updated November 13, 2024
bold: representation for all of Europe
10cc (GBR)
website, facebook1, facebook2
Legendary band with ultra-high quality pop/rock songs that reached the charts many times.
Merely reading the titles should bring the songs to your mind: Dreadlock Holiday, I’m Not In Love, The Wall Street Shuffle, The Things We Do For Love, Rubber Bullets, I’m Mandy Fly Me, etcetera.
Check the recent documentary ‘I’m Not In Love – The Story of 10cc’ here.
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Rob)
10cc’s Graham Gouldman & Heart Full of Songs (GBR)
website, facebook, wiki
10cc co-founder and current band-leader Graham Gouldman, together with three seasoned other musicians, presents the songs that he wrote or co-wrote during his long career as a songwriter. The shows are intimate and semi-acoustic, with lots of stories about the songs and about Graham’s career. Not only 10cc-songs are presented, but also songs such as “For Your Love” (The Yardbirds), “Bus Stop” (The Hollies), and “No Milk Today” (Herman’s Hermits) that are Gouldman compositions, as well as songs from Gouldman’s recent solo-albums such as “Love and Work”, “Modesty Forbids”, and his brand-new solo-album “I Have Notes” (Lojinx-import).
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Rob)
22-Pistepirkko (FIN)
website, wiki, youtube, spotify, bandcamp, soundcloud, instagram
Maybe the best pop group from Finland ever, 22-Pistepirkko are back after an hiatus of 7 years!
The band formed in 1980 in a rural village in the north of Finland, and later moved to Helsinki.
The new single Snake Charmer / Kind Hearts Have a Run Run has been released on the very appropriate date 22022022, and is ‘the real thing’.
New studio album “Kind Hearts Have a Run Run” out now! (Universal).
Bookings for The Netherlands (by Rob)
24-7 SPYZ (USA)
wiki, facebook, bandcamp
The Heavy Metal Soul pioneers from the South Bronx are about to rock the world again in 2023 with the release of their seventh studio-album “The Soundtrack To The Innermost Galaxy”. Their energetic shows have always rocked the crowds, while at the same time the band does not shun experiment and cross-over.
New album “The Soundtrack To The Innermost Galaxy” out soon! (The Gumbo Recording Company-Cargo).
Bookings for all of Europe (by Rob)
Afrika Bambaataa (USA)
facebook, instagram, zulunation, wiki
Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is known as the “Grandfather” and “Godfather” and The Amen Ra of Universal Hip Hop Culture as well as The Father of The Electro Funk Sound.
(Tommy Boy Records)
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Rob)
Antilopen Gang (DEU)
website, facebook, instagram, youtube, soundcloud
Antilopen Gang (Koljah, Danger Dan, Panik Panzer) produce original hip hop, with lots of energy and fun, with real instruments, with humor, with love, but also with a strong stance against the extremist middle class and right-wingers, against homophobia, and against self-complacency.
Their current album is called ‘Abbruch Abbruch’.
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Rob)
Jill Barber (CAN)
website, facebook, instagram, bandcamp
Songs of romance and nostalgia, embracing Stax rhythms and a Philly soul backbeat to go along with Jill’s warm sultry vocals.
After first listen, what sets Jill Barber apart is her distinctive voice. But it’s her ability to write an immediately memorable song that has made her one of Canada’s most recognizable artists. Jill Barber has become renowned for writing songs that evoke feelings of a bygone era.
New album “ENCORE!” with French chansons out now! (Outside Music-V2)
Bookings for all of Europe (by Hilde)
Blind Idiot God (USA)
facebook, soundcloud, bandcamp
Instrumental mix of noise, dub, post-hardcore and heavy metal.
Current album “Before Ever After” (Indivisible Music). New album in the works.
Bookings for all of Europe (by Rob)
Bulgarian Voices Angelite – Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (BGR)
website, facebook
The sensational success of this choir started in 1987 under the name “Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares”. The choir had to change the name to “The Bulgarian Voices Angelité” and has released more than 13 albums. After more than 15 years of absence they are back!
Current album “Heritage” (Jaro Medien – Music&Words).
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Hilde)
Crash Test Dummies (CAN)
website, facebook, instagram, youtube
More than 25 years ago, these Canadians published their album “God Shuffled His Feet”. It was their most successful album, 45 weeks in the Dutch top 100 album charts, and made it to no. 6! Their hit song “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” has been watched more than 11 million times, another memorable song of them is “Superman’s Song“.
In May/June ’22 they came to the Netherlands in the original line-up to play the whole album “God Shuffled His Feet” (BMG/Arista) plus all other hits.
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Hilde)
Down North (USA)
website, instagram, bandcamp, spotify, youtube
Psych-infused soul punk, but trying to pin genre tags is actually an exercise in futility. These creatives pick and choose just-right bits and flavors drawn from the whole of modern western music like painters with unlimited palates. Some say it’s like the Red Hot Chili Peppers covering Prince with an early James Brown frontman.
