studio - this time in Germany - and recorded his fifth album, Heal My Faith, on In Akustik Records. The album was very well received and it put Eamonn back full-time firmly on the road as a recording/touring artist. 
Eamonn followed up with a double album recorded and produced in the UK by the late Grammy- nominated Chris Tsangarides (Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy), and his band consisted of Jonathan Noyce (Jethro Tull) on bass & Darrin Mooney (Gary Moore) on drums. The album, Like There’s No Tomorrow, which garnered five-star reviews across-the-board, featured one disc of electric playing and the other acoustic-based, proving Eamonn’s talent as an accomplished acoustic writer and performer, as well as showcasing his other skills on harmonica and mandolin.
More touring and mind-blowing festival appearances followed, as agents and equipment companies started pursuing Eamonn with the kind of fervor reserved for only a select few top-tier musicians. New management and new label have come on board, and the highlight to last year and the end of a decade, was Eamonn being invited to perform again on “Rockpalast” in Germany alongside Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
Storyteller is the product of all the musical, spiritual and physical journeys Eamonn McCormack has traveled over the last 10 years, and he invites the listener to sit back and enjoy the ride with him. And never, ever, ever think of missing him live when he’s in your area!
 
www.eamonnmccormack.net
​

Status Quotes is een band met een missie en die is het eren van de muziek van de legendarische Engelse band Status Quo en dan met name de roemruchte jaren ‘70, toen Quo rockte als geen ander.
 
Een zeer succesvolle  band ook. De Nederlandse band speelde in 2019 o.a. op de International Quo Convention in Minehead, Engeland voor een uitzinnig publiek waaronder de originele Quo-leden bassist Alan Lancaster en drummer John Coghlan.
 
Status Quo producer John Eden heeft de onlangs verschenen single “Your Smiling Face'' (van dat optreden) gemixed en gemastered. Hij nam dit nummer in 1978 op met Quo in de Wisseloord studio in Hilversum. Het nummer is in digitale vorm uitgebracht en beschikbaar via de bekende platforms. 
​
Hier een link naar John Eden 's filmpje over de samenwerking: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN2-6MeVnig&t=70s
Hier de link naar een promo ervan: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1NAhapLLlQ&t=0s

​Op 6 maart is de release van de DVD “Status Quotes - Live! In Minehead”. Een registratie van het eerder genoemde headline optreden op de driedaagse Fanclub Convention in de UK.
STATUS QUOTES - LIVE! IN MINEHEAD, DVD promoteaser ( Status Quo Tribute) - YouTube
 
Een en ander zal worden ondersteund met een DVD livestream releaseshow waarin Status Quotes een volledig concert doet via: https://www.mellomusic.live/
Ticket en info link: www.statusquotes.nl
 
STATUS QUOTES:
Toon Eppink – gitaar/zang
Raymond Nijenhuis – gitaar/zang
Harry Kruisselbrink – bas/harmonica/zang
Rens Hardijzer – drums

​Gene Summers born David Eugene Summers (January 3, 1939 – February 17, 2021) was born in Dallas, Texas. Gene was married to songwriter Deanna Summers from 1961 until her death in 2017. They have three sons Dusty, Steve, and Shawn. Gene's family posted news of his death on his Facebook page after a month-long hospitalization due to an injury sustained at home.
Gene graduated from Duncanville High School in 1957 and attended Arlington State College, now known as the University of Texas at Arlington. That same year, he formed the rockabilly band The Rebels and performed on Joe Bill's Country Picnic on KRLD-TV where they were spotted by songwriter Jed Tarver. This led to the band being signed by newly founded Jan Records. Their first record was released on February 1, 1958, under the name of Gene Summers & His Rebels.
Gene was an American rock singer. His recordings include "School of Rock 'n Roll", "Straight Skirt", "Nervous", "Gotta Lotta That", "Twixteen", "Alabama Shake", "Fancy Dan" and his biggest-selling single "Big Blue Diamonds". Gene was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1997 and The Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame in 2005. He still performed worldwide and celebrated his 50th anniversary as a recording artist in 2008 with the release of Reminisce Cafe.
Gene, who was still popular on the back of two regional hits "Straight Skirt"/"School Of Rock 'n Roll", and "Nervous"/"Gotta Lotta That", was playing in east Dallas at the 123 Club with his new group of Rebels which included lead guitarist and original Rebel James McClung, bass player Jack Castleberry, drummer Charlie Mendias and Codine Craft on piano. When Craft married and left the band, she was replaced by pianist/frontman C.W. Kendall formerly of the Big Beats - "Clark's Expedition" and "The Big Beats Live At The Off-Broadway" an LP issued by Liberty Records. By May 1961, Gene and the Tom Toms were touring the US with the Chuck Berry show. The Tom Toms continued to make music through the first part of 1965 playing, primarily, at the Guthrey Club in Dallas at Corinth and Industrial, before splitting up later that year, for a variety of personal and professional reasons.

