Heat and pressed at the eighth edition of the Holland International Blues Festival in Grolloo. The event looks different this year than in previous years. For example, the pink tent has disappeared, a second stage has been added and extra measures have been taken because of the warm weather.
Originally the event started as a blues festival, but nowadays there is room for more music styles. The American country in particular is more present this year than in previous years.
“We were less lucky last year with the big American crowd pullers, but this year we were able to find great names,” says Junior van der Stel of organizer Mojo. “In addition to Blues, we also want to give more space to Americana and Country to create a great festival in width.”
The festival site looks different. The original pink tent can no longer be found and this year an extra stage has been added to the site. “That is the biggest change for the public. This time we can let ten bands play this time in a day instead of five.”
Due to the heat there are also additional facilities on the site. For example, there are extra water points, where visitors can fill their own bottles and there are several places where sunscreen is available.
Although everyone tackles it differently. “Just drinking a lot, it works much better than lubricating,” says a visitor with a big smile.
Reporter Wouter Westerveld took a look at the Blues Festival: