Previously the honor fell to Tim Knol and Douwe Bob, among others: playing with the Blue Grass Boogiemen at Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival. This year, Pieternel gets to take the stage with our own living bluegrass legends. The singer-songwriter from Amsterdam writes and plays Americana and folk songs, with a powerful voice and a raw, filter-free view of the world. The perfect ingredients to add to the tried and tested recipe of the Blue Grass Boogiemen. Trust the veteran foursome from Utrecht to embed the songs of the Amsterdam artist in their sound, which has stood the test of time for over thirty years. After all, you don't have to be from Kentucky or Nashville to understand, feel and play bluegrass. That's not just us telling you, these are the words of the legendary Chris Hillman of The Byrds, among others, about the Blue Grass Boogiemen. If any Dutch bluegrass band is highly regarded even in the genre's country of origin, it sure is the Blue Grass Boogiemen from Utrecht. With a track record of more than 30 years, a massive list of gigs and an encyclopaedic repertoire, the Blue Grass Boogiemen are the personification of the genre in the Netherlands. To paraphrase Hillman, who took the band on tour as a backing band some years back, one last time: "the Boogiemen swing and they swing hard and fast." We obviously knew that in Rotterdam already, which is exactly why we love seeing them return every time. And there's no doubt that Pieternel will be in safe hands with them.