Andra Day lost 40 pounds, smoked cigarettes and drank spirits to portray Billie Holiday.

The 36-year-old actress-and-singer went through a major body transformation and consumed alcohol and tobacco to play the late jazz legend in Lee Daniels' upcoming biopic, 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday'.

Based on the book 'Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs,' the documentary film follows Holiday (Day) in the 1940s as she is targeted by the government in an effort to racialize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her controversial song, 'Strange Fruit'.

And in order to depict the 'I’ll Be Seeing You' hitmaker's heavy drinking and heroin addiction and to get a "period body", Andra decided to lose weight, which made her feel "very weak on set", drink gin and bourbon, and smoke, despite not being a drinker or smoker.

In an interview with W magazine, she said: "There was the drastic weight loss. So I was originally 163 when I started. I got down to 124. I don't necessarily recommend.

"For me, it was like I didn't want my body to look like a gym body of 2020, or 2019 at the time. For me, it was important having a period body. The other thing is it made me very weak on set and slowed me down in a way that really helped with the heroin."

The two-time Golden Globes nominee insisted you are "not really supposed to" do any of the above, but it really helped her channel Holiday - who died from complications from cirrhosis of the liver on July 17, 1959 at age 44.

She continued: "I started smoking cigarettes, which I don't do. I don't smoke anything. First of all, I have no frame of reference for myself smoking, so it makes me feel like her. It slows me down. She's like molasses - I'm very fast. And when I had to do scenes where I was high on heroin, it really helped my physical body to nod in a way that I was just focusing on the emotion. And I don't drink alcohol, but I did drink a lot of gin and bourbon and all of that stuff, even though you're really not supposed to do that."

The 'Marshall' star was willing to do anything to her appearance not to be "terrible" at her portrayal of the Grammy-winner.
She added: "Look, I was desperate. I didn't want to be terrible, so I was like, 'Whatever we have to do in this moment, for this role. Cut off all my hair." 

De geliefde Australische singer-songwriter RY X komt op zondag 13 maart 2022 naar De Roma in Antwerpen. Tickets zijn te koop vanaf vrijdag 26 februari om 11u via livenation.be en deroma.be.

Zijn verstilde gitaarspel, zijn breekbare, ijle stemgeluid én een vleugje subtiele elektronica: meer heeft RY X niet nodig om zijn publiek onder te dompelen in zijn dromerige muzikale universum. Na het onwaarschijnlijke succes van de minimalistische parel 'Berlin' in 2013 en debuutalbum 'Dawn' in 2016 veroverde de Australische singer-songwriter in geen tijd de wereld. Begin dit jaar bracht de Australiër zijn voorlopig laatste album uit. Op 'Live from the Royal Albert Hall' hoor je de volledige live-set die hij in de iconische zaal speelde samen met het London Contemporary Orchestra.
 
Live is RY X een unieke ervaring, zo bewees hij twee jaar geleden ook in de broeierige KluB C op Rock Werchter. Met zijn nieuwe tour staat de nu al legendarische singer-songwriter voor het eerst sinds lang nog eens op Europese bodem.

 
Dit concert is een co-productie van Live Nation en De Roma.

