Blues in a beautiful location in the countryside near equestrian sports at the Horse Barn with the Sidekicks from East Groningen and duo Dirt Road from our own region. The Sidekicks’ new CD won this year’s Award for Best Dutch Blues CD. Admission €10 (excluding service charges €1.20) Tickets via Eventbrite.
THE SIDEKICKS: Blues And More Than Blues from Meulnhörn…. The Sidekicks are five friends who found each other through their shared passion for making music. Fenno, Teo, Peter, Arnout, and Wim. They put their hearts and souls into making music inspired by musical greats and diverse musical genres. Blues, rock, soul, pop, and jazz. For this reason, The Sidekicks’ music is not easy to pigeonhole. The typical “Sidekicks sound” is characterized by a mix of “musical ingredients” that the band members, playing in other bands, have “picked up” over the years and brought back to their home base in Meulnhörn. (East Groningen, just outside Siddeburen) Blues And More Than Blues from Meulnhörn.
The Sidekicks create music inspired by various musical greats and diverse musical genres, including blues, rock, soul, pop, and jazz. The songs—mostly original compositions—are therefore difficult to categorize. The typical ‘Sidekicks sound’ is created from various ‘musical ingredients’ that the band members have ‘picked up’ separately over the years and brought back to their home base in Meulnhörn. In this picturesque corner of Groningen, music, nature, and friendship come together perfectly. At the end of 2012, the band—then still under the name Hans van Lier & the Sidekicks—released the highly successful CD “Blues And More Than Blues.” Reviews described it as ‘a formidable band that can compete at the highest level internationally’, ‘a delightful mix of blues, rock, pop, and jazz’, and ‘proof that you don’t always have to look to the United States for the blues’. The album made it into the Dutch CD Top 100.
The band’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. The band made appearances on popular radio shows such as 3FM and NPO2 Muziekcafé, and performed at various venues in the Netherlands and Germany. The single Happy Song was even presented to the Dutch House of Representatives as a ‘remedy for the crisis’ and received attention on national television (NOS Nieuwsuur). In mid-2017, The Sidekicks released their new CD, Texas of the North. The name is linked to the record as a tribute to Meulnhörn, the hamlet near Siddeburen where the band is based. The new CD was recorded at the renowned Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum. The album contains 12 songs, all composed by the band members themselves. In early 2019, Arnout Arkenbout, “The Hammond Man,” joined the band and completed the band’s sound with his intense playing.
The Sidekicks are known for their energetic live performances. The music is made and performed with passion. The audience is quickly ‘carried away’ by their enthusiasm and the musical story of a group of friends from Meulnhörn. The Sidekicks are Teo de Haan (vocals), Peter Hummel (guitar), Arnout Arkenbout (Hammond), Fenno de Boer (bass guitar), and Wim Entzinger (drums).
DIRT ROAD. No nonsense Rhythmic blues. Pure to the bone. Formed as a close friendship in mid-2010, in the Juke joint on Zandweg in Wijk bij Duurstede. Inspiration was drawn from the old blues classics and is presented with a unique twist! Pure, rhythmic, and exhilarating. The intensity is where it belongs, a duo that understands each other flawlessly and knows where it needs to go. Dirt Road consists of Richard Quartel & Robin Winkel.