Current album ‘No Restraint, Vol. 2’ (2023).
Bookings for all of Europe (by Rob)
Dub Pistols (GBR)
website, facebook, instagram, soundcloud, youtube
‘A perfect mix of dub, big beat and triphop’.
The last few years revered as one of the UK’s best live acts!
Two singles/videos from the album: “Cool Out Soon” (remixes) and “Stand Together“.
2023 saw the release of the 9th studio album “Frontline” (Cyclone-Bertus). Check the single “Nice Up“.
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Rob)
Elisapie (CAN)
website, facebook, instagram, bandcamp
Canadese Inuk singer-songwriter with a strong bond to her language Inuktitut, musical it’s a combination of indie and folk, of tradition and modernity
New album “Inuktitut” out now! (Bonsound)
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Hilde)
Eljuri (USA)
website, facebook, instagram, soundcloud, youtube
Cecilia Vilar Eljuri is a multi-award winning artist, born in Ecuador and based in New York. She is one of the top Latina guitar players of the world, an even better guitar player than Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix, according to some! She usually performs her engaged, activist songs of rock, pop, latin and reggae as a power trio.
Current album “Reflexión” (Manovill Records)
Booking for the Netherlands (by Hilde)
Fehlfarben (DEU)
website, facebook, bandcamp
Kings of the ‘Neue Deutsche Welle’ from the 80’s, still to the point.
Brand new album “?0??” (“2022”) (Tapete Records-Sonic Rendezvous).
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Rob)
Alex Henry Foster & The Long Shadows (CAN)
website, facebook, instagram, spotify, youtube
Alex Henry Foster is musician, producer and composer who advocates human rights. With his band The Long Shadows he creates an intense, raw post-rock experience on stage.
Before covid, they played in front of a packed house at the Montréal jazz festival.
New album “The Power of the Heart” (Sony)
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Hilde)
Hardwicke Circus (GBR)
website, facebook, instagram
This fresh 5-piece from Carlisle, in the far North-West of England, delivers an exhilarating sound that mixes blues-rock with sometimes punky rock’n’roll, reminiscent of The Rolling Stones, The Boomtown Rats, Tom Petty, or Graham Parker. Still, they sound very much present-day, with a clear social agenda.
Hardwicke Circus has played a lot of shows in the U.K. and Ireland already, including some of the major U.K.-festivals, and several shows in London. The future looks bright now that the band has been picked up by manager Dave Robinson (formerly Stiff Records, Island Records).
Debut album “The Borderland” out now! (Alternative Facts Records-import).
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Rob)
Hazmat Modine (USA)
website, facebook, youtube
The band distills American music into an essence from its myriad forms: Blues, Country, R & B, Rock-n-Roll, Jazz, Gospel, World Music – yet it adds to this mixture something raw and mysterious that feels at once familiar and new.
Current album “Bonfire” (Jaro Medien-Music&Words).
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Hilde)
Huun Huur Tu (RUS)
website, facebook, soundcloud, youtube, wiki
Tuvan throat singers. The music is based on native Tuvan folk traditions in instruments and singing. In recent years western instruments like guitar and electronics are added.
This tour will be opened by a brand new film about the Tuva region, based on the book “Terra Incognita Tuva”.
Current album “Live at Triskel” (Jaro Medien-Music&Word).
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Hilde)
Ifriqiyya Electrique (DZA/TUN/FRA/ITA)
website, facebook, instagram, linkedin
Fusing rhythms and ritual songs from Maghreb, blended with beats, electronics and guitars.
Emotion in Maghreb is about Trance. The real one, without even thinking that there might be a concert or a recording. All that remains is a ritual. Adorcist. Therapeutic. Post-industrial.
Current album “Laylet El Booree” (Glitterbeat Records-Xango).
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Hilde)
I Muvrini (FRA)
website, facebook, Dutch website
Corsican singer-songwriters since 30 years, combination of traditional polyphony with pop.
The live shows of I Muvrini are known for the engagement of the group for tolerance among humans. The song texts also speak about a great respect for nature.
Current album “Portu in Core”.
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Hilde)
Jan James (USA)
website, facebook, instagram, bandcamp
Jan is a blues-rock artist though and through, with a great stage performance.
Live she’s accompanied by a full band, or she’s performing as a power-trio, including her longtime partner Craig Calvert on guitar. Jan and Craig developed a musical chemistry that has evolved into a big sound and feel that is colored with blues, soul and the powerful dynamics of the best rock.
The current album “Justify” is a pure and commanding showcase of Jan’s talent from start to finish (Blue Palace Records-Bertus).
New album “Time Bomb” out now!
Bookings for Europe (by Hilde)
Sass Jordan (CAN)
website, facebook, instagram, youtube
Canada’s ‘Queen of Rock’, known from her hits: “Make You A Believer”, “High Road Easy”, “So Hard”, and many more.