 
START TICKETVERKOOP
VRIJDAG 26 FEBRUARI, 11:00

TICKETS VIA
LIVENATION.BE
DEROMA.BE
​
TICKETPRIJZEN
€ 32 - € 30
(incl. servicekosten)

Naar aanleiding van de genomen maatregelen door de Belgische regering om het coronavirus (COVID-19) in te dijken, kunnen veel evenementen niet plaatsvinden op de voorziene datum. Het concert van Amy Macdonald, dat zou plaatsvinden op 22 april 2021 in Ancienne Belgique, wordt hierdoor uitgesteld naar zondag 6 maart 2022.
 
Tickethouders worden persoonlijk via mail gecontacteerd.
Er zijn nog tickets te koop voor deze nieuwe datum, meer info via livenation.be.
 
De gezondheid en veiligheid van artiesten, fans en medewerkers is onze grootste prioriteit. Blijf de richtlijnen van de overheden opvolgen. Zorg voor jezelf en elkaar.
  
IN VERKOOP!
TICKETS VIA

LIVENATION.BE
TICKETPRIJS
39 EURO
(INCL. MOBILITEIT & SERVICEKOSTEN)

Van de Amerikaanse zanger/singersongwriter/gitarist Tim Scott McConnell is “Black Valley” zijn vijfde solo-album onder de noemer Ledfoot. McConnell is al actief sinds de jaren 70 als solo-artiest en als lid van diverse formaties. In de jaren 80 genoot hij vooral bekendheid als lid van The Rockats en in de jaren 90 met de band The Havalinas. In die laatste hoedanigheid tourde McConnell o.a. als voorprogramma van Bob Dylan tijdens zijn “No Mercy”-tour in Engeland en Frankrijk. Als componist schreef hij vele songs voor uiteenlopende acts van TNT (rock) tot Sheena Easton (pop). Belangrijkste wapenfeit is dat hij de track “High Hopes” schreef van het gelijknamige album van Bruce Springsteen uit 2014. In 2007 verscheen zijn debuut-album “The Devil’s Songbook” onder de naam Ledfoot; “I put together the different techniques from over 30 years of playing, combined a 12-string guitar with steel fingerpicks, a brass slide, open-tuning, very heavy strings and a stomp box, mixing this with a dark lyrical & melodic sense and dubbing it ‘gothic blues’, a sound close to the murder ballad tradition”. Vorig jaar verscheen van Ledfoot nog het meer melodische singersongwriter duo-album “A Death Divine” dat hij samen met TNT’s Ronni Le Tekro opnam, maar “Black Valley” is de ware opvolger van zijn vierde album “White Crow” dat in 2019 een Spellemansprisen (een soort van Noorse Grammy) won in de categorie ‘Best Blues Album’!
​

​The Paris-born electronic music duo Daft Punk are no more. The group, consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, confirmed the breakup with an eight-minute video titled “Epilogue” excerpted from their 2006 science fiction film Electroma, according to Pitchfork, which also confirmed the news with Daft Punk’s publicist.
Daft Punk formed in 1993 in Paris and would go on to have a monumental effect on the emerging house and techno scenes of Europe and later all of pop music around the globe, with landmark albums like 1997’s Homework and 2001’s Discovery and singles like “Around the World” and “One More Time.”
A standout of Daft Punk’s early career included the anime film ‘Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem’. It told a visualized narrative of their album Discovery in partnership with legendary Japanese studio Toei Animation and manga artist Leiji Matsumoto.
The duo became increasingly elusive throughout the 2000s as they retreated behind their signature robotic helmets and made sparingly few public appearances and even fewer interviews. Though even as they paused production on follow-up albums after 2005’s Human After All, Daft Punk stayed relevant through prescient infusions of dance music into mainstream culture.
They licensed “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” to rapper Kanye West for his 2007 single “Stronger” and the duo put the Coachella Music Festival on the map with an absurd, expensive, and unforgettable performance the year prior when they debuted their now-iconic pyramid stage. They also produced their first film score with the Tron: Legacy soundtrack in 2010.
In 2013, Daft Punk released Random Access Memories, an album dedicated to live instrumentation and the American roots of funk and disco. It went on to win numerous Grammy Awards and cemented Daft Punk as legends of genre-blending pop music. It would be their final album.

