Bit is etched in the memory of lues lovers from home and abroad. The last weekend of February you have to go to Groningen for the blues festival in the city center. Also this year, the twelfth edition, fifteen catering companies are hosting just as many bands. Seven bands are not coming for the first time. This year the festival only features Dutch bands.
The majority of the participating catering companies have been participating in the music route for years. enroute. According to organizer Joris van Berkel, this is the best proof that the festival has proven itself over the years. He gets help with the organization from Willem Koster and Maarten Linskens, who mainly focus on programming.
,,The band has to match the entourage of the café,'' says Van Berkel. “You cannot have a band that plays blues music from the fifties play in a hypermodern catering company. In this way we try to find a suitable entourage for every kind of music. For example, café Huis de Beurs lends itself perfectly to performances by Ralph de Jongh and the city of Groningen plays musician Remco Wind in Barrel Wijnlokaal.''
The twelfth edition of the Blues Tour Groningen is on Saturday 29 February, the real last day of the month. The performances can be listened to from 21.30 pm, the last notes must have sounded by 01.00 am. Sponsors and participating catering companies make it possible to offer all performances for free.
Experience shows that during the Blues Tour Groningen, almost five thousand enthusiasts walk around the city center of Groningen to listen to their favorite music. The participating catering establishments will have a free magazine from a week before the festival in which all information with a handy map about the Blues Tour can be found.
Legend map:
1: Big Bo (classic blues) – Café De Sleutel
2: Captain Morgan Express (blues rock) – Petrol bar
3: Ed Baker & The Boogie Machine (boogie blues) – Café Uurwerker
4: Sugerdaddy and the Honeydrippers (west-coast blues) – Café Wolthoorn & Co
5: The Sidekicks (swing blues) – Café De Keyzer
6: The Hootchies (harp blues) – Café Mulder
7: The Electric Hollers (blues rock) – Allround Groningen
8: Ralph de Jongh (classic blues) – Huis De Beurs
9: Juke Joints (jump blues rock) – City and terrace café Pronk
10: The Tightropes (blues rock) – LOLA 050
11: Remko Wind NO show (New Orleans blues) – Barrel Wine Room
12: Thomas Toussaint Band (blues & roots) – Café Buckshot
13: The Blues Gallery (blues & roots) – Martini Hotel
14: The 4Horsemen (swing blues) – Tavern Rabenhaupt
15: The Woods (blues & roots) – Cellar café Merlot