Artists & bands

Peter Koene (1948-2013) was one of the pioneers of the Dutch folk revival in the sixties and seventies. In 1971 he founded Folkclub De Bolk with a number of others in the student society of the same name on Buitenwatersloot.

Having scored no less than 21 Top 40-hits since 1965, including international hit ‘Ma Belle Amie’ and the number one hit ‘She likes weeds’, Delft band Tee-Set was a major success. In honor of this great pop group, a monument was erected in Warmoezierstraat in 2021

Musical jack-of-all-trades Ferdinand Bakker is a guitarist, violinist, composer, songwriter as well as a producer. But after playing a major role in pop history with Alquin and The Meteors, his days of writing history aren’t over yet.

Delft band The Mo, also named Mo for short, was formed in 1979 by brothers Clemens and Huub de Lange. The debut album ‘Mo’, with Heili Helder on vocals and Harm Bieger on drums, made it into the top 10 in February 1981 and singles ‘Nancy’ and ‘Fred Astaire’ were also a success.

Jan J. van den Berg was organist of the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) from 1953 to 1994 and as of 2000 he played in the former Remonstrant Church on Oude Delft. Having acquired national fame as a church and concert organist, Van den Berg left an impressive body of works as a composer.

Delft pop group Stitch rose to national fame in 1983 after releasing their single ‘Jessica’s Mornings’. The band formed in 1980 in Café De Joffer in Nieuwstraat and toured all over the country. After one final performance in 1985, Stitch split up, but a successful reunion followed in 1997.

From 1946 to 1989, for over 43 years, Piet van Amstel was the permanent organist in the Oude Kerk (Old Church). Besides being an organist, Van Amstel also gained fame as a composer.

The Delft Chamber Music Festival has since its creation in 1997 grown into a world-class chamber musical festival. Known for its intimate setting, the festival takes place around Oude Delft with the Van der Mandelezaal in Museum Prinsenhof at the heart of it for many years.

World famous Surinamese-Delft musician Ronald Snijders has lived in Delft for over fifty years. According to many, he is the country’s most-swinging flute player. Matthijs van Nieuwkerk called him ‘The legend’, while famous American pianist Chick Corea wrote: ‘A great flautist and an excellent composer’.

Guus Westdorp is a pianist, singer, composer, arranger and lyricist. The hit song ‘Blijf bij mij’ (Stay with me) sung by Ruth Jacott and Paul de Leeuw (1993) is one of his best-known compositions.

When you say music, you say MOJO. MOJO, founded in 1968 in Delft, has been the largest and most well-known concert promoter in the country for over fifty years. From its headquarters on Noordeinde, the company organizes around 150 shows annually.

Berry Visser is a pianist, composer and theater maker. From the attic of his home on Voorstraat, he started MOJO Concerts in 1968. The former headquarters has now been transformed into an enchanting museum-cum-theater: the Verborgen Huis (Hidden House) of his alter ego Madame de Berry.

Jan Boers (1812-1896) was the passionate and beloved director of City Music in Delft. A musician, composer and collector of musical instruments, he belonged to the circle of friends of the Delft entrepreneurial couple Jacques and Agneta van Marken, known for the Gistfabriek (Yeast factory) and the Agnetapark.

Jody Bernal is 18 years old when he remakes the Argentinian summer song ‘Que Si, Que No’ in 2000. The song becomes an international hit and more popular songs like ‘Oh Bambolero’, ‘Un Beso Mas’, ‘Me and You’, ‘Dreams’ and ‘Chica Bonita’ follow. After some ups and downs, Jody Bernal is still very much active in the world of music, both as a successful DJ and singer.

Henk Koorn is the founding member of the successful, originally Delft-based band Hallo Venray. Their very first live performances take place in the Koornbeurs on Cameretten and their breakthrough follows in 1992 with ‘The More I Laugh, The Hornier Due Gets’.

Peter Tettero was the founding member, singer and frontman of Tee-Set. From 1965 onwards, this Delft-based band scored no less than 21 Top 40-hits, including the international nederbeat hit ‘Ma Belle Amie’ and number one hit ‘She likes weeds’.

Delft band De Div (later shortened to Div) is very popular in the Dutch nightlife during the eighties. The band’s success is partly due to Martin Kollaart, owner of record store Plexus on Voldersgracht, as he releases their debut album ‘Stap voor Stap’ (Step by Step) on his independent Plexus-label in 1981.