Gene Taylor, a boogie-woogie blues piano player and singer, who as a teenager in Los Angeles performed with such blues legends as Big Joe Turner and T-Bone Walker, and later as a longtime member of The Blasters and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, died Saturday (February 20, 2021). The news of Taylor’s death at age 68 was announced by musician Dave Alvin, who noted that his friend and longtime bandmate in the Blasters had died in his sleep in Austin, Tex.

“At 17 he had a full beard, could easily buy booze, smoked cigars and, most importantly, was already a boogie/blues piano master,” wrote Alvin in his tribute. “All of us Blasters were always odd ducks and odd balls and Gene was no different. Through the years we could fight verbally and physically but we never lost sight of who we were, where we came from, who we learned from and who we loved.”

Taylor was born in Norwalk, Calif., a Los Angeles suburb, on July 2, 1952. At the age of eight, he came under the influence of a family of blues and boogie-woogie players who moved in next door. After starting out with the drums, he switched to the piano and the guitar at age 10. He learned very quickly playing by ear and, at age 11, he began performing with his best friend Jim Payne and Jim’s parents. They worked occasional neighborhood functions, playing country music.
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Having lost both his parents and brother by the age of 15, Taylor was firmly committed to the life of a musician. After obtaining his driver’s license at age 16—and looking much older, thanks to an already-receding hairline—he started finding local work with such L.A.-based blues legends as Big Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker, Lowell Fulson and Pee-Wee Crayton. In his own words, “Well, I was playing good boogie-woogie and pretty fair blues at this point, and going to blues jams with my fake ID. Since I was young and would work cheap, I was hired by these guys sometimes as a fill-in on local gigs for the older piano players who weren’t available or wanted too much money!” During this period, he met both James Harman and Phil and Dave Alvin—who later formed The Blasters.

After working for Harman during most of 1974, Taylor was asked to join Canned Heat, which he did until 1976—giving him his first international exposure.

In 1978, Taylor moved to Toronto, Canada, to play music with his friend Morgan Davis, a well-known Canadian bluesman. He was based in Canada for some time, though he continued to perform with other artists world-wide. During his years there he played and recorded with many musicians, including Ronnie Hawkins. During this period he also was a member of The Amos Garrett, Doug Sahm, Gene Taylor Band—releasing a Juno Award-winning album, The Return of the Formerly Brothers (1987) and another recording, Live in Japan (1990).

While working with James Harman again, in 1981, Taylor was asked to join the Blasters–a roots band that blended rockabilly, early rock ‘n’ roll, and country influences–that was composed of four friends from his teenage years (Phil and Dave Alvin, John Bazz and Bill Bateman). He played with them for four years, recording four critically acclaimed albums including their 1981 self-titled release.

In between Blasters engagements, Taylor also toured with Rick Nelson. In 1986, Taylor released his first solo album, Handmade. Veteran record label executive Bill Bentley shared a story of how the album was made.

“Gene and Blasters’ drum whiz Bill Bateman showed up one day at Amigo Studio in North Hollywood and off we went,” he wrote in his tribute. “The album was going to be just piano and drums. What else did you need when the musicians were those two? As the day turned to night, things got good and steamy in the studio. Around three in the morning, all that was left to drink was vodka and Squirt, and that was good enough for Gene. He’d stripped down to his boxer shorts and hightop army boots, playing the piano like his life depended on it. Because it probably did.
“After adding Canned Heat’s bassist Larry Taylor, Sheiks of Shake harmonica ace Louie Lista and Earth, Wind & Fire’s tenor player Andrew Woolfolk later to a few songs, the album was done. Not many people heard it, and I learned I just didn’t have the patience to produce records, even an album that took two days. But boy was it fun trying.”

The Fabulous Thunderbirds, fall, 1995. L-R: Willie J. Campbell, Gene Taylor, Kim Wilson, Fran Christina, Kid Ramos
After leaving the Blasters, Taylor worked around Canada as a solo artist and with the Downchild Blues Band—a band that, years before, had inspired their fellow-Canadian Dan Aykroyd to create the Blues Brothers. He did more Blasters tours in 1991-1992.
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In 1993, Taylor relocated to Austin, Tex., and joined the Fabulous Thunderbirds, continuing with them until 2006, while touring constantly and recording two studio albums and one live album with the band, and on two of T-Bird leader Kim Wilson’s solo CDs. In between, Taylor released a self-titled CD and participated in all the tours and recordings of the “Original Blasters Reunion” from 2002-2003.

