He walked into Bridie’s Bar & General Store carrying nothing. Not an instrument or a bag, not even a cup of coffee. Upstairs, he picked up two of my friend ...
Annika Kilkenny’s music is a harmonious blend of inspiration and originality. In our conversation, the twenty-year-old Irish songwriter opens up about the influences that have shaped her music and the ...
In September Jeffrey Foucault released The Universal Fire, his first album of entirely new material since 2018. He calls the album ‘both a working wake – Foucault lost his best ...
Lindsay Clark weaves together the threads of traditional English folk, country, and a personal take on experimental folk that feels both timeless and intimate. Her music unfolds like a quiet ...
Thanks to her captivating voice and her widely praised debut album RAIF, Marlene Bakker has secured a unique spot in the Dutch music world. Even listeners who don’t speak the ...
There are some artists who just keep getting better, the more they seem to let go of expectations or boundaries set by other people. Andrew Combs is one of them. ...
To have one of your favourite and probably most influential Dutch band reunite after ten years, with their first new album after twenty, is pretty special. And to then be ...
The afternoon at the Volkshotel wasn’t my first time meeting Yulya Divakova, aka Russian musician and producer Giant Julie. About a year prior, she was the engineer who recorded the ...
Cheer up! That’s the simple message from John Blek, and the title of his brilliant new album coming in September. Leading up to the album, Blek released the songs Country ...
As an extraordinary filmmaker, Myles O’Reilly documented a special era in emerging Irish music, mostly from 2009 – 2020. He calls it ‘an epic journey filled with enormous creativity and ...
Sheesham, Lotus & ‘Son, a trio from Canada, bring a distinct and lively approach to traditional folk music. Specializing in old-time Appalachian sounds, the group – Sheesham Crow (fiddle, harmonica, ...
There’s something about Kristina Murray’s voice that speaks to me, whenever it comes through my speakers. The country singer from Nashville – but born in Georgia – showcased her voice ...
The first session recorded during this year’s visit to Kilkenny in Ireland, was with Dubliner Ro Yourell. Joined by Finnish-born but Ireland-based Fanni Fagerudd on backing vocals, the singer covered ...
There’s a couple of albums being released in the autumn of 2024 that I’m really looking forward to playing, and high up on that list is Now In A Minute, ...
Rachel Baiman stands out in the contemporary folk and Americana scenes with her voice, songwriting and musicianship. Raised in Chicago, Baiman made her way to Nashville at 18 with the ...
What could three musicians from Portland (USA), Sheffield and London (England) have in common you ask? Well, more than you’d think. In the case of Jeffrey Silverstein, Bobby Lee and ...
During the Kilkenny Roots Festival, Small Town Jones delivered an unforgettable session for The Influences at Bridie’s. The intimate performance featured captivating covers of Ray LaMontagne’s Jolene and James Warren’s ...
Blonde On The Tracks, Emma Swift’s album containing a selection of immaculate Bob Dylan covers, was one of the most-listened albums of 2020 here at The Influences’ headquarters. The Australian ...
David Murphy is a multi-instrumentalist based in Cork, Ireland known best for his work with the pedal steel guitar. Murphy’s unique application of the pedal steel guitar has resulted in ...
Meet Louien, a Norwegian artist whose musical roots run deep. Growing up in a family steeped in creativity, Live Miranda Solberg developed a love for harmonies and songwriting and honed ...
Porcelain id‘s maverick style and commanding voice have become a champion for authenticity. The Rwandan-born Hubert Tuyishime grew up in a small Belgian village. Here began a journey into the ...
After a 9 year gap, Nashville-based songwriter Caitlin Rose returned in 2022 with her third full-length record Cazimi – and it is a work of art. Rose’s album features some ...
Gemma Hayes recorded ‘At Constant Speed’ and two covers of Sparklehorse’s ‘Sunshine’ and Jackson Browne’s ‘These Days’.
Last Friday, May 10th, Dublin singer-songwriter Conor O’Brien returned with the seventh Villagers album, named That Golden Time. A couple of weeks prior, I met up with O’Brien in an ...
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 the ...
You’ll never be disappointed in Alela Diane‘s choice of support acts to bring over to Europe. Join us in exploring Omar Velasco’s tribute to Leonard Cohen’s You Know Who I ...
‘I wish I was a trapper’, Johnny Cash sang on Neil Young’s Pocahontas. Well, on March 10th, I met ‘Wisconsin boy’ Trapper Schoepp in the apartment he rented in Maarssen, ...
Being cradled in Roy Orbison’s arms as a baby, and singing a duet with Willie Nelson are only some of the many impressive aspects of Tami Neilson’s life. Hours before ...
In just a couple of weeks, Chorus Of Doubt – the new record by Broken Chanter – will be released on Glaswegian label Chemikal Underground. It doesn’t take much to ...
Ever since 2016’s Cautionary Tale, Dylan LeBlanc has been on The Influences’ wish list. The American songwriter released multiple beautiful records since, like 2019’s Renegade, 2021’s covers EP Pastimes and ...
Jerry Leger has become a regular here at The Influences. The prolific Canadian songwriter just keeps releasing brilliant record after brilliant record. His latest Donlands is no exception. Leger and ...
Two songwriters and a fiddle player walk into a room… and record a brilliant session for The Influences. That’s – simply put – what happened eleven months ago at TivoliVredenburg ...
When someone like Gavin Glass suggests another local artist to film with, you simply say: ‘Yes, please’. In The Influences’ fifteen years of existence, I’ve filmed many musicians who I ...
When you get multiple reactions from other musicians after posting a photo of a session, you know you just filmed a great musician. Not that I didn’t know that before, ...
The biggest compliment any musician can give me, is to come back for another session. Truly. So, when Robert Ellis reached out to record a third session, it was a ...
When I heard her EP Alonesome for the first time, I knew I had to film with Norwegian singer Malin Pettersen at some point. I’d heard about her before, from ...
Had I taken the time to list my favourite records of 2023, Hollow Hand’s Your Own Adventure would be pretty high on it. There’s something about the Brighton based folk-rock ...
Finally, after 15 years, a Taylor Swift cover on The Influences! Years after our first session plans fell through, Dutch singer Stephanie Struijk, her band and I met at the ...
I’ve lost track of the number of New West Records-artists that have recorded sessions for The Influences by now. All that matters right now is the newest addition: The Pink ...
Last Summer I visited Ireland to film sessions and Mick Flannery was pretty high up on my wish list. It didn’t work out logistically then, but luckily the singer – ...
Sometimes the greatest sessions happen spontaneously. Like this one, when Robyn Hitchcock played in Utrecht with Emma Swift and agreed to also record a session the next morning. At the ...
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, 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 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, 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 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 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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, ...
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 ...
“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 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.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
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 ...
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.
British songwriter Sam Brookes covers Father John Misty and John Martyn for The Influences and played ‘Ekarma’ off his new LP Black Feathers.
“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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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.