Retropop Festival, Emmen, Holland

On 7 june 2014, Kayak was one of many bands to perform at the Retropop festival, on a beautiful sunny day and on a lovely terrain near the city of Emmen. I arrived early, because I wanted to see the first act: Dutch singer Erik Mesie (a favourite from my youth) and his band Toontje Later. On guitar (and backing vocals!): Joost Vergoossen. A great start, in spite of Joost's amplifier collapsing due to the heat...

Erik Mesie and band

Joost on guitar and vocals...

Other bands on the bill at this sold-out festival (around 15,000 people?) were: Golden Earring, Drukwerk, New Adventures, De Kast (with singer Syb 'Scaliger' van der Ploeg), Stranglers, Level 42 and Simple Minds. I didn't catch all the acts, because I went back to the hotel for dinner. A hotel, by the way, which I shared with members of Level 42 and The Stranglers...

At 10:15 pm Kayak (with Sjoerd Rutten on drums) started their 60-minute set. I don't think that it was their best performance ever (or was it due to the bad sound at the front?), but I am sure that the crowd was very pleased with it. I think Kayak really made some good promotion for themselves.

As it was a 'retro'-festival, the focus was on the better known songs. The setlist, in no particular order: Back To The Front, Wintertime (on one of the hottest days of the year...), Mammoth, Daphne, Anne, Before The Angels Fell, Pagans Paradise, Theme From Spetters, Merlin, Starlight Dancer, Chance For A Lifetime, Ruthless Queen.

The show was broadcast live on TV, on the regional channel RTV Drenthe. For some time you can see the Kayak performance at www.rtvdrenthe.nl. Once you are on the site, click 'Uitzending gemist'.