Kassi Valazza
Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing is one of those records you just can’t help but play over and over again. The American folk singer from Portland Oregon – who grew up ...
David Keenan
David Keenan, the songwriter from Dundalk in Ireland, is one of the most inspired and inspiring songwriters I’ve gotten to know in the past few years. Ever since that acoustic ...
Niamh Regan
Niamh Regan is a critically acclaimed songwriter from county Galway, Ireland. Her songs are windows into her world, snapshots of the intimacy of everyday life. Regan recently finished recording her second ...
Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears
In the 15 years of The Influences that have passed, a lot of my new favourite musicians are people I’ve gotten to know through other artists. They’ve either supported them ...
Brian Dunne
About a year and a half after his first session, Brian Dunne recorded another session. This time in the extraordinary surroundings of Soesterduinen, a sand drift East of Utrecht. The ...
Bertolf
I remember a phone call by Bertolf Lentink once, telling me he basically was planning to end his solo career. For a while after he toured with other bands, but ...
Conchúr White
Conchúr White, a singer-songwriter from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, was on his way to a show in Cork on Ireland’s south coast this August, when he and his fiance ...
The Brother Brothers
The first time I met Adam and David Moss, a.k.a. The Brother Brothers, they were seated next to me and Judy Blank at dinner during Down By The River festival ...
Alexa Rose
Alexa Rose has a talent for writing songs that subtly force their way into your heart. Every since I first learned of her name – after noticing she was opening ...
Fantastic Cat
When four songwriters join up and start a super group, and you’ve filmed with three of them before, chances are you’re going to like their group efforts. Well, I don’t ...
Niamh Bury
The Influences went to Kilkenny, Ireland and invited local musicians to join them in the tower of the monumental Kilkenny Castle to record sessions. And they did. One of them ...
Ole Kirkeng
One of the lessons these last few years have taught me, is don’t take any opportunity to connect for granted. You never know when you’ll see that person again. So, ...
Aestrid
Aestrid feels like more than just a band. The Utrecht-based rock band is more of a pact between three good friends who help each other through whatever life throws at ...
Adrian Crowley
Three years after filming his first The Influences session, Irish songwriter Adrian Crowley returned for another, during TakeRoot festival in late 2021. Yesterday we reached the 20.000 subscribers mark on ...
John Blek
One of the great things about the TakeRoot festival in Groningen is that you’ll get to see some of your favourite acts perform and always will discover one or more ...
The Influences is coming to Ireland
Great news: I’m heading to Kilkenny, Ireland in August, to film sessions during Kilkenny Arts Festival. Over the course of two weekends, I will be filming a couple of acts ...
Krea
Karen Cowley compares releasing her first solo EP with ‘cycling a bike without stabilizers for the first time’. The Callows is her first solo work as Krea after her band ...
Lentink & Son
Allow me to introduce: Lentink & Son! You might know Dutch extraordinary songwriter and guitarist Bertolf from one of his six solo albums, his previous two sessions, live videos on ...
Alela Diane
This week marks the 15th anniversary of this website. It’s pretty special and a bit mind-blowing to think about everything that has happened in that decade and a half. I ...
15 year anniversary concert
The Influences exists 15 years! Since 2008, Matthijs van der Ven has been filming his favorite musicians covering their favourites. In 2016, Café de Stad in Utrecht became the permanent ...
The Deslondes
Bringing a band back together after a break isn’t always a good idea. Plenty of reunions end up a disappointment for both fans and the members. Well, not for The ...
Prize Collect
You haven’t heard anything by Prize Collect, yet. Until today. The Influences has the honour of sharing the first music by the Dutch band, formed by songwriter Marzio Scholten. Scholten ...
Sam Vano
Last week, Sam Vano released his debut EP Solitaire. Sam van Ommen, the Dutch songwriter, was previously known for Sam & Julia and these days plays guitar in Tim Knol’s ...
The Tallest Man On Earth
The Tallest Man On Earth and The Influences started almost simultaneously. His debut album Shallow Grave was released in 2008, the year this website started. Ever since, I’ve been following ...
Mariee Siou
Mariee Sioux Sobonya was born on the Humboldt coast in Arcata, California. When she was two her family moved to the Sierra Nevada foothills in the Yuba River watershed in ...
Don DiLego
About a week ago, I filmed a session with New York City super group Fantastic Cat and attended their show at the Paradiso. That band consists of four songwriters, two ...