​Miles Seaton, a musician, and co-founder of the experimental rock outfit Akron/Family has died. He was 41.
Phil Waldorf, co-founder of Akron/Family’s label Dead Oceans, confirmed Seaton’s death, although a cause was not announced. In a thread on Twitter, Waldorf shared memories of old Akron/Family shows and hearing their song “River” for the first time. “Miles was one of a kind person, in a one of a kind band,” he wrote. “It’s a rush of emotions. Akron/Family are the type of band that underscores the whole reason Dead Oceans exists. I feel lucky that I knew Miles, and sad that I have to say goodbye. We hope you’ll share some memories. There are too many for me to count right now.”
Akron/Family is an American folk-influenced experimental rock band that formed in 2002, and its members currently live in Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles, California; and Joshua Tree, California. Though each member of the band—Dana Janssen, Seth Olinsky, and Miles Seaton—can be relegated to loosely defined roles, all members play several instruments and sing, as evidenced by their shows and recorded material. Live, the band uses improvisation and three-part harmonies in prominence.
On their self-titled debut record, field recordings of a creaking chair, thunderclaps, and the white noise of a television find their way alongside psychedelic and electronic elements, guitars, and a glockenspiel. Between 2003 and 2007 the band was the hub of a social scene in Williamsburg, Brooklyn which revolved around the "Gimme! Coffee" coffee shop.[citation needed] Many of the events of this period served as material for songs. In 2003, the band began sending demos to Young God Records label head Michael Gira, who announced the following year their signing to the label.

​Questlove is set to direct a forthcoming documentary about funk titan Sly Stone. Common will serve as an executive producer on the film. The project does not yet have a title or release date.
In a press release, Questlove said, “It goes beyond saying that Sly’s creative legacy is in my DNA…. It’s a Black musician’s blueprint…. To be given the honor to explore his history and legacy is beyond a dream for me.”
Sly Stone co-founded the Sly and the Family Stone in San Francisco in 1966, and the group immediately stood out for their inventive funk music that brought soul and R&B together with psychedelic rock. While the band weas massively successful and shifted the landscape of popular music with its innovation, Sly Stone struggled with substance misuse, which derailed decades of his later artistic career. By the early 2010s, he was living out of a camper van, but has more recently been fighting to recover millions of dollars in royalty payments.
Another Sly Stone documentary was set to debut in 2019, but that film has yet to come to fruition. Michael Jackson’s estate purchased the rights to the Sly and the Family Stone catalog the same year.
Questlove premiered his directorial debut Summer of Soul, a documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, at Sundance earlier this month. The film won the festival’s esteemed Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award, and will eventually appear on Hulu.

​Mark Anthony Morales (February 19, 1968 – February 18, 2021), better known by the stage name Prince Markie Dee born in Brooklyn, New York. Morales once dated and was engaged to rapper Pepa sometime during the mid-1980s. Morales died in Miami, Florida one day before his 53rd birthday. Morales reportedly died of congestive heart failure, as reported by All Hip Hop after suffering “distressing” health issues.
Morales established Disco 3 together with Darren Robinson and Damon Wimbley in the early 1980s. After winning a talent contest at the Radio City Music Hall in 1983, they signed a contract with the show's promoter. The promoter recommended the group to rename themselves to Fat Boys, in reference to their weight
Morales was an American rapper, songwriter, producer, and radio personality. Morales was a member of the Fat Boys, a pioneering rap group that gained fame during the 1980s. Morales was the vice-president of Uncle Louie Music Group. Morales's accomplishments with the Fat Boys include seven full-length albums. Of these, three attained gold certification, and one – Crushin' (1987) – reached platinum. Their hit song from that album which featured The Beach Boys, "Wipeout", peaked to number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The trio also appeared in the comedy film Disorderlies that same year.
They had earlier starred in the feature films Krush Groove (1985) and Knights of the City (1986). The Fat Boys attempted to broaden their artistic scope by releasing On and On (1989), a rap opera album. Its lack of success hastened the demise of the group. They released one more album, Mack Daddy (1991), before disbanding soon afterward. After the Fat Boys, Morales went on to a successful solo career. He signed with Columbia Records and released a solo album, Free (1992). It included a #1 hit single, "Typical Reasons (Swing My Way)".
After joining with Cory Rooney to form a production company, Soul Convention, Morales wrote and produced tracks for such artists as Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, Craig Mack, and Marc Anthony. He notably did this for Blige's first album, What's the 411? (1992), as well as her hit song from that album, "Real Love".

