De film wordt afgewisseld met live optredens van het Belgisch/Nederlandse trio Guy Verlinde, die we kennen van zijn stevige stampende band The Mighty Gators, waarmee hij een graag geziene gast was op de Europese bluespodia. Maar de Gators zijn opgedoekt en Verlinde is een andere weg ingeslagen: die van de akoestische blues & roots met persoonlijke teksten. Vanavond brengt hij met Richard van Bergen (gitaar) en Oliver Vander Bauwede (harmonica, gitaar) nummers van zijn nieuwe plaat All Is Forgiven (2019). Verwacht dromerige fingerpicking, akoestische slidegitaar, een harmonica en (f)luisterliedjes die je naar de keel grijpen!
In the summer of 1964, two groups of three white, music-loving young men independently traveled to Mississippi in search of blues legends Skip James and Son House. In a reconstruction of this search, the now gray-haired men tell their story. The search took place against the background of the bloody violence that accompanied the introduction of voting rights for blacks in the Deep South of America. The film shows the important role that music had and has in bridging the culturally determined gap and in driving social change. The interviews with the men are complemented by testimonies of other musicians and activists, both contemporary and historical, by sometimes shocking archival footage and, of course, by lots of music. Two Trains Runnin’ reminds the viewer how fragile and hard-won are the freedoms that are taken so much for granted and are now under pressure again.
The film is interspersed with live performances by the Belgian/Dutch trio Guy Verlinde, who we know from his sturdy stomping band The Mighty Gators, with whom he was a welcome guest on European blues stages. But the Gators have disbanded and Verlinde has chosen a different path: that of the acoustic blues & roots with personal lyrics. Tonight, with Richard van Bergen (guitar) and Oliver Vander Bauwede (harmonica, guitar), he performs songs from his new record All Is Forgiven (2019). Expect dreamy fingerpicking, acoustic slide guitar, a harmonica and (f)listening songs that will grab you by the throat!