With her album “Rebel Moon Blues”, Sass turned to blues. Sass Jordan has always been a blues singer, it just took her 40 years to realize it. Her last two albums contains several remarkable cover songs, plus some originals.
Current album “Bitches Blues” (Stony Plain Records)
Bookings for all of Europe (by Hilde)
Minimal Compact (ISR)
website, wiki, bandcamp, facebook, spotify
Formed in Amsterdam in 1980, Minimal Compact were part of the original post-punk explosion – and remain one of its most distinctive voices. The band developed a unique mix of propulsive rhythms, spacious bass lines, rich keyboard textures, mesmeric guitar lines, and vocal melodies with a Middle-Eastern inflection. They sounded like nothing that had gone before.
Well-known releases include the album ‘Deadly Weapons’ (with club-hit ‘Next One Is Real’) and ‘Raging Souls’.
Minimal Compact have now reconvened, together with producer and long-time collaborator Colin Newman (of post-punk legends Wire), to record part of their material in the best possible way, with a brand-new song as a bonus. The result is the album ‘Creation is Perfect’, out now!
Current album ‘Creation is Perfect’ (2019) (MC-Konkurrent).
Booking for the Netherlands (by Rob)
Elliott Murphy (USA/FRA)
website, facebook, instagram
Singer-songwriter; on his most recent studio album Elliott Murphy goes back to the style of his classic 70’s albums, that often brought him comparisons to Bob Dylan.
New album “Wonder” (2022).
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Rob)
NEXØ (DNK)
facebook, instagram, bandcamp, youtube
A fast and furious mix of 80s hardcore and 21st century punkrock, Nexø is angry and upset, and although their new album “False Flag” is only their second, the band-members all have over a decade of musical experience in different bands (like Patchanka and Larica). And the music shows it! The lyrics are relevant and the band radiates hope and determination: ‘The times are not a’changing, we are changing the times’.
New album “False Flag” out now!
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Rob)
The Nomads (SWE)
website, facebook, instagram
The godfathers of the Swedish garage rock scene.
The Nomads started in 1981.
Current album ‘Solna’ received rave reviews (Universal for Scandinavia, Devils Jukebox for the rest of Europe); 2013 release: “Loaded Deluxe EP” on coloured vinyl with brand new tracks!
Bookings for all of Europe except SWE (by Rob)
Pussy Riot: Riot Days (RUS)
website, facebook, trailer, youtube1, youtube2
Protest art collective based in Moscow formed in 2011 with approx. 11 women participating. They staged unauthorised provocative guerrilla punk rock performances in unusual public places, which brought 3 of them to prison camps. Maria Alyokhina was one of them. She wrote a book about it, “Riot Days”. The book is the basis for this multi-media performance. Read also the great interview in The Music.
Book: “Riot Days” (Bertelsmann Pinguin).
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Hilde)
Taimane (USA)
website, facebook, instagram, youtube
Taimane translates to ‘diamond’ from Samoan, she is best known for her fierce and inventive style of playing the ukulele. With the fierceness of a rocker and the grace of a dancer, Taimane and her music are wowing ever-larger audiences. She has the ability to morph genres – from classical to rock to flamenco – and stretch her instrument far beyond the familiar melodies of Hawaii.
Online she’s an influencer with over 15 million views on youtube and over 25.000 online followers.
Current album: “Elemental” (Taimane Records-import)
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Hilde)
Sachal Vasandani (USA)
website, facebook, instagram, youtube, soundcloud
Rooted in jazz, Sachal Vasandani is known for his singular voice, with a tone and unique phrasing that mark him as one of today’s most compelling artists.
On his upcoming album he is accompanied by a full band, he goes funky! You can best compare it with Frank Sinatra singing with The Meters!
Current album “Still Life” (Edition Records), new album “Best Life Now” due October 26! (United Masters/digital)
Bookings for all of Europe (by Hilde)
Konstantin Wecker (DEU)
website, facebook, youtube
Konstantin Wecker is a famous singer-songwriter from Germany with over 50 years of live-experience.
His music is both intense and intimate, leaning on the ‘Liedermacher’ culture as well as on the blues.
Wecker is not only a singer-songwriter but also an actor, composer, and author. He is a political activist too, promoting a non-violent society without authority.
The line-up for his live-shows varies from a duo-setting to a full band setting, sometimes with orchestra.
He has released some 50 albums with his music, and has published several books. He has received numerous awards for his music and for his social and political involvement.
New album: “Utopia” (Sturm und Klang – import).
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Rob)
Zoobombs (NIP)
website, facebook, bandcamp, wiki
Psych-funk-donuts-rock punkfloyd music.
Constant factor since ’94 is Don Matsuo, ‘a Japanese hiphop Lou Reed, an eclectic musician, mixing all kinds of genres, like hip-hop and rock and new wave, into a vibrant, original cocktail of energetic noise’ (Frontaal Naakt).
Current album “Ice Cream & Dirt”.
Bookings for the Netherlands (by Rob)