Austin's Megan Lacy is releasing her debut EP, Salvation on March 5th. Salvation was years in the making and really showcases Lacy's lyrical mastery and phenomenal vocal quality. Recorded King Electric Studios in Austin with Justin Douglas at the helm, the EP features an incredible band that perfectly surrounds the aforementioned Lacy vocals. The songs are haunting and sweet at the same time. The lead single, "Carolina" has the protagonist attempting to run from her past and realizing that it never works. The centerpiece of the EP is the title track, which serves as Lacy's anthem for forgiveness and learning the power of our own limitations. Douglas kept the arrangements stripped down on Salvation to allow the songs themselves to shine. this is not to say the sound is lacking a fullness in any way. 

Lacy says of the album, "Salvation is deeply personal to each individual, yet our experiences coincide. The most  fascinating part is that whatever saves you is yours to keep. Often these are the things that  someone else might have thrown away. The record depicts how we ultimately end up using  the darkness to find the light."

Originally from Northern California, Lacy has been based in Austin, Texas for several years now. Her style effortlessly spans the breadth of traditional American music, while remaining softly influenced by her own list of cult genres, giving her a unique but powerful voice in the expansive universe of modern music. 

www.MeganLacyMusic.com ​

De release shows van  Matt’s recentste album “Queens” konden begin maart 2020 nog nét de Corona tsunami voorblijven met fel gesmaakte shows in de AB, Handelsbeurs en Arenberg… de tientallen geboekte shows van de Queens-tour moesten helaas sneuvelen…en werden zo veel mogelijk verplaatst naar later dit jaar. Singles “Sha La La  La Jim” en “Lula” haalden airplay op diverse zenders (o.m Radio 1 en Willy) en voor deze  laatste werd een zinderende live sessie ingeblikt…
Géén shows maar wel tijd om aan veel nieuwe muziek te werken. Onder productionele leiding van Stef Kamil Carlens wordt er nu alvast een nieuwe single uitgebracht.
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​Matt Watts: “Singing Partner” was written in part as an ode to pop icon Karen Carpenter, the expectations put upon you by others, and the desire to find a tender deliverance with one another”.
Sinds hun eerste collaboratie in 2016 met Zita Swoon Group's production The Ballad of  Erol Klof, tot Matt Watts Group album "Queens" van vorig jaar, vinden beiden mekaar dikwijls in  avontuurlijke producties, co-writes en live-performances
Opgenomen in Carlens' eigen studio The Rabbit Field met naast vintage programmed beats en synths ook  contemporary bijdragen van  Thomas De Prins  (Score Man) en Nel Ponsaers (The Golden Glows).
De cover foto werd in Brussel genomen door Carlens, met naast Watts de Belgische upcoming fashion designer, Sarah De Saint Hubert.
Matt  Watts is tevens lid van zowel het Brusselse collectief Individual Friends, waarvan dit voorjaar nieuw werk verschijnt, en Rudy Trouve’s band I H8- Camera waarmee afgelopen zomer o.m. op Jazz Middelheim werd gespeeld. Ook op het langverwachte nieuwe album van Mercelis zal hij te horen zijn.
 