Dominic Billett
Erin Rae, Andrew Combs, Courtney Marie Andrews, Caitlin Rose, Kelsey Waldon… these are just a few names of artists who have had the pleasure of having Dominic Billett on drums ...
Diana Jones
The first time I heard Diana Jones sing live was over a decade ago in Glasgow. My friends of Doghouse Roses opened for her at – I think – the ...
Tyler Ramsey
Not unlike myself, Tyler Ramsey some years ago moved closer to nature with his wife and daughter. For me personally, I can tell you it was the best decision I’ve ...
Hala
People often ask me how I get musicians to record a session. The answer is simple: either I invite them nicely, or they contact me. Ian Ruhala of the Detroit, ...
Nathan Ball
Imagine driving across Europe for weeks, by yourself, playing shows and then driving hundreds of miles for the next one. That’s exactly what English songwriter Nathan Ball did last summer, ...
Siv Jakobsen
In a serene and picturesque setting in the woods close to my house in Huis ter Heide in The Netherlands, Norwegian songwriter Siv Jakobsen delivered a breathtaking second live session ...
S.G. Goodman
“I never want to leave this world, without saying I love you.” As soon as those first lines of Space And Time, the opening song of S.G. Goodman’s debut album ...
Sophie Janna
Sophie Janna played ‘Thistle’, and gorgeous covers of Nick Drake and Anaïs Mitchell in an 19th century church. She also wrote an essay about her love and admiration for Mitchell.
Erin Rae
Since her first session for this website, Erin Rae has released her album Lighten Up – a gorgeous collection of songs, with a slightly new sound to them, compared to ...
The Influences in 2022
Last night I slept 73 minutes in total. Is that enough? Probably not. But here we are, I’m finishing up this year’s overview and you’re reading it. It’s been a ...
Adia Victoria
A lot of people sing the blues. Not many do it quite like Adia Victoria does. Her third record ‘A Southern Gothic’ blew me – and many others – off ...
Andrew Combs
If you haven’t listened to Andrew Combs’ latest record Sundays, you’re doing something wrong. It’s as simple as that. It’s his finest work yet and I was so glad that ...
Native Harrow
If you’re described as ‘Laurel Canyon-style folk rock with shades of Joni Mitchell’, you’ve got my attention for sure. And to be honest, the soulful folk duo Native Harrow had ...
The Influences presents Tim Baker
Tim Baker is a prolific dreamer. In 2022, the Canadian returned with his album ‘The Festival’, a sonic embrace, a call to love and a cry for connection. Come see ...
Tré Burt
It was on a drive back from one of the islands in the North of The Netherlands that I heard Tré Burt first. Properly, at least. The perfect combination of ...
Anthony D’Amato
Anthony D’Amato and I ventured into nature at Landgoed Beerschoten in De Bilt and shot this live video for Ships In The Night, in pretty surreal surroundings.
Elsa Birgitta Bekman
The story of this session goes back more than three years ago. Sam & Julia recorded a session and for this we could use the MI5 studios in Hoorn. The ...
VanWyck
This Summer, I met VanWyck’s Christien Oele and guitarist Reyer Zwart at the Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam, where they recorded I Was Innocent (from her latest album) and covers of Allison ...
Anthony D’Amato
In May this year, Anthony D’Amato toured Europe supporting Keb’ Mo’, so we met up in Eindhoven, talked about our lives, looked for good train spots on his route, and ...
The Influences presents Christopher Paul Stelling
Christopher Paul Stelling is coming back to Utrecht to play our live show at Café de Stad on Sunday September 4th. Get your tickets now.
Toverberg
Fourteen years ago, I met Lars Kroon. At the time, he played bass in the later very successful indie rock band Go Back To The Zoo. A lot of time ...
Jerry Leger & Yorick van Norden live in Utrecht
After a two year delay, Jerry Leger and Yorick van Norden finally played The Influences’ live show at Café de Stad in Utrecht this Sunday.
Christopher Paul Stelling
What do you do when filming a session before the show isn’t an option? You film it after midnight. With that solution, Christopher Paul Stelling and I walked into Utrecht’s ...
Darling West
There must be something in the water up there in Oslo, Norway. So many lovely musicians and bands are coming through from there, like Ole Kirkeng, Louien and Malin Pettersen ...
