The band Five Dollar Shake and singer/guitarist John F. Klaver were declared winners on Sunday in TivoliVredenburg during the annual Dutch Blues Challenge, organized by the Dutch Blues Foundation.
Five Dollar Shake won in the band category, while John F. Klaver came out on top in the solo duo category. They will represent the Netherlands in January next year during the prestigious International Blues Challenge in Memphis, often described in the music industry as ‘The World’s Largest Gathering Of Bands’. In addition, the band Five Dollar Shake will participate in the European Blues Challenge, which will take place in Split, Croatia in April.
The Dutch Blues Awards were also presented during the Dutch Blues Challenge. The Award for Blues Musician went to Bas Paardekooper. In the category Keeping the Blues Alive, the Award went to Brielle Blues. This year, the Award for Special Achievement was presented to United By Music for their contribution to the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in music.
Magic Frankie has been admitted to the Dutch Blues Hall of Fame. The Award for Young Talent went to 15-year-old Luca Holkenborg. Merel van de Keer received the Audience Award and the Award for the Blues Act went to The Damned and Dirty. Robbert Duijf received the Award for the Dutch Blues CD.
After 11 years of De Rustende Jager in Nieuw-Vennep, the Dutch Blues Challenge has settled for the first time in the slightly more centrally located TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht. The Pandora is one of my favorite venues, not too big but big enough for a decent stage and light show, something that is sometimes lacking in the much smaller cloud nine.
For the 2024 edition, 4 bands and two solo/acoustic artists have been selected from 25 who had registered for the preliminary rounds. The artists are all allowed to play for exactly 20 minutes, after which there is 10 minutes to build up. The annual awards are then presented in those ten minutes. A jury including Ian Siegal and last year’s winner Robbert Duijf will ultimately determine who the winner will be in both categories. The winner can go to the European blues challenge in Split or the international blues challenge in Memphis.
First the awards. Personally, I think the most important award is the Dutch Blues Hall Of Fame award. Many great Dutch blues artists such as Harry Muskee and Barrelhouse have won it. In 2024 it will go to Magic Frankie. Other awards will go to Luca Holkenborg (young talent) and United by Music (special achievement), an organization that gives musically talented people with a disability the opportunity to perform.
The bands and solo artists were drawn for the order. Mojo Hand was the first to start. A nice solid blues band with guitarist Frank Reemers and Joep de Greef on harmonica, keyboards and vocals. Especially their second number, the slow blues “The Wind Cries Home”, about a bluesman looking back on his life, was really beautiful. It was a very varied set.
The follow-up was a solo performance by John F Klaver. Of course we know Klaver from his own band and from his Eric Clapton sessions.
He is new to me acoustically. Of course it is more difficult to make a varied set of acoustics, but here too the time flew by. Klaver had chosen to play everything on 1 type of guitar. A second type would have given the show a bit more depth. Here too the slow blues “Piece of mind” was the highlight. After a justified remark by Klaver the room was completely silent during this number. A surprising cover was “Politician” by Cream.
Emily Hill had reached the finals for the second year in a row. The first number was a nice funky number with a wonderful silence where her powerful voice came into its own. A quiet follow-up with “Malted milk” with a leading role for her guitarist Martin Koch. What a talent Emily is. Her stage presence could be better. She rarely looks into the room and does not involve the audience in her show.
The singer of Five Dollar Shake, Lucinda Legaspi, may give a bit too much stage presence. What a power is on stage. The band was expanded considerably for the challenge. Whether this is fair, is of course the question. The 3 added horns were fortunately functional. The three background singers had no added value for me, certainly not with Legaspi’s power voice. “I can do it myself” is a beautiful quiet song that the show needed. The musicians can now show what they can do and do not disappear into the crowd. The song has a beautiful build-up with a dazzling ending.
The second acoustic set was by Merel van de Keer. In addition to the guitar, Merel also plays two drums, which gives the set a wonderful rhythm. I think her set has more variety than Klaver’s, although her expressions seem a bit played. The song “Buffalo” is about letting go, a beautiful acoustic song. Once again a very quiet Hall. How beautiful music can be. Her voice lives the blues. The sequel Fenix is about invincibility and doesn’t need any lyrics. Great, just rave on your strings.
Finally, it’s the turn of the Meryn Bevelander Band. Meryn plays in two bands. A blues band with his own name and Sonic Whip which is a rock band. In the 20 minutes he only played 3 songs and especially the 2nd song was beautiful. What a feeling Bevelander can put in his guitar. The challenge was concluded with a nice rocking sound with a Bevelander who played the guitar on his back and walked through the audience.
After the Meryn Bevelander Band the jury briefly withdrew and we were treated to a wonderful jam by Magic Frankie and Luca Holkenborg. The jury didn’t need much time, of course I have already made my choices but what does the jury think. Robbert Duijf eventually brought the results. The winner of the bands was Five dollar shake and of the solo artists John F Klaver. Unfortunately I was wrong twice but the jury is always right.
The results were concluded with the so-called “gig” check. Festivals that invite the artists of the challenge to play their festival. Five dollar shake got a nice invitation from Ribs & Blues among others.
Bas Paardekooper had won the blues musician award and was allowed to close the afternoon with two numbers including “Red house” with a harmonica, a version I had never heard before.
Conclusion, it was again a well-organized and pleasant afternoon of the Dutch blues foundation. Met many blues friends and acquaintances and heard a lot of beautiful music with a lot of variety. The winners much success at the European blues challenge in Split and the International blues challange in Memphis.
