Founded

The BluesBreakers was founded in 1995 by Dik Korving (guitar and vocals), one of the first people to adopt the blues in the Netherlands. The band was a spinoff of the White Bluesband, that had been playing all over Europe from the 70s. This makes the BluesBreakers one of the oldest Dutch blues formations still performing today. Where most blues bands in northern Europe have made a shift towards the bluesrock, the BluesBreakers stick to traditional blues, but explore all styles and options within that framework. At the same time the band attempts to give a European twist to the music. This is illustrated perfectly by the album cover of their 2012 CD Riverside, that does not portrait American juke joint or inner-city neon signs, but typical Dutch windmills in an idyllic meadow.

International cast and character!

Regardless of their Dutch blues ambitions, the band has an international cast and character. The harmonica is played by the extraordinary German harp player Reinhard Sämisch, and in 2011 the American/Dutch Francesco (Frank) Frentrop joined the band on keyboards and vocals. Frank and Dik also form the composer duo of the band and are responsible for the majority of the original songs. Their songs already received notable airplay outside the Netherlands with blues radio shows in the US, Russia, UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Croatia. With strong lyrics and compositions that go far beyond the average 12-bar shuffle, they manage to slowly get the critics on their side. Consistently the band has several songs in the All-time Dutch Blues Top 100 that is assembled annually by a cooperation of Dutch radio stations. Their adaptation of Mercury Blues can be found in the top ten, along with their original composition Jena.

Performance

The live performances of the band are notorious. They happily mix styles and tempos, contemporary classics and new material. As a result they manage to entertain not only the blues buffs and afinados, but also the people who are not so much blues minded (they exist). And that is what blues is all about according to the philosophy of the BluesBreakers: Send the crowd home with tired legs, sore hands and smiling faces after a night of dancing, clapping and good times.

The Bluesbreakers accompanied several international acts, including: Dr. Feelgood (UK), Willie Foster (US), John Campbelljohn (CA), Keith Dunn (US), Dave Hole (AU), Magic Frankie (NL), Marty Hall (CA), Chris Jones & Steve Baker (UK), Mike Anderson Band (DK), Nico Christiansen (NL), The Stewart Barnes Band (UK), DieDra Ruff (US) and Bex Marshall (UK).