Robbie (Polle) Eduard (Delft, 1947) is a singer, musician, lyricist and composer; well-known among Nederpop lovers for his hit ‘Ik wil jou’ (I want you), produced by Peter Koelewijn. Polle Eduard first enters the spotlight as a young sixteen year-old guitarist in 1965, when he started playing in the band Tee Set alongside Peter Tetteroo

Henk de Kat (Delft, 1947) joins the BB Bluesband as a bass guitarist in the seventies. Known for its danceable blues, this Delft-based group starts off mostly performing during weekend-festivities in the (later torn down) community house Tot Ieders Genoegen (To everyone’s pleasure), located behind the Stads Doelen.

The Delft band Mannen van Vermeer (MVV) (Men of Vermeer) performs Dutch songs with quirky lyrics, recited by singer Willem Overgaag. By now the band’s repertoire encompasses over thirty songs, with lyrics and music by their own hand.

Delft locals Jan Klumperman (1919; Black) and Eugen Gaiser (1919; White) get to know each other during a cycling holiday in Ede. With Klumperman on guitar and Gaiser playing bass, they form Black and White, the popular singing duo.

Jan Hendrik Storm was city carillonneur and organist of the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) for a long time. His name is associated with Kerkstraat 25. The most painted and photographed house of Delft; this is where the carillon school was located from 1939 until the late 1970s.

Poet, singer, pianist and composer Jules de Corte was one of the greatest writers and performers of Dutch literary song. He rose to fame in the Netherlands and Belgium with songs such as ‘De vogels’ (The birds), ‘Ik zou wel eens willen weten’ (I would like to know), ‘Hallo Koning Onbenul’ (Hello King Ignoramus) and ‘Als je overmorgen oud bent’ (If you’re old, the day after tomorrow).

Bas de Vroome is one of the best-known organists of the Netherlands and has been the chief organist of the Oude and Nieuwe Kerk (Old and New Church) for over thirty years, responsible for playing the four beautiful historic organs.

Folk singer Nico Haak celebrated his greatest successes during the seventies; his name forever tied to the megahit ‘Foxie Foxtrot’ in 1975. To this day many Dutch people have no trouble singing along to the chorus about the girl with the elastic legs.

Dirk Jansz. Scholl was an organist, composer and carillonneur in Delft. He was of great influence on Delft musical life in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and lived at Brabantse Turfmarkt 93, the building where the Etos is now located.

Gregor Bak is known as a television presenter, pianist, conductor and musicologist. Every year he puts heart and soul into the Christmas Concert, a fixed tradition in Delft that takes place in the Maria van Jessekerk on Burgwal.

Petra van Veenswijk is organist, harpsichordist and church musician. As the organist and conductor of the Maria van Jessekerk at Burgwal since 1987, she is the one playing the monumental Maarschalkerweerd organ dating back to 1893.

Singer and pianist Roel van Velven is known by his stage name VanVelzen. Around 2000 he first performs on stage in Café Vlaanderen (now Moeke) on Beestenmarkt 16. Six years later, he has his breakthrough with the release of megahit ‘Baby get Higher’. After this, his career really takes off and as of today, VanVelzen has performed hundreds of times.

At age seven, Robert Jan Stips starts his piano lessons and a mere two years later he takes to the stage for the first time. In 1963 he plays in the school band The Blubs, together with drummer Marco Vrolijk with whom Robert will later perform in the band Supersister.

Singer Ankie van der Pas (Delft, 1962) truly begins her musical career in the then women’s home on Molslaan. Mid eighties she is co-founder and lead singer of the eight-headed women’s soul ensemble, Mama’s Got a Headache but she also sings in the European tour of internationally acclaimed group, Flairck.

Pierre van Hauwe was a Dutch musician, composer and a music teacher. From 1946 he lived and worked in Delft, both as a teacher and a church musician in the former St. Hippolytus Church on Voorstraat. Until his retirement in 1982 he was director of the Stedelijke Muziekschool

Sven Figee is known to a larger audience through his many appearances on Dutch television show De Wereld Draait Door (The World Keeps Turning). He has a recording studio in Delft and in 2018 and 2019 he plays as a soloist with the Metropole Orkest, the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw and the Residentie Orkest.

In 2022 it will have been fifty years since Alquin released their debut album Marks. After this release, the band quickly acquires cult status and performs a lot at home as well as abroad. But despite small hits with ‘Wheelchair Groupie’ and ‘Fool In The Mirror’, the band fails to attain international success, leading to the band calling it quits in 1977.

The pop festival of Delft and the surrounding area. That’s Westerpop. On June 30, 2024, the popular event celebrated its 35th anniversary. From 1989 there were 30 editions, with top attractions from home and abroad. In September 2024 the board of Stichting Westerpop decided to ‘unplug’ Westerpop. A great loss for Delft and the musical scene.