Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
Emily Scott Robinson
A week and a half ago, on Saturday November 1st, I once again made the trip North to the TakeRoot festival in Groningen, to film sessions with musicians on the ...
Keenan O’Meara
Sometimes the best moments happen when the crowd hasn’t arrived yet. The day Keenan O’Meara walked onto the stage at Amsterdam’s Paradiso for soundcheck, the historic venue was empty. The ...
Todd Day Wait
Todd Day Wait walked into my setup with his guitar and played three songs that reminded me why I film these sessions. The Missouri-born musician has made his way from ...
Canada, Nashville, Sessions, USA
The Deep Dark Woods & Erin Rae
When certain artists I admire are coming through my area, there’s no way I’m missing the chance to film them if I can make time. We had planned to shoot ...
Lizzie No
I love Kilkenny Roots. Not only is it in one of the nicest places, the shows and its atmosphere are spread out throughout the town. It’s big enough to have ...
I’m With Her
To be completely honest, even after seventeen years of running The Influences, still there are times when I’m surprised by things I get to do and experience. Pretty often really. ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
Dalton Mills
During TakeRoot festival in November 2024, American folk singer Dalton Mills stopped by our recording space with his guitar and a handful of songs that meant something to him. Mills ...
Lydia Luce
Classically trained yet deeply rooted in folk tradition, Lydia Luce brings both emotional weight and graceful restraint to her songs. In early December 2024, the Fort Lauderdale-born singer and guitarist ...
Parker Millsap
Hailing from Purcell, Oklahoma, Parker Millsap is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music seamlessly blends blues, country, rock, Americana, and folk. His soulful sound and character-driven narratives captivated the ...
Jarrod Dickenson
When Jarrod Dickenson and his wife Claire walked into the Mailmen studio in Utrecht a couple of months ago, their life was a lot different compared to the moment I’m ...
Andrea von Kampen
Andrea von Kampen’s music felt like a secret discovery, a while ago, when I first heard her work. Like she’s singing and playing just for you. And although plenty modern ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
Early James
Early James is a folk and blues musician based in Birmingham, Alabama. Back in November, he was the last session we filmed at the TakeRoot festival in Groningen. And it ...
Jeffrey Martin
‘I can’t think of anything that has an ounce of meaning or dimension that doesn’t come from failure’, Portland songwriter Jeffrey Martin states on his website. He must have been an ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
Abe Partridge
Abe Partridge isn’t your typical folk singer. Hailing from the Gulf Coast, he brings a raw, unapologetic voice to the Americana scene, mixing personal storytelling with biting social commentary. After ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
Tyler Ramsey
Five years after his first session for The Influences, Tyler Ramsey joined us at the same TakeRoot festival and recorded a new one, with covers of Ron Sexsmith’s Tell Me ...
Christopher Paul Stelling
Before he left Europe, I caught up with my old friend Christopher Paul Stelling. We trekked out to an old repurposed airfield in Soesterberg at sundown and filmed a video ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
John Paul White
For the last seven years, The Influences has collaborated with the TakeRoot festival in Groningen, and filmed sessions with musicians from the festival’s line up. November 2nd this year, we ...
Lindsay Clark
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 ...
Kristina Murray
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 ...
Rachel Baiman
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 ...
Jeffrey Silverstein, Bobby Lee & Joe Harvey-Whyte
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 ...
Emma Swift
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 ...
Caitlin Rose
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 ...
Omar Velasco
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 ...
Trapper Schoepp
‘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, ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
Dylan LeBlanc
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 ...
JP Harris & John R. Miller
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 ...
Spencer Cullum
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, ...
Robert Ellis
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 ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
The Pink Stones
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 ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
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 ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
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 ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
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, ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
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 ...
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.
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Sessions, Down By The River festival, USA
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 ...
Sessions, Down By The River festival, USA
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 ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
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 ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
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 ...
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 ...
Sessions, Nashville, TakeRoot festival, USA
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, USA
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Tim Easton
About ten years ago, Dutch drummer Kees Schaper (from Tim Knol’s band) toured with American songwriter Tim Easton. A perfect chance for me to film with Easton I thought. We ...
TakeRoot festival, Sessions, USA
Anthony D’Amato
New York City-based songwriter Anthony D’Amato has been on a streak in the past seven years and released three full-length records and two ep’s. And now also two sessions for ...
