Long a mainstay of the European americana festival scene, once again, Take Root Festival took over the six stages of the De Oosterpoort complex in Groningen, the Netherlands. The building itself is a multi-room/multi-space cultural centre with all stages running concurrently from 4pm until midnight. That means that for the punter, there are basically a couple of ways to deal with the day. One is to take a frantic approach and dash from hall to hall or room to room to catch smaller bits of as many different acts as possible – or pick a selection of acts and see them, but thereby engendering a real sense of FOMO.
(For review purposes, this is therefore an amalgam of a selective approach to the festival, but with observations included from other than the main writer.)
Opening the day in the Kleine Zaal – the second biggest room in the building was Courtney Marie Andrews, accompanied by Jerry Bernhardt, with both taking turns on grand piano and guitars. There was less chat than in her current run of shows in order to fit more songs into a reduced festival time slot, but the premise of a balance of newer, unreleased material and older favourites remained in place. Despite the duo format, the songs filled the space with sensitive dynamics and took on a more epic scale than in the smaller venues on the current tour.
Next up on the same stage, James McMurtry, in a rare European band show, gave a raucous set that at times verged on jam band territory, which pleased many – but not all. While energetic and very well received, at times the vocals – and thus the lyrics – were a little sonically muddied too, which was unfortunate for such a fine wordsmith as Mr McMurtry.
Over in the Grote Zaal at roughly the same time as the aforementioned two acts, according to reports, Brandy Clark delivered a solid set of familiar material, whereas The Tallest Man on Earth (perhaps a somewhat unusual choice for a main stage act) took a theatrical approach dressed as what one person described as “a bare-knuckle boxer”, perhaps following in the footsteps of the performance from Iron & Wine the previous year, which featured a shadow puppet show!
Next stop for this reviewer was the foyer, where Lilly Hiatt returned to the same stage at this festival that she’d last played in 2019 – that time was with a conventional bass/drums/guitar/vocals line up but this time it was a trio with two guitars and drums – it worked spectacularly well, with plenty of bottom end from the kick drum. Ms Hiatt was in energetic form, and the trio delivered a sparkling set of punk-pop tunes that provided an effervescent hour or so.
Post Lilly Hiatt’s set, a small group gathered early, front of stage, in anticipation of a famous guest appearance. Next act up, Canada’s Horsebath, had been joined on the previous two nights in the Netherlands by Sierra Ferrell on guest vocals. Spoiler – she wasn’t in Groningen, but that didn’t undermine what was probably the set of the festival. Imagine a cross between the Chocolate Watch Band and The Band, with a bit of CSNY thrown in, and that resulted in a tight and accessible set from Horsebath, which evoked a deservedly ecstatic audience response. It seems they will be back over next year, so that is something well worth looking out for. They’re a band with tunes, image, looks and youth on their side – did someone say “crossover potential ?”
It was this point that access to some of the more popular acts became tricky due to the audience congregating in a lesser number of rooms due to competing billing – Patterson Hood (who’d been boogieing to Lilly Hiatt earlier) pulled a big crowd in the Kleine Zaal, although the reduced festival time slot didn’t allow a set of similar range and depth to his recent solo shows, which had featured stories as well as songs.
Jesse Daniel also pulled the numbers in the Grote Zaal – his trad, honky-tonking country appealed to those in attendance who preferred more mainstream country sounds – heck, there was even an outbreak of line dancing at one point…
The choice over the final act to see on the night was determined by logistics – it seemed as though three-quarters of those in De Oosterpoort wanted to see Chuck Prophet in the relatively small Binnenzaal, and queues stretched halfway through the venue, operating on a one-in, one-out basis. Those that were lucky enough to get in confirmed what most folks who follow Chuck Prophet know, that he’s the perfect showman and always delivers. The ubiquitous Patterson Hood made it into the room and remarked on his Instagram that it was “packed (very packed).” In retrospect, that was seemingly a billing faux pas – Mr Prophet and co would have been perfect for the biggest stage in the complex.
Unable also to physically get into the Attic to see Emily Scott Robinson (my German source, who attended, said that she delivered a heartwarming selection of a tender nature), the only realistic option (without queuing and missing half a set) was to see Early James on the Foyer stage. Delayed slightly because some naughty person nicked his set list and he had to write it out again on his phone, he delivered an audience-pleasing dose of no-nonsense earthy blues and boogie before the melted Chuck Prophet audience made their way out and dissolved steamily into the Groningen night with the James’ crowd from the foyer.
As ever, for all its clashes, FOMO triggering billing and physical logistic issues, Take Root still maintains its position as one of the peaks of the European Americana season. Other events may have fallen by the wayside – with less adventurous line-ups – but tickets for the 2026 Take Root festival went on sale a mere two days after the 2025 one had closed its doors – there’s faith going forward, in the fact that those who put it together are dictated by enthusiasm and musical knowledge and are prepared to put exciting new acts on show, as well as established names. Long may that continue.
Photos by – and with permission of – Nick Barber
Good review from Nick – images first-class, as always. Struggled with Horsebath though impressed by one of the lead singers addressing audience in Dutch.