Elephant
There is a big thing coming: Elephant will release their debut album Big Thing on May 27th, 2022. Elephant’s members (singer Frank Schalkwijk, drummer Kaj van Driel, guitarist Michael Broekhuizen ...
Brian Dunne – ‘Walk Me Home’
When Brian Dunne recorded his The Influences session late 2021, I took the liberty to request a bonus song. Dunne’s a nice guy, so he kindly agreed to record ‘Walk ...
Gill Landry
When you take a peek at Gill Landry’s Instagram account, you’re bound to see many gorgeous landscapes and still images of his surroundings, wherever that may be at that time. ...
Cedric Burnside
A lot of the times when I’ve just finished filming a session, I can’t stop smiling. At Take Root festival, the smiling began as soon as Cedric Burnside walked into ...
Elephant – ‘Calling’
Do you know that feeling when a friend of yours is really talented and all that talent comes to fruition? When I heard Elephant’s song Calling for the first time, ...
The Influences in 2021
Another year done and dusted. I published eight sessions this year, and I’ve got fifteen sessions waiting for 2022. Enjoy this overview.
Brian Dunne
Imagine Brian Dunne as a little kid, sitting in front of the television, watching Bruce Springsteen playing his heart out. That moment sparked the fire in Dunne, from then onwards ...
Sessions, Ireland, TakeRoot festival
David Keenan
In August 2019, I stayed a few days with my friend Davie Lawson and his lovely family in Ireland. Upon arrival, his eldest son called me into his room to ...
Ian Noe
Days before the world ground to a halt, Kentuckian songwriter Ian Noe recorded a session for The Influences. We met at Paradiso Noord in Amsterdam and filmed three songs after ...
Gitta de Ridder
Gitta de Ridder comes walking out of the caravan she’s living in while building a new home in Almere, trying to stop her dog Lucky from giving me an enthusiastic ...
Sessions, Down By The River festival
Blitzen Trapper
Filming with Blitzen Trapper was a dream come true for me, honestly. They’ve been one of the bands I keep listening to for well over a decade now. I remember ...
All Bob Dylan covers so far
Happy 80th birthday, Bob Dylan! Your autobiography Chronicles volume one once was the spark that started this website, and it’s no wonder that a lot of musicians have covered your ...
Tom Cunliffe
Tom Cunliffe’s record ‘Template For Love’ is great, so we met up in Utrecht to film Bruce Springsteen and Paul Anka covers and two originals.
Sam Brookes
British songwriter Sam Brookes covers Father John Misty and John Martyn for The Influences and played ‘Ekarma’ off his new LP Black Feathers.
Sessions, Down By The River festival
Nicole Atkins
“Sure Tias!” was Nicole Atkins’ response when I suggested we would film another session at Down by the River festival where we would both be, in Spring of 2019. Literally ...
2020, recommended by The Influences
In many ways 2020 was a horrible year for music. Tours canceled, releases postponed, entire yearly incomes vanished. My heart goes out to all musicians and others working in music ...
Senora May recruits influence Jessica Lea Mayfield to produce her second album ‘All Of My Love’
On February 14th, Senora May will release her second album ‘All Of My Love’. A record with eight love songs that will warm many hearts and twist a lot of ...
The Influences in 2020
Well, that was interesting, wasn’t it? I think the last thing anyone needs right now is another long story about the pandemic or personal reflections. So, while the world was ...
Adrian Crowley
Having listened to many of his lyrics, many times, it isn’t a surprise that talking to Irish songwriter Adrian Crowley and hearing him talk about his work and influences is ...
Bettie Serveert
Back in 2008, I was over the moon when I got to film the first session with the Dutch indie music heroes of Bettie Serveert. Since then, we’ve filmed a ...
A new design
A few weeks ago, the website crashed. Nothing to be done, except… design a new one. So I did. Luckily I was planning on creating a new look for TheInfluences.com ...
Jimmy Diamond
Jimmy Diamond is a completely new band. New music and other inspirations by drummer Ruud Gielen, bassist Floris Poessé and guitarist Jim Zwinselman as lead singer, who never really sang ...
Nadine Khouri
I’m extremely glad to finally share the session in which Nadine Khouri played ‘You Got A Fire’ and covers of Sparklehorse and Leonard Cohen.
Gold Star
During Take Root festival 2018, Los Angeles-based songwriter Gold Star recorded two songs from his latest record ‘Uppers & Downers’ and a raving cover of The Velvet Underground’s ‘I Found ...