Over “Queens”…
“Queens” is het vijfde album van Matt Watts en werd begin 2020 uitgebracht. Het werd geproduceerd door Stef Kamil Carlens en Nicolas Rombouts en bevat leden (en ex) van veelgeprezen Belgische bands zoals Moondog Jr, Zita Swoon, Eriksson Delcroix, Dez Mona, Guido Belcanto en KING DICK. Het album bevat gastbijdragen van Amerikaanse artiesten ‘Searching For The Wrong Eyed Jesus’ Jim White en Sandy Dillon.
De Pers over Queens:
“Die doorbraak moet er maar eens komen” (Het Nieuwsblad)
“De doorbraak van Matt Watts is aanstaande” (OOR)
“ Un album tendre d’un véritbale songwriter” (Le Soir)
“Queens is een album om opnieuw, opnieuw, opnieuw, te beluisteren (Keys and chords)
“Queens is een straf album dat Matt Watts nu maar eens eindelijk op de kaart moet zetten, ook in Nederland” (Rockportaal.nl)
“Deze Matt Watts Group bewijst op ‘Queens’ en live hoe artiesten elkaar naar een hoger niveau kunnen tillen (Musiczine)

De legendarische Nederlandse progressieve rockband Kayak kondigde onlangs hun inmiddels 18e studioalbum 'Out Of This World' aan,
​waarvan 7 mei 2021 de release is. 
​

​​Oprichter Ton Scherpenzeel: “Dit nummer gaat over het in mijn ogen ondoorgrondelijke mysterie en wonder dat de wereld om ons heen is. Ongeacht welke verbluffende vooruitgang de wetenschap boekt, en welke religie ons ook wil laten geloven, de essentie zal altijd zijn: het is een mysterie. Wat niet betekent dat we moeten stoppen met proberen alles uit te zoeken. “

Bekijk hier een korte teaser voor het nieuwe album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo-YUX4RbWM

​‘Out Of This World’ is het achttiende studioalbum van de band, met 15 nieuwe nummers, verspreid over 70 minuten. Energiek en ongelooflijk divers materiaal met nog altijd de herkenbare Kayak-sound. Het is duidelijk dat de nieuw gevonden energie nog meer in een stroomversnelling is gekomen sinds Hans Eijkenaar zich weer bij de groep heeft aangesloten. Hoewel ze alle tours moesten afzeggen omdat Ton Scherpenzeel eind 2019 een hartaanval kreeg, en de Covid-pandemie verder roet in het eten gooide, horen we een band die sinds het overlijden van Pim Koopman in 2009 niet meer zó samen, evenwichtig en gemotiveerd heeft geklonken.


De huidige line-up van de band is als volgt:


Ton Scherpenzeel - Keyboards, lead- en backingvocals
Bart Schwertmann - Lead- en backingvocals
Marcel Singor - Gitaar, lead en backingvocals
Kristoffer Gildenlöw - bas, lead en backingvocals
Hans Eijkenaar- Drums

​KAYAK online
www.kayakonline.info
https://www.facebook.com/Kayak-209230952473801/
https://www.facebook.com/ton.scherpenzeel

​Dirty beats, hypnotiserende slide, huilende mondharmonica en lekker veel fuzz.

Dat kan je verwachten van deze vierkoppige band uit België, met twee Vlaamse en twee Waalse muzikanten.

Boogie Beasts vertolken hun liefde voor elektrische delta-blues op geheel eigenzinnige wijze en dat klinkt ongeveer als: The Black Keys die in de vroege uurtjes van een of ander illegaal feestje aan het jammen slaan met John Lee Hooker, of Morphine op een psychedelische trip met Little Walter, of RL Burnside tijdens een juke joint-gig begeleid door de vroege Stones.
Met aanstekelijke energie zetten deze vier heren een uiterst smerige doch onweerstaanbare sound neer.


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​Boogie Beasts vieren dit jaar hun tienjarig bestaan en brengen meteen een nieuwe single uit. In de loop van dit feestjaar staan er nog 'speciallekes' op het programma.

Zaterdag 6 maart plant de band een unieke stream 'Tribute To The Roots' samen met hun vaste geluidsman/compagnon de route Koenraad Foesters, vanuit diens Studio Jupiter in Tongeren. Een éénmalige set met uitsluitend obscure bluescovers, waarbij het viertal op hun eigen manier een ode brengt aan hun roots.
 
Donderdag 25 maart: zet maar een kruisje in de agenda....details volgen.

