Coincidentally, the Tilburg singer-songwriter Niek Daamen was at Guus Meeuwis’s door. Niek sold art to raise money for his own album. That album is now there, but Niek has more to it. “Guus’s manager sometimes listens to my songs and gives me tips.”
The album ‘what are you up to?’ for which he sold art a year ago to pay for the recording, there is. “It has already been listened to 52,500 times,” says Niek proudly. “Not bad for an artist without a major record label,” he says.
Guus did not immediately buy anything from Niek at the door, because he had no cash. “He asked if I wanted to come to 013 the next day, then he would buy the art.” That happened and then the singer-songwriter took the plunge and asked Guus for another favor: “I was curious if he might want to listen to my song and let me know what he thought of it.”
Guus’ manager was willing to listen. “He indicated that I had a lot of talent, but that my style was still changing too much. I have now developed my own sound with my own voice.”
“Stayed close to Ed Sheeran on stage.”
The contact with Guus therefore gave Niek a step in the right direction, but Niek learned something else. “You have to take the plunge more often as a musician,” he says cheerfully. “I’ve gained a lot of exposure and grown a lot by performing on the street.”
Where you see people making music in front of them in every square or in metro stations with their hats turned upside down, that hardly ever happens in the Netherlands. “I think you are only allowed to make amplified music in Tilburg”, thinks Niek. A shame, he thinks, because it opens up new opportunities for singer-songwriters.
Niek has also experienced that: “After meeting Guus, I left for Australia to perform on the street. A well-known TikTokker made a video of me. In the end, he just couldn’t arrange for me to be on stage with Ed Sheeran.” , he says. “But you only experience that kind of thing if you occasionally throw yourself to the lions.”
“A lot can happen in a year, maybe I’ll be at Groots in a year.”
Although Niek’s English-language fast songs are far removed from those of the Tilburg star, Niek grew up with Guus’ hits. “My father was a big fan. The whole family always sang along in the car,” he recalls with a chuckle. “It’s really part of my childhood.”
At the moment Niek is about to move to Paris, to perform more on the street there and he will certainly take his naughty shoes with him. “I once played with Flemming myself and he is now also on stage with Guus. A lot can happen in a year. Who knows, I may be playing with Guus at the last edition of Groots.”
Read also: Niek accidentally called Guus Meeuwis and can now record an album