Charlie Parr
One of the songs I might have played most in the past years, is ‘1922’ by Phil Cook from his album Southland Mission. I soon found out it was a ...
Molly Tuttle
Usually recording a session after a live show isn’t the best idea. Musicians are tired, happy the job’s done and either want to enjoy a great experience or forget it ...
Robin Kester
If you’re interested in music and based in Utrecht like I am, Robin Kester isn’t a new name. She still only has one ep and a handful of singles out, ...
Justin Townes Earle
Earlier this week, Americana songwriter Justin Townes Earle died. He was 38 years old. It’s incredibly sad – first and foremost for his family and friends, and also for music ...
Fiskur
“You know me so well, write anything you want about me.” Ross Clark’s text message was pretty clear – I’ve got carte blanche. So, the first time I met Ross ...
Sessions, Down By The River festival, Scotland
Davey Horne
There aren’t many surprises and secrets left in life. Not of the good kind anyway. Remember when you’d read about an artist in some magazine, or just found an unknown ...
Caroline Spence
The first time I heard Caroline Spence’s single ‘Sit Here And Love Me’, was in a plane – somewhere in between Amsterdam and Glasgow. When Ryan Joseph Burns picked me ...
Sessions, Down By The River festival
Caleb Elliott
Caleb Elliott and I spoke about staying hungry for music, discovering fairly late there’s more than just classical music and the important people in his development; his high school orchestra ...
Senora May
Back when traveling and going to shows were still things people did, I met up with Kentuckian artist Senora May in Utrecht. Her self-released debut ‘Lainhart’ has been a very ...
Sofie Winterson
Sofie Winterson and I only film in musea it seems. Last year we had the honor of filming at Panorama Mesdag in The Hague – find her Unknown Mortal Orchestra ...
Ole Kirkeng
The summer of 2018 would soon be coming to an end, and Rachel and I had just seen two of our favourite bands – Hiss Golden Messenger and Courtney Marie ...
Lewin
The Amsterdam Songwriters Guild has been around as long as I can remember and my friend Ro Halfhide is one of the people of the collective promoting the local songwriters. ...
William Fitzsimmons
Usually when I interview someone, I go in pretty well prepared. I never have questions written down or anything like that, but I’ll have read things and have an inkling ...
John Alexander
Earlier this week I dreamed of walking through Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park. I looked at the wild squirrels, sat on a bench, ate a curry at Mother India’s Cafe, strolled through ...
Ryan Joseph Burns
Do you still know what day it is? I don’t, half of the time. I do know it’s Thursday though, because I’m posting a new video. About a year ago, ...
Ruben Hein
When we filmed this session, after Ruben Hein’s sound check for a Beach Boys tribute in Utrecht’s TivoliVredenburg, his most recent album Groundwork Rising had yet to be released. An ...
Kelsey Waldon
‘White Noise/White Lines’ is already Kelsey Waldon’s third record in five years time. The Kentuckian country singer has followed her own path since the start. And the cheers of her ...
Mikaela Davis
Mikaela Davis is a harpist and singer from Rochester New York, USA. She released a stunning record called Delivery in 2018. And she’s toured with The Staves and Bon Iver ...
Alela Diane
The first time I heard Alela Diane was live at the Motel Mozaique festival in Rotterdam, back in 2008. ‘The Pirate’s Gospel’ got a European release in 2007. Here was ...
Job Roggeveen
Job Roggeveen is an interesting and versatile artist. As a musician he played in several bands and started his own band Happy Camper, winning an Edison. As an animator, and ...
Robert Ellis
I have so many fond memories of the first session Robert Ellis recorded for The Influences years ago, I jumped at the change to do it again. In the fall ...
Farmer & Lewis
Some time in the Spring of 2017 I flew to Glasgow Scotland to film Ryan Joseph Burns’ album launch. That night in Saint Luke’s, I single-handedly filmed with six cameras. ...
Andrew Combs
It was January 29th 2015, when I first met American songwriter Andrew Combs. I was in the upstairs room in Paradiso Amsterdam and Justin Townes Earle had just finished his ...
Arborist
Two years ago, Dutch comedian and radio dj Dolf Jansen asked me to film a show he was doing with a band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. That night, the band ...
Erin Rae
I’ve been filming sessions for this website for twelve years. In all those years, there isn’t a singer I’ve heard more peers express their admiration off than Erin Rae. The ...