The Low Anthem
The Low Anthem recorded two songs from ‘The Salt Doll Went To Measure The Depth Of The Sea’ for The Influences. Singer Ben Miller talks about their history. ‘I didn’t ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
American Aquarium
It was Anthony D’Amato who introduced me to American Aquarium. The singer from New York – who’s releasing a new EP soon – said I had to check them out ...
Israel Nash
The times have been good for Israel Nash. He’s focusing on the positive, rather than the negative. In this session he covered Neil Young and Radiohead. ‘I’ve always known there ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
Becca Mancari
Becca Mancari made one of my favourite records of 2017. There isn’t a mediocre song on Good Woman. In fact, someone should really start a petition to rename it Great Woman. Anyway, ...
Sun June
Last week I told someone to simply listen to everything that came out on the Austin-based record label Keeled Scales. She would like everything she could find, I promised. I ...
Josh Ritter
‘The first thing you’ll notice at a Josh Ritter show is his smile. It’s a grin of elation, a grin of communion, a grin of gratitude. It’s the grin of ...
Carson McHone
The Austin-based songwriter Carson McHone visited us in Utrecht’s finest record store Plato with her band to record two originals and a dangerously addictive Teddy Thompson cover.
Anaïs Mitchell
When Anaïs Mitchell recorded this session for The Influences in 2017, she toured as Josh Ritter’s support. She recorded covers of Bob Dylan and Rachel Ries (Her Crooked Heart) and ...
Lilly Hiatt
When Lilly Hiatt’s third record Trinity Lane surfaced in 2017, something just seemed to click. Her songs and the records sound blend so seamlessly. ‘It was a pretty natural thing’, ...
Buck Meek
American songwriter Buck Meek has very quickly become one of my favourite musicians – both his solo and Big Thief records are on the top of the rotation over here. ...
Liza Anne
‘Every time I go into making a record, I’m trying to time capsule what it feels like to be alive. ‘Fine But Dying’ was a whole new thing for me. ...
Jon Allen
John Martyn has somehow never before been covered in The Influences sessions. Until now, because Jon Allen recorded an addictive version of ‘May You Never’ for us, as well as ...
Gregory Ackerman
Los Angeles-based songwriter Gregory Ackerman covered Jack Johnson and Neil Young for The Influences. ‘I’m inspired by anyone who is writing music that people can really connect to – music ...
Judy Blank
‘When I see The Wood Brothers play, I know: this is it. Seeing them makes it easier for me to not care about things. Fuck that shit, I’m doing what ...
Anna Burch
‘Writing ‘Quit The Curse’ was so fun, cathartic, and also the most important thing I’ve done in my life.’ Anna Burch debuted on Polyvinyl Record Company with a catchy yet ...
Nicole Atkins
Nicole Atkins’ voice is a thing of wonders. So much power and soul. Words sung with so much feeling. But it’s too easy to focus on just that. Especially since ...
The Dead Tongues
‘There’s so much that I love about Charlie, but one thing that really struck me is how it feels like every time he sings and plays, he’s all in.’ The ...
Twain
‘I tend to look up artists that are powerful without explanation or for mysterious reasons. And the kind that are able to speak truths that are commonly understood but never ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
Jim Lauderdale
It’s not that often I film sessions with a winner of multiple Grammy Awards, and a writer of songs that were recorded by Elvis Costello, The Dixie Chicks, Blake Shelton ...
Christopher Paul Stelling
Christopher Paul Stelling has quickly become one of my very favourite folk singers from the last decade. The American already recorded a session for The Influences some years ago and ...
Courtney Marie Andrews
I’ve been fascinated by Courtney Marie Andrews’ talent as a songwriter and a singer since the instant classic ‘Honest Life’. Now, with her equally daring and striking new record ‘May ...
The Mastersons
About a year ago, I met up with The Mastersons in my hometown Utrecht. They were about to release their strong new album Transient Lullaby and were touring Europe with ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
Michaela Anne
Sometimes a voice simply forces me to keep listening. Luckily, combined with Michaela Anne’s songwriting that’s hardly an ordeal. Anthony D’Amato told me to check out her most recent record ...
Sessions, TakeRoot festival, USA
The Secret Sisters
If you’d asked Laura and Lydia Rogers some time ago, they’d have told you that there might never be a third The Secret Sisters album. They really didn’t know if ...
Tift Merritt
Stitch Of The World is her sixth album and it’s everything you could ever want. Tift Merritt’s voice is stunning as always, her songwriting more urgent than ever. In short: ...