​Vorige week nam radiozender Willy deel aan De Week van de Belgische Muziek door een hele week alleen maar Belgische muziek te draaien en op zoek te gaan naar een portie 'Verse Vis'. Vijf presentators Marcel Vanthilt, Stijn Meuris, Luc Janssen, Andries Beckers en Cedric Maes gooiden elk hun lijn uit om een groep te kiezen waarvan zij vinden dat die een extra duwtje in de rug verdient. Marcel en co. stelden hun vangst voor in de ochtendshow van Wim Oosterlinck (beluister hier het interview)  en elke band speelde er dan ook een livesessie.
 
Boogie Beasts werd aan de haak geslagen door Cedric Maes en ze speelden 'Howl' & 'Mad' live in de studio. Beide video's samen werden reeds meer dan 15.000 keer bekeken en eentje schopte het zelf tot 'populairste video'.

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- corona-jaar 2020: 'Howl' & 'Mine All Mine' - ​

​Jim Diamond, de Detroit garagerock ‘godfather’, die in het verleden al aan de knoppen zat bij o.a. The White Stripes, The Sonics en The Dirtbombs, stemde meteen in om 'Howl' te mixen toen hij de eerste demo's van het nummer hoorde en aansluitend ook de volgende single 'Mine All Mine'.
 
Net voor de lockdown nam de groep twee nieuwe songs op ('Howl' & 'Mine All Mine') die ze lieten mixen door Jim Diamond (de Detroit garagerock ‘godfather’, die in het verleden al aan de knoppen zat bij o.a. The White Stripes, The Sonics en The Dirtbombs) en die ze in april en augustus als singles uitbrachten.
 
"We vonden de Detroit sound wel bij onze muziek passen, dus zijn we voor de mix bij Jim Diamond gaan aankloppen."
 
'Howl' werd door de luisteraars van Classic 21 bekroond met #14 in de 'Best of 2020'! De tweede hoogst genoteerde Belg (na Typh Barrow).

Met de eerste lockdown nog maar net achter de kiezen trok de band naar de GAM Studio in Waimes om aan nieuwe songs te werken. Een week lang verbleven ze er in hun bubbel van vijf: de bandleden plus geluidsman/producer Koenraad Foesters.

Dag twee begon met een opwarmertje: een jam met een nieuwe baslijn als fond. Koenraad liet de band lopen, dus die vette riff stond gelukkig op tape. Toen ze de jam op de laatste dag beluisterden, was het duidelijk dat hier veel meer in zat. Met een melodie en een bridge boetseerden ze een ruwe structuur van de nieuwe song. De slidegitaar gaf het geheel ook nog eens een ZZ Top-achtige feel. Nice, zo wisten ze toen al.
 
 
- Ooh oohs -

Tijdens de finale opnamesessies in Studio Jupiter, enkele weken later, kreeg 'Bring it On' z'n definitieve vorm. De ooh oohs werden oorspronkelijk door Jan ingezongen, maar Koenraad was niet overtuigd. Vrouwelijke backings would do the trick, dacht hij. En dus riep de producer de hulp in van Rijkje Crommen, letterlijk the girl next door. Hij kreeg gelijk.

Goed nieuws voor de fans van Zornik en hun hits als ‘Scared of yourself’ en ‘It’s so unreal’. Frontman Koen Buyse (43) laat weten dat de populaire rockgroep van weleer een heuse comeback maakt, nu ze hun twintigjarig bestaan vieren. Zo staan ze dit najaar al op de planken van de AB, al zal het daar niet bij blijven. “We zijn zelfs al bezig met het opnemen van nieuw materiaal”, zegt Koen in Het Nieuwsblad.

​Volgens Koen is het na al die jaren tijd om de draad van Zornik terug op te pikken. In 2000 behaalde Zornik de finale van de Humo’s Rock Rally. Meteen daarna kreeg de groep een platencontract bij EMI en verscheen de eerste single ‘Love Affair’. Het laatste album ‘Blinded by the Diamonds’ dateert intussen al van 2015, maar de goesting om weer samen de studio in te duiken is groter dan ooit. Op 20 november plant Zornik met ‘20 years, 20 singles’ al een jubileumshow in de Ancienne Belgique in Brussel, daarnaast werkt de groep ook aan nieuwe